Mr Gatti’s re-energized expansion strategy has already added six units in 2022 to its rapidly growing pipeline with more than 20 new openings slated across the Sunbelt region by year’s end.
Additionally, in January, the iconic pizza and family entertainment concept opened a new restaurant in Brenham, Texas that includes a “Bellagio-style” water feature and a wall of local craft beers on tap. The Brenham opening made Mr Gatti’s history, setting the record for the brand’s top opening-week volume of all time.
Along with entering new markets, Mr Gatti’s Pizza’s franchisees are also adding and updating select locations in Austin, Texas. The 53-year-old legacy brand is best known for its family entertainment centers featuring an all-you-care-to-eat pizza, pasta and salad buffet, plus redemption and non-redemption games and amusements. The new locations are just the beginning of a dedicated effort by Mr Gatti’s Pizza to expand the brand.
“We’re on a mission to bring the Mr Gatti’s Pizza experience to an entirely new group of families by opening new locations,” says Jim Phillips, CEO of the Fort Worth-based chain. “We are confident these new Mr Gatti’s Pizza locations will quickly establish themselves as an integral part of their communities and become popular destinations for anyone seeking great pizza and fun in a family-friendly environment.”
Since Thanksgiving 2019, Mr Gatti’s Pizza has signed multiple area development agreements and franchise agreements totaling more than 60 new locations, 25 percent of which were executed with existing franchisees. In 2021 and so far in 2022, Mr Gatti’s Pizza opened nine restaurants, with the brand’s average unit volumes for its Family Entertainment Centers exceeding pre-pandemic levels of $2.3 million (see Item 19 of 2021 FDD).
Mr Gatti’s offers a unique franchise model with three distinct formats that vary in feel and footprint: Delivery and Carryout only (DELCO), Small Family Entertainment Center (Small FEC) and Large Family Entertainment Center (FEC). During 2021, Mr Gatti’s Large Format FEC sales shot up an eye-popping 97.71 percent over 2020 levels. The brand also notably maintained its off-premises sales boost with DELCO sales jumping 5.11 percent compared to the year prior, building off a powerful base that had gained momentum during the worst of the pandemic.
“We’ve built impressive momentum over the past few years, and we look forward to proving that Mr Gatti’s Pizza’s best days are still ahead of us,” Phillips says.
