Mr. Gatti’s Pizza and Gatti’s Pizza plans an aggressive franchise expansion campaign for the pizza chain based in Fort Worth.
Michael Poates, president of Gatti’s Pizza will announce the plans at the Franchise Times Finance & Growth Conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“We are eager to introduce a new generation of fans to our great pizza and family-friendly atmosphere,” said Poates. “With the emergence of the new wave of pizza options sweeping the restaurant industry, the time is right to reintroduce the original Mr. Gatti’s concept and bring in new franchisees who are excited about the brand and its product.”
During the last 18 months, Poates has worked to revitalize the Gatti’s brands. In 2016, Gatti’s Pizza “refreshed” the look of the original Mr. Gatti’s Pizza restaurants, bringing back many of the features that made it such an iconic brand in the 1970s and 80s.
In January, Mr. Gatti’s returned to Fort Worth with a new restaurant in the Museum Place development that will served as a prototype design for future Mr. Gatti’s which the company has planned.
Mr. Gatti’s first opened its doors as The Pizza Place in Stephenville in 1964.
The Mr. Gatti’s menu, much of it prepared in a copper tiled, stone fired rotary deck oven, reintroduces the original Neapolitan-style crust and a Sicilian deep dish crust.
Four of the revamped Mr. Gatti’s Pizza restaurants have opened in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with nine more in various stages of development across the region.
“Our goal in launching this new franchising effort is to reconnect the brand to a loyal and passionate customer base that have now become parents and, thus, use that original consumer to introduce the brand to a new generation of guests,” said Poates. “Since the introduction of new Mr. Gatti’s restaurants, we are hearing from guests who have great memories of Mr. Gatti’s when they were kids and are excited about being able to introduce their kids to one of their favorite childhood experiences.”