Gatti's Pizza
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food Wholesale |
| Founded | Stephenville, Texas, USA (1964) |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, USA |
| Key people |
Colonel James R. Eure (founder) |
| Products | Pizza Delivery, Salad bar, Pizza Buffet, Pizza Pickup, Family Entertainment |
| Website | gattispizza.com |
Gatti's Pizza (formerly Mr. Gatti's) is a Southeastern United States pizza-buffet chain. Gatti's Pizza, founded in 1964 is owned by Blue Sage Capital, a private equity investment firm.[1] The corporate offices are in Austin, Texas.[2]
History
In 1964, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James R. Eure opened a pizza and hamburger restaurant in his hometown of Stephenville, Texas.[3] He and his wife moved to Austin, Texas; and in 1969, he opened a pizza restaurant in Austin under the name, "The Pizza Place." In order to identify themselves apart from the rest of the pizza places, Colonel Eure undertook a name contest. Colonel Eure's wife's maiden name was Gatti, which soon won out over many other proposed names and The Pizza Place was renamed Mr. Gatti's Pizza.[4]
In 1974, Eure sold his chain of 18 Mr. Gatti's restaurants to a group of investors, but held on to a few franchises. The investors worked with Colonel Eure in helping the company grow by establishing in Texas and many other states.[5] The chain has since changed hands a number of times.
By the 1980s, Mr. Gatti's took on a more modern look by adding a game room and a buffet bar into many of its restaurants.[4]
In the 1990s, Mr. Gatti's had expanded its game room concept (which at that time, the concept was titled "GattiLand") by adding more arcade games and bumper cars into most of its newer restaurants, with an orange-canopy entrance to the game room saying "Welcome to GattiLand - Family Fun & Games". Notable locations using this modified concept are two locations in Louisville, Kentucky,[6] Abilene, Texas,[7] and Spartanburg, South Carolina.[8]
In 1997, Mr. Gatti's created a new concept called "GattiTown".[9] The first store to use this concept opened in the Oak Hill area of Austin that year.[10] The restaurant's design was patterned after Main Street, U.S.A., and was complete with a buffet, several dining and party rooms, and a Midway game room, which featured many arcade games plus a large carousel.
Today
Gatti's Pizza currently has 104 locations across the United States. Some Gatti's Pizza locations are branded under the GattiTown name; these are based on the Family Entertainment Concept (FEC) with a larger physical footprint and a dedicated gaming and attraction based midway.[4] In 2004, Blue Sage Capital bought the chain.[1] Three years later in 2007, Blue Sage renamed Mr. Gatti's as Gatti's Pizza to reflect current trends.[5] In 2011, Blue Sage announced that they would construct four new super-sized Gatti's restaurants based on their GattiTown model. The new locations will be between 45,000 and 60,000 square feet. In addition, typical features will include bumpers cars, go karts, miniature golf, and miniature bowling. The four locations are based in Clearwater, Florida; El Paso, Texas; Lafayette, Louisiana; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Sugarland, Texas. They are all expected to be open by late 2011.[11]
Slogans
- Past: "The Best Pizza in Town. Honest!"
- Past (GattiTown): "Wall-to-Wall Eater-tainment"[12]
- Past (GattiLand): "Food & Fun"
- Current: "Getting Together Over Gatti's"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Blue Sage Capital buys Mr. Gatti's pizza chain". PizzamarketPlace.com. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ↑ "We Are Here." Gatti's Pizza. Retrieved on February 27, 2010.
- ↑ Gatti's Pizza Handbook, Page 3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 History of Gatti's
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gatti's Pizza Handbook, Page 4.
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/1997/05/26/story7.html?page=all/
- ↑ stores.gattispizza.com/location/abilene/gameroom/
- ↑ http://www.goupstate.com/article/19970921/NEWS/709210376/
- ↑ http://voices.yahoo.com/mr-gattis-pizza-food-fun-entire-family-2338760.html/
- ↑ http://www.spdaustin.com/portfolio/client/gattitown/p:254/r:1//
- ↑ "." Gatti's Pizza orders 4 new stores, extra-large. Retrieved on July 27, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.berridge.com/projects_by_brinkmann_roofing_co.htm/
- "Obituary:Jim Eure". Austin American-Statesman. September 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-02.