Papa Gino's, Inc. is a restaurant chain based in Dedham, Massachusetts, specializing in traditional thin crust pizza along with pasta, subs, salads, and a variety of appetizers. As of 2022, there are 80 Papa Gino's locations in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

History

Papa Gino's originated in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...

as a single location named "Piece O' Pizza," which opened in 1961. In 1968, the owners, Helen and Michael Valerio, changed the name to "Papa Gino's" and began expanding the business to multiple locations, 220 when they sold the company to a group of investors in 1991. In 1997, Papa Gino's bought

D'Angelo Sandwich Shops D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches is a chain of 83 neighborhood-style sandwich shops found throughout New England, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Founded in 1967 in Dedham, Massachusetts, D’Angelo Grilled Sandw ...

, another Massachusetts-based fast-food outlet, specializing in sandwiches, from prior owner

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (or Yum!), formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the ...

(then known as PepsiCo Inc.'s

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

unit). A few months later, executives of a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

, Papa Gino's Holdings Corporation (later known as PGHC Holdings), bought out the company in a deal financed by Bunker Hill Capital Partners.

2018 bankruptcy

On September 18, 2018, Bunker Hill Capital Partners ended their investment with PGHC Holdings. On November 4, 2018, dozens of Papa Gino's locations closed abruptly, including their only location in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, at the Auburn Mall, bringing the chain from over 150 locations to 97. Employees were not given advance notice of the closures and were told to apply to other restaurants when they arrived for work at closed stores. The following day, PGHC Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that it had reached an agreement in principle to sell its restaurant chains to Wynnchurch Capital. In November 2018, the chain's parent company, PGHC Holdings, filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection which it has since emerged from upon sale to private equity firm, Wynnchurch Capital in 2019.

Advertising

Since the late 1990s, the chain has partnered with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and New England Patriots, as well as individual players with the teams such as former Red Sox

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

David Ortiz. Patriots linebacker

Tedy Bruschi Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is a former professional American football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, who currently serves as the senior advisor to the head coach at University o ...

replaced kicker

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...

as pitchman in the fall of 2006, after Vinatieri was signed by the Indianapolis Colts. In 2020, Papa Gino's continues to partner with the Providence Bruins, the Pawtucket Red Sox and Holy Cross. They also partner with many local kids teams in the communities that they serve.

References

External links

Official website

Papa Gino's
on

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

* * * *
Interview with CEO Tom Sterrett
in Boston Business Journal {{Dedham Companies based in Massachusetts Companies based in Dedham, Massachusetts Restaurants in Massachusetts New England Economy of the Northeastern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Pizza chains of the United States Restaurants established in 1961 1961 establishments in Massachusetts Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018

History

2018 bankruptcy

Advertising

See also

References

External links