Papa Gino's, Inc., is a restaurant chain based in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a New England town, town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. First settled by E ...

, specializing in traditional thin crust

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

along with pasta, subs, salads, and a variety of appetizers. As of 2023, there are 79 Papa Gino's locations in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

History

Papa Gino's originated in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

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 an American chain of 83 neighborhood-style sandwich shops found in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches was founded in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1967. It s ...

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

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (sometimes called simply Yum!) is an American multinational fast food corporation. It is a spin-off of PepsiCo, after they acquired KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. PepsiCo divested the brands in 1997, and these consolidated as ...

(then known as

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

Inc.'s

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...

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 Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces 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.

Post-bankruptcy

On June 14, 2022, it was revealed that Papa Gino’s would be opening a new restaurant for the first time since it emerged from bankruptcy.

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, 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. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...

. Patriots linebacker

Tedy Bruschi Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats footba ...

replaced kicker

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 24 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri is the ...

as pitchman in the fall of 2006, after Vinatieri was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. In 2020, Papa Gino's continues to partner with the Providence Bruins, the Worcester 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

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