Craveworthy buys Papa Gino's in its biggest deal yet

Craveworthy Brands has agreed to buy Papa Gino's, the New England pizza chain, in the largest acquisition of its four-year run.

The Chicago-based platform signed a definitive agreement on 9 November to acquire New England Authentic Eats LLC, Papa Gino's parent company, according to Nation's Restaurant News and Fast Casual. The deal is expected to close by 31 December. Terms, including the purchase price, were not disclosed.

The two outlets give different measures of scale. Technomic data cited by Nation's Restaurant News put Papa Gino's at 70 locations across New England at the end of 2025, with sales of nearly $50 million, down 9.5% year over year. Fast Casual, citing Craveworthy's own figures, said the deal adds more than 160 restaurants and about $160 million in annual revenue, a wider count that appears to include planned co-branded units.

Pizza chains make tidy roll-up targets: steady cash flow, loyal regulars, real estate already paid for.

Craveworthy plans to roll its Wing It On chicken-wing concept into every Papa Gino's store, turning the pizzerias into co-branded locations. That would take Wing It On from 45 restaurants to more than 145, making it Craveworthy's largest brand by store count. Papa Gino's keeps its name, menu and identity.

The company has run this playbook before. At Fresh Brothers, the Southern California pizza chain Craveworthy bought in 2024, co-branded Wing It On locations already generate close to a quarter of sales, Nation's Restaurant News reported.

"This is the most I've ever paid for a brand because the opportunity is massive," Craveworthy founder Gregg Majewski told Nation's Restaurant News. He called Papa Gino's "a New England institution" in comments to Fast Casual, and said the company plans to "trim down" some existing brands in the coming weeks, without naming which ones.

A pizza chain's long road back

Papa Gino's opened its first shop in East Boston in 1961 and grew into a regional fixture before its then-parent, PGHC Holdings, filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and closed dozens of locations. A court approved a $20 million sale to private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital the following year, Nation's Restaurant News reported.

Betting on scale across the portfolio

Majewski said the acquisition would push Craveworthy past $550 million in systemwide revenue, with a stated goal of $1 billion within about three years. The company, which also owns Big Chicken, Taim, Gregory's Coffee and Genghis Grill, expects $20 million to $30 million in additional EBITDA within 12 months through shared purchasing, technology and training. Its stated pace is one acquisition every six to nine months for four years, part of a wider consolidation wave in franchised dining that has also produced a hostile bid for Canada's MTY Group.

For now, Papa Gino's regulars will notice little beyond a wings menu alongside their usual slice.