The Ownership Shift
Mr Gatti's Pizza has completed a full transfer of ownership to G. Brint Ryan, a longtime franchisee and co-investor who acquired the remaining interest in the Fort Worth-based pizza and family-entertainment chain, the company announced Aug. 6. The deal also sets in motion the retirement of CEO Jim Phillips, who has led the brand for more than a decade. Phillips will stay on through a transition period while the company searches for a successor.
Ryan — founder and chairman of Dallas-based Ryan, LLC — first became a co-owner of the Mr Gatti's franchisor in December 2025. His path from franchisee to primary owner mirrors a pattern seen elsewhere in the franchise M&A space, where operators with deep system knowledge step into the franchisor role as founding-era leaders exit.
Phillips' Record
The numbers behind Phillips' 11-year tenure are hard to ignore. Since taking the reins in 2015, he grew the chain's restaurant count by 50%, expanded its geographic footprint from three states to 12 and nearly doubled systemwide revenue over the past five years. Today, Mr Gatti's counts more than 200 locations open or in development across Texas and the Southeastern United States — a significant rebuild for a brand that dates to 1964 and had faced the same headwinds that battered mid-tier pizza chains through the 2010s.
Phillips also standardized franchise agreements, rebuilt the system's marketing fund, revived original recipes under a food-first philosophy and restored annual franchise conventions — operational housekeeping that tends to matter as much as unit growth when a brand is courting new franchisees. "Together with our franchisees and leadership team, we've strengthened every part of this business," Phillips said, citing operations, financial performance, brand consistency and franchisee support.
What's Next
Ryan framed the transition in partnership terms. "My wife Amanda and I are honored to carry that legacy forward as we invest in the continued growth of Mr Gatti's," he said, pledging continued support for franchisees and a long-term growth posture. No successor CEO has been named, and the company offered no timeline for that announcement.
For the broader pizza and family-dining segment, the Mr Gatti's story carries a few relevant signals. Family-entertainment concepts have faced persistent pressure from fast-casual pizza and delivery-first competitors, yet Gatti's managed sustained unit growth by leaning into value positioning and dine-in experience — a combination that has also drawn interest from convenience and fuel operators experimenting with experiential foodservice formats. With a franchisee-led ownership now in place and a 200-plus unit pipeline, the brand's next phase will test whether Ryan can sustain the growth curve Phillips established while navigating a competitive full-service pizza market.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
