This Pizza Chain Was Nearly Bankrupt Before Walmart Saved It

On the list of facts you never knew about pizza, the knowledge that Walmart has a thriving partnership with a homegrown pizza chain probably didn't even register. And yet, it's true. At several locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Kentucky, the big box retailer has opened small-scale locations of Mr. Gatti's, a brand known for its pizza-and-arcade concept. Yet, the pizza place wasn't always in the best shape.

As of 2025, there were a dozen Mr. Gatti's locations inside Walmart stores, with 23 additional locations in the building phase. These numbers go a long way towards the planned 92 stores announced in 2024 as part of the Walmart/Mr. Gatti's partnership, a deal that helped pull the pizza chain back from the ravages of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mr. Gatti's was holding steady as a brand in 2019, yet that was also the year that parent company Sovrano LLC filed for bankruptcy protection.

After the new partnership, the company hit the ground running, reorganizing and inking powerful new deals. The Walmart partnership stands to nearly double the number of Mr. Gatti's locations, though the Walmart Mr. Gatti's stores are smaller than the full-sized entertainment and dining complexes that the company normally operates, though many have been updated to include buffet and arcade options. The deal with Mr. Gatti's is part of Walmart's ongoing effort to offer expanded in-store dining options.

The company was born in Stephenville, Texas, in 1964, when James Eure opened the doors of a restaurant that he called "The Pizza Place." Five years later, having relocated to Austin, Eure christened his new restaurant there as "Mr. Gatti's" in tribute to his wife's maiden name. Eure's philosophy was simple: delivering pizzas made with the best ingredients. "Good pizza" is a nebulous concept, but most people know it when they see, taste, and smell it. Quite a few pizza lovers have responded positively to the Mr. Gatti's commitment to using the freshest ingredients. Today, food accounts for a whopping 50% of the average Mr. Gatti's location revenue, with the rest made up of income from the family entertainment complex (FEC) side of the equation, including arcade games and party space.

Mr. Gatti's actually beat Chuck E. Cheese to the punch when it came to offering pizza and games under one roof, but only the latter rocketed in popularity during the '80s and '90s. Today, Mr. Gatti's has a more modest footprint, though its expansion into Walmart stores promises great things for both the company and hungry Walmart shoppers. Said customers can use the Mr. Gatti's app to order food while they shop, then pick it up on their way out of the store. The partnership is still in the growing phase, so it remains to be seen if it will expand past the planned four states of the original contract into the rest of the Mr. Gatti's southern United States catchment.