Today is the day for pizza in Fort Worth with the opening of Mr Gatti's Pizza, a pizzeria-family entertainment center at 5203 McCart Ave. #205. Doors open on August 26, kicking off a weeklong celebration with raffle prizes and Gatti’s swag.

The location will feature an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, dessert pizzas, a salad bar, and an almost unprecedented 7,500-square-foot game room with more than 40 arcade games and a party/meeting room that seats more than 60 guests.

Menu favorites from about a dozen pizza options include The Sampler, The Deluxe with sausage, pepperoni, & smoked provolone, and BBQ chicken. A basic 12-inch cheese pizza with one topping is $12.

There are lunch specials from 10:30 am-3 pm including pepperoni rolls and salad for $10; 8 wings and salad for $13; and a medium pizza with 2 salads for $15.

The chain was first founded in Stephenville, Texas as The Pizza Place, in September 1964. In 1969, founder James Eure moved to Austin and opened the first Mr Gatti’s Pizza, named for his wife's maiden name.

They have a major presence in South Texas but only three in the DFW area: Allen, Plano, and a carryout store in Fort Worth.

Owner Kirk Jefferies is a Texas native and graduate of Texas Tech with a lifelong love of Mr Gatti’s Pizza who invested more than $3 million to bring the Texas pizza chain to this new location.

“This new family entertainment center represents more than just an expansion of Mr Gatti’s—it's a commitment to enriching the Fort Worth community,” Jefferies says in a statement. “I am deeply invested in creating spaces where families can gather and create lasting memories. I invite everyone in the community to discover the joy and tradition of Gatti’s Pizza, a brand that has brought smiles to many faces for decades.”

This is the second Mr Gatti’s Jefferies has opened in the area; the first was the delivery-carryout store at 2812 Horne St. #100 which he opened in September 2023. He also owns and operates other franchises including Jason's Deli.

There was a location that opened in Fort Worth in 2016, at 3280 W. Seventh St. in Museum Place, which at the time, was the first to use the Mr. Gatti’s name; the chain had been going by "Gatti's." It closed in 2018. There was also a location in North Richland Hills which opened in 2016 and closed in early 2019; and a location in Richardson that closed in 2018.

The chain now has 77 restaurants open throughout the Southeast including 45 in Texas, plus locations in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.