Pizza restaurant franchiser Mr. Gatti's has signed a development agreement with a Knoxville franchise group that will add locations there, in Nashville and throughout Tennessee over the next seven years.
The deal with Pizza Southeast LLC is the largest development commitment in Austin, Texas-based Mr. Gatti's history. Pizza Southeast also has bought three corporate units in the Knoxville area from Mr. Gatti's and will be remodeling each.
Mr. Gatti's is owned by Blue Sage Capital, an Austin private equity group that bought the company in late 2004, when Mr Gatti's annual sales were $150 million.