---
title: "Craveworthy Plans Co-branding Push After Acquisition of Papa Gino’s"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4198be57-a6bf-4eab-bc7c-d6ac9b6d1162
source: "Franchise Times"
original_url: https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchise_mergers_and_acquisitions/craveworthy-plans-co-branding-push-after-acquisition-of-papa-gino-s/article_98a09ade-42a9-4be6-b1d0-601d14f592b4.html
author: "Laura Michaels"
category: "QSR"
published: 2026-11-12T19:58:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-13T00:01:18.417Z
image: https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/franchisetimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/42/2425bbd1-8ad2-492e-b7af-a732ddaa081d/6af61b1a53391.image.jpg?crop=1200%2C630%2C0%2C34
---

# Craveworthy Plans Co-branding Push After Acquisition of Papa Gino’s

**TL;DR:** Craveworthy Brands is acquiring Papa Gino's and D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches, adding over 100 locations to its portfolio and expanding its co-branding efforts.

*By Laura Michaels, originally published in Franchise Times on 2026-11-12. [Read the original](https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchise_mergers_and_acquisitions/craveworthy-plans-co-branding-push-after-acquisition-of-papa-gino-s/article_98a09ade-42a9-4be6-b1d0-601d14f592b4.html).*

## Story

With its acquisition of New England Authentic Eats from Wynnchurch Capital, Craveworthy Brands will add concepts No. 22 and 23 to its portfolio. The deal, expected to close by December 31, brings more than 100 Papa Gino’s Pizzeria locations and dozens of D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches stores into the fold for Texas-based Craveworthy.

Though he declined to share specific deal terms, Craveworthy CEO Gregg Majewski described the transaction as his company’s largest acquisition to date and said a recent multimillion-dollar capital raise that brought in new institutional backing helped fund the purchase.

Papa Gino’s and D’Angelo are nearly eight years removed from bankruptcy and the closing of roughly 100 locations. PGHC Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2018, sold its business to Wynnchurch in 2019 in a $20 million deal. The initial restaurant closures and subsequent work resulted in what Majewski called a “cleaner” system than others he’s bought. (In recent years, Craveworthy bought struggling brands such as Taim Mediterranean, Dirty Dough and Genghis Grill.)

**Related:** **Trouble in the Cookie Category as Chip City and Crumbl Shutter Stores**

“Their sales have been steady,” Majewski said of Papa Gino’s, a 65-year-old chain based in Massachusetts. Where he expects to make adjustments is on the cost front, drawing on post-acquisition experience in Fresh Brothers Pizza. (He declined to talk about plans for the D’Angelo brand.)

After buying the California chain in 2024, Majewski said his team was able to stabilize and lower costs in “probably the toughest labor market out there.” Doing so, he continued, “gave me confidence that we could do the same thing in food costs and labor [at Papa Gino’s]. We knew what the profit center was going to be. If I didn’t have Fresh Brothers and I already did it, I probably would not have gone all-in on this one.”

Majewski also plans to apply another strategy he deployed at Fresh Brothers as soon Papa Gino’s officially joins the Craveworthy roster: co-branding with Wing It On.

In August, the 20 Fresh Brothers units began selling bone-in wings and boneless bites from Wing It On through a virtual brand test. Those stores are doing an additional $4,000 per week in sales, he said. “You pay your food costs and your delivery fees, and everything else goes to a profit because you’re not adding any other labor.”

Papa Gino’s locations will undergo full co-brands with Wing It On, including exterior signage and interior remodels. The move will make Wing It On the portfolio company’s largest brand, Majewski noted, at about 145 stores.

Majewski founded Craveworthy in late 2022 in partnership with FG Financial Group’s merchant banking division. Wing It On was the first acquisition, and ensuing deals were completed with co-branding opportunities in mind to build solid four-wall economics for franchisees, he said.

“Can a Gregorys franchisee have a Kinnamōns at night to boost night revenue?” said Majewski, referencing Gregorys Coffee, which Craveworthy invested in in 2025, and the cinnamon roll brand it bought from Super Bowl champion Ndamukong Suh earlier that year. “That was always what we envisioned when we were doing it. Because in today’s time, for the cost of what it is out there, if I can give them two revenue streams, our franchisees have a better chance of winning.”

At the same time that Craveworthy is pursuing additional acquisitions—the company said it wants a transaction every six to nine months—Majewski acknowledged he may look to offload other brands in the coming weeks and months.

“When I started this, I said I don’t know which brand is going to be the one that makes it, but I know that I for sure have one brand that will be a home run,” he said, though he wouldn’t divulge specific brand names. “Now we think that number is probably five or six. … All the brands have incredible ability to be special. It just may not be special for me at this time.”

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Originally reported by Laura Michaels, Franchise Times (https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchise_mergers_and_acquisitions/craveworthy-plans-co-branding-push-after-acquisition-of-papa-gino-s/article_98a09ade-42a9-4be6-b1d0-601d14f592b4.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4198be57-a6bf-4eab-bc7c-d6ac9b6d1162).