---
title: "Nation’s Restaurant News: Fueled By Investment, Lou Malnati’s Looks Beyond Chicago"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/6cfd87d1-4a35-469d-b7a5-461ee69bce01
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-fueled-by-investment-lou-malnatis-looks-beyond-chicago-5907
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2016-09-22T14:09:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T12:20:39.446Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f97fcb777fbc60235e7cfdf991cb0cfa9695160922083928.jpg
---

# Nation’s Restaurant News: Fueled By Investment, Lou Malnati’s Looks Beyond Chicago

**TL;DR:** BDT Capital Partners invests $3.5 billion in Lou Malnati's Pizzeria to grow the 47-unit chain beyond Chicago. Lou Malnati's joins other Chicago-area restaurant concepts that have received private equity funds to spur national growth.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-09-22. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-fueled-by-investment-lou-malnatis-looks-beyond-chicago-5907).*

## Story

Deep-dish pizza is not only for Chicagoans anymore. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article, after recently raising an equity fund of $3.5 billion, BDT Capital Partners is planning to invest in Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

The 47-unit chain wants to focus on growing the brand in and outside of Chicago to strengthen its future in the restaurant industry. Marc Malnati, son of the original founder Lou, will stay with the company to be involved in business operations and leadership.

“Our customers can expect the same quality and excellence in both product and hospitality that they have experienced over the past 46 years,” Marc Malnati, owner of the chain, said in a statement, “while BDT’s growth capital and valuable support will help our company achieve our long-term objectives.”

Lou Malnati’s joins the list of recent Chicago-area restaurant concepts to receive private equity funds to spur their growth nationally. Berkshire Partners’ invested in Portillo’s in 2014 and Roak Capital decided to take on Naf Naf Grill in 2015.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- private equity (topic)
- restaurant growth (topic)
- Portillo's (company)
- Naf Naf Grill (company)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-fueled-by-investment-lou-malnatis-looks-beyond-chicago-5907). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/6cfd87d1-4a35-469d-b7a5-461ee69bce01).