Mr. Gatti's on Northgate

One of the new restaurants of University Square was Mr. Gatti's (opening 1974), which had the tagline of "The best pizza in town (Honest)", and by all accounts, it was a decent pizza place. It had two levels, cold beer, and, as the ad above indicates, did have live entertainment (like a pre-fame Lyle Lovett). For nearly two decades, Mr. Gatti's thrived at 107 College Avenue.

The "pizzamat" (817 University Drive), as indicated above, was a take-out pizza and beer building and had the address of 817 University Drive. It was later the home of the little drive-through ATM (First National Bank?) which was Mt. Aggie Snow Cones in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The pizzamat replaced, and had the same address as the "Rao Drive Inn", an extremely cool looking drive-in straight out of the 1950s, was closed and torn down in the early part of the 1970s. (The ATM building, later rendered inaccessible due to parking lot removal, still stands today).

"54" is scribbled on the side. Did it open in 1954? (from Historic Brazos County: An Illustrated Journey)


In addition to the Pizzamat, there were a few other locations that came and went, most notably the location at Villa Maria and Texas Avenue (gone by the mid-1980s) and even a short-lived location at 2551 Texas Avenue South (more on that another time).

In 1996, Mr. Gatti's opened a second location in Bryan (again), featuring a huge arcade area. This would be Gattiland, but the story of that restaurant from there on out would only get worse...

Both stores continued to operate for a brief time but this location closed in 1997 and was torn down for a Schlotzsky's Deli soon after. That store continues to operate, later dropping the "Deli" portion and gaining a repaint in the late 2010s for the "Austin Eatery" theme re-do the chain went through.

Prior to dropping the "Deli" and adding Cinnabon. The patio has been expanded since then (2012). From Stalworth's website.



Edit 1/16/14: Added opening date, will make another update when Gattiland article is added.
2/14/14: link added
May 2019: Updates made.
UPDATE 01-19-2025: Both stores did operate simultaneously. This article has been amended with that and talk of other locations. Also, there is news that a new Mr. Gatti's (sans arcade) might make an appearance in the area again...but nothing yet.