Jun. 15—Papa Gino's Pizzeria will once again serve up slices in Manchester with the chain's first new location since closing nearly 50 restaurants across New England four years ago.

The Dedham, Mass.-based chain signed a lease to open a 1,750-square-foot space at The Shoppes at 655 South Willow St. The plaza is also home to Golden Corral and People's United Bank.

New England Authentic Eats LLC, the parent company of Papa Gino's and D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches, will also renovate the Merrimack Papa Gino's location to include D'Angelo. The rebranded space will open at the end of this month.

A D'Angelo shop is also set to open in Rochester later this year.

Papa Gino's previously had two locations in Manchester, in the Aldi's plaza on South Willow and the North End Shops on Hooksett Road.

Deena McKinley, chief experience officer for the brands, said the new Papa Gino's is set to open in November.

"We are really excited to come back to the area," she said. "It is going to be our first new opening of a brand-new restaurant for Papa Gino's since New England Authentic Eats bought the company in 2019."

This year, the company plans to open one new Papa Gino's, two D'Angelo shops and five combined stores, she said. One D'Angelo opened in Leominster, Mass., last week.

"We've been having a lot of success with these dual conversions," McKinley said.

Wynnchurch Capital, LLC, a private equity investment firm, bought Papa Gino's and D'Angelo out of bankruptcy for a reported $20 million in January 2019. At the time, the company vowed to bring the brand back and even expand into new states.

In November 2018, the prior company suddenly closed about 95 restaurants across New England, including Papa Gino's locations in Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth and D'Angelo in Derry and West Lebanon. Right now, the company has 81 Papa Gino's and 83 D'Angelo shops.

Along with the new stores, the company is investing in remodeling existing stores.

McKinley said the chain had been looking for a prime location to reopen in the Queen City.

"We know that Manchester was an area that we had done very well in in the past," she said. "We wanted to be back in that area. It was just a matter of what the right location was."

The size of the locations has been scaled back from about the usual 3,000-square-feet Papa Gino's location.

"It is perfect for the nature of our business," McKinley said. "This is a model that is very strong in the industry with walk-in, carry-out and delivery being the major focus."

The company is looking to hire managers for the new location.

For those familiar, the table tops will still feature red-and-white checkerboards. The pizza oven will still be in view.

Papa Gino's was founded in 1961 in East Boston. D'Angelo opened its first location in 1967.

Only a small 750-square-foot space remains to be leased at The Shoppes, according to James Tobin of Brady Sullivan Properties.

"We have several groups actively looking at it," he said.

Other restaurants at the plaza include California Burritos, Firehouse Subs, Kung Fu Tea and Poke Spot.

McKinley said the COVID-19 pandemic slowed plans for new openings as the company focused on its existing locations.

"Our whole idea is being this neighborhood pizzeria having been this brand that everybody has grown up with here and that people know and love," McKinley said. "We are coming into a new era for the brand."

jphelps@unionleader.com