Chicago-based Gino's East to open a location in The Woodlands

The Woodlands residents will soon have a chance to carve their names into the Gino's East wall, as the Chicago based pizza parlor is set to open its first Texas location in November. Gino's East will open at 25657 I-45 S., in the former location of Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill.

Gino's East partnered with Austin based ATX Brands—which operate Pelons Tex-Mex Restaurant, Parish and Bikinis—and will be opening six Texas locations by the end of 2015, ATX Brands CEO Doug Guller said. To date, the restaurant has 13 locations throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

"They are probably known as one of the top pizzerias in Chicago for deep dish, if not the top," Guller said. "The exact same product they have in Chicago we will have here in Texas. We are able to get the same sausage from Chicago, the same cheese, and so on."

Gino's East is well known for its deep-dish pizza, but also offers a variety of thin-crust pizza, calzones, sandwiches, salads and craft beer.

Traditionally, customers have been allowed to write on Gino's East walls to pass the time since the original restaurant opened its doors on Superior Street in Chicago. Guller said The Woodlands location will continue the tradition of allowing customers to make their mark on the restaurant as well.

"Back when they were started on the original Superior Street location, they had graffiti all over their walls because deep-dish pizza takes 45 minutes to make," Guller said. "So a lot of people, when you talk to them about Gino's, they say they loved the pizza and carved their name into the wall."

Following the opening of The Woodlands location, ATX Brands will open a Gino's East restaurant in San Antonio in December or January 2015, and expects to open locations in Dallas–Ft. Worth and Austin by the second quarter of 2015.