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Fort Myers

UNIV Hospitality Purchased Fort Myers Grimaldi’s

The franchise group has taken over the Bell Tower pizzeria and announced plans to expand across Southwest Florida.

Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Dining Out

Bold vector editorial illustration showing a pizza peel with a round of dough, evoking the expansion of the Grimaldi's restaurant brand.
UNIV Hospitality has acquired the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria at Bell Tower in Fort Myers, signaling the start of a five-location expansion across Southwest Florida. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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UNIV Hospitality has acquired the Grimaldi's Pizzeria located at Bell Tower in Fort Myers. This transition marks a shift for the restaurant, which is now operating as a franchise territory.

Why it matters

This acquisition represents a significant expansion effort by UNIV Hospitality, which has committed to opening five additional Grimaldi's locations in the region. The move integrates the local Bell Tower site into a larger franchise development plan for Southwest Florida.

Grimaldi's maintains a footprint of over 40 restaurants across 12 states. The Bell Tower restaurant is one of four total locations currently operating in Florida.

The players

UNIV Hospitality

A franchise development group led by Gary Patel and Anil Harkhani that manages restaurant expansion.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

A national restaurant chain originally founded under the Brooklyn Bridge that operates 40-plus locations.

The details

Under the leadership of Gary Patel and Anil Harkhani, UNIV Hospitality has signed an agreement to expand the Grimaldi's brand into Lee and Collier counties as well as Sarasota. While the Bell Tower location is transitioning to a franchise model, the company-owned sites in Tampa, Palm Beach Gardens, and Miramar Beach are not affected by this change.

Timeline

  1. 1990: Grimaldi's debuted under the Brooklyn Bridge.

  2. Late 2010: The Bell Tower location opened.

  3. September 2026: UNIV Hospitality acquired the Bell Tower location.

Culture Shift

This move highlights the industry-wide transition toward regional franchise models as major restaurant chains seek to capitalize on local market growth. It signals a move away from purely corporate-owned operations toward empowered franchise groups that can accelerate local expansion.

Residents can expect the same menu offerings at the Bell Tower location while the franchise group works toward opening five new sites in the region. These future locations will increase the total number of dining options available to pizza enthusiasts across Lee and Collier counties.

The takeaway

This acquisition signals a long-term expansion of the Grimaldi's brand across Southwest Florida. Customers should anticipate a growing presence of these coal-fired pizzerias in Lee and Collier counties and Sarasota in the coming years.

Further reading

For more on the local food scene, see the latest updates in Dining Out.

More information

View the complete menu and current locations on the Grimaldi's Pizzeria website.

Source note: This article includes information reported by The News-Press.

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