Gina Maria’s Pizza, a Minnesota staple for 50 years, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Gina Maria’s Pizza, a Twin Cities chain that served Minnesota communities for half a century, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation — the final chapter for a chain that shuttered its last four restaurants without warning last fall.

Northern Brands Inc., the corporate entity operating under the Gina Maria’s Pizza name, filed for Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota on March 26, court records show. The filing was assigned Case No. 26-41005. Phil Godinez is listed as chief executive officer, and Porfioro Godinez is named as the company’s authorized representative, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Court documents show the company carried nearly $2.9 million in liabilities against roughly $64,000 in assets, according to the Business Journal. Unlike a Chapter 11 reorganization, a Chapter 7 filing signals an intent to liquidate rather than restructure, meaning Gina Maria’s has no plans to reopen in any form.

The chain abruptly closed all four of its western Twin Cities locations — in Chanhassen, Eden Prairie, Edina and Plymouth — in October 2025, offering no explanation at the time. The company posted a brief notice on its website saying the decision “did not come easily,” and phone numbers at all locations were redirected to automated messages confirming the permanent closures.

Gina Maria’s Pizza traces its roots to 1975, when it opened as a 450-square-foot dine-in restaurant in the Minnetonka area of Minnesota. Over five decades, it expanded to four suburban locations.

The bankruptcy comes amid broader struggles across the American pizza segment. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, citing Technomic’s Top 500 Restaurants data, 61% of pizza chains recorded declining sales in 2024 — with Pizza Hut and Papa John’s among the major brands closing hundreds of locations nationwide. The same data showed delivery orders fell from 61% of consumers in 2022 to 55% in 2025, while one in four consumers reported shifting toward frozen pizza due to rising restaurant prices.

TheStreet reported that a California restaurant operating under a similar name is not affiliated with Northern Brands Inc. and was not included in the bankruptcy filing.