[8] In March 1967, 21 year-old Brian J. McLaughlin and Jay Howland opened "Ma Riva's Sub Shop" in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, many of the D'Angelo locations were co-branded and the store footprints were reworked to include full service Steve's Ice Cream counters.

In 1993, PepsiCo bought D'Angelo with the intent to grow the chain into a national brand alongside its other properties, such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken; however, this plan never came to fruition.

In August 1997, Papa Gino's Holdings Corporation acquired D'Angelo from Tricon Global Restaurants (then known as PepsiCo Inc.'s Pizza Hut unit).

[14][15] In January 2020, Tom Sterrett was appointed president and CEO of New England Authentic Eats LLC, parent to D’Angelo and Papa Gino's.