Boston Market

Boston Market Corporation
Boston Market
FormerlyBoston Chicken
(1985–1995)
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
GenreFast casual
Founded
FoundersSteven Kolow
Arthur Cores
Headquarters
Newtown Township, Pennsylvania
,
United States[1]
Number of locations
20 (November 2024[2])
Area served
United States
Key people
Jay Pandya (owner)
Products
RevenueUS$ 373 million[3] Increase (2020)
OwnerEngage Brands LLC
Websitebostonmarket.com

Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Newtown Township, Pennsylvania. Since 2020, it has been owned by Engage Brands, LLC, a company of Rohan Group. Also, frozen meals and side dishes are sold nationally under the Boston Market brand name in food markets. The chain was known for rotisserie chickens, and later branched out into other meats such as turkey, meatloaf, and ham. A common meal had a meat with a few sides such as potatoes, cream spinach, mac n' cheese, and accompanied by a corn bread. Stores sometimes had seasonal specials and they also had a line of sandwiches. It was popular in the 1990s and early 21st century and began the 2020s with several hundred locations, but then went into a rapid decline, and by the end of 2024 there were only 16 stores remaining.

From 1985 to 1995, it was known as Boston Chicken, and had rapid expansion to over a thousand locations. But by the late 1990s it had filed for bankruptcy and had to close many stores, down to a few hundred, and ended up being bought by McDonald's in 2000. It was then sold again in 2007, and again in 2020. In the 2020s it began to encounter more store closures and some legal issues and by late 2024 only small number of locations remained. It is remembered for helping to popularize rotisserie chickens as well as fast casual, which both remain popular nationally.

In November 2020, the chain had approximately 342 company-owned restaurant locations in 28 states and Puerto Rico.[4] It had its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, but also had a large presence in California, Florida, and Texas.

In the 2020s the chain encountered financial difficulties and many locations closed in 2023 and 2024 going from over 300 to under 20. The collapse of the well known chain, which once had 1200 stores made local and national news in the United States.

History

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Boston Market meal with Chicken, Cornbread, Mac 'n Cheese, and Mashed Potatoes

Boston Chicken was founded by Steven Kolow and Arthur Cores in 1985 in Newton, a suburb of Boston. The chain expanded rapidly in the early and mid-1990s.

Boston Market interior, on the left was oven with rotating Chickens being cooked, hence the rotisserie

When it was known as Boston Chicken, restaurants specialized in rotisserie chicken and a variety of side dishes, but in February 1995, the chain expanded its menu to include turkey, meatloaf, and ham and changed the name to Boston Market[5] in fall 1995 to reflect this.

In 1995, Boston Chicken created the Einstein Bros. Bagels chain of bakery cafés, after acquiring several smaller chains of bagel-centric bakeries.

In 1996, the chain launched a line of sandwiches known as "Boston Carver Sandwiches" that feature chicken, turkey, ham, and meatloaf; in 1997, due to the success of the new line, the "Extreme Carver" sandwiches were launched, filled with more portions of the above meats and more cheese than the originals. The corporate name remained "Boston Chicken, Inc." until 1997, when it became so popular with the new name, the corporate name was changed to "Boston Market Corporation".

The company raised a lot of debt to finance its expansion.[6] The rapid expansion allowed the company to create a steady stream of revenue from one-time development fees and increasing royalties, but also raised interest rates on its development loans. In 1998, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[7]

Since April 1999, a selection of Boston Market-branded items have been available in many supermarkets across the United States.

Boston Market was purchased by McDonald's Corporation in May 2000. McDonald's purchased the company for its real estate, but found the brand serviceable and therefore continued to operate and expand.

In the early 2000s, Boston Market operated two locations in Toronto, Ontario. In early 2002, Boston Market entered the Australian market, opening nine stores in the Sydney metropolitan area by 2004, before converting some stores to McDonald's and quietly exiting the Australian market later that year due to competitive pressures.

In April 2004, Boston Market introduced chilled menu items to be sold at supermarkets. In December 2005, these chilled menu items were available in 700 supermarkets.

In 2005, Boston Market also started offering limited-time offers, such as Crispy Country Chicken, an oven-baked chicken breast with gravy.

In 2007, McDonald's announced that it was "exploring strategic options" for the subsidiary.[8] On August 6, 2007, McDonald's announced plans to sell the chain to Sun Capital Partners,[9] a transaction that was completed on August 27, 2007.[10]

In 2013, it opened its first new location in seven years in Florida and in 2015 it added ribs to the menu.[11]

Prime rib was introduced in 2018, shown here with mashed potatoes and gravy, and mac n' cheese. It was only available on certain days.

In April 2018, Boston Market announced that it was expanding its menu to offer rotisserie prime rib nationwide, three days a week.[12] In 2019 the chain closed 45 locations, with one report noting competition with rotisserie chickens sold at regular supermarket chains.[13] In 2020, they introduced baby back ribs paired with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce.[14]

In April 2020, Sun Capital Partners sold Boston Market to Engage Brands, LLC, a company of Rohan Group, owned by Jignesh "Jay" Pandya.[15] This started a difficult period when, according to Yahoo news the company stopped paying its suppliers, rent, and employees in certain cases as this resulted in over 150 lawsuits.[11] For example, in 2023 New Jersey shut down 27 locations when it was determined employees were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.[11] The chain started with about 300 locations at the start of 2023, but this was down to 79 locations later that year, and by early 2024 this lowered to less than 30 locations.[16][11]

In 2023 and beyond, Boston Market experienced financial problems and closed most of its locations.[1]

In 2024, franchise fees were waived to try open new locations, and a plan was developed to showcase food from around the world every few weeks but the no new foods are known to have been introduced.[11] By the end of 2024 it was down to 17 locations, but did open a new location in India.[17]

[edit]
Quarter Chicken Meal, with Macaroni and Cheese, Corn Bread, and Potatoes and Gravy. The small container has Rosemary Lemon sauce

Foods offered at Boston Market included various meats and sides, some examples include : Rotisserie Chicken (whole, half, 1/4, etc), Apple Pie, Carved Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Salad Sandwich, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Pot Pie, Chocolate Cake, Cilantro Lime Rice, Creamed Spinach, Cobb Salad, Cornbread, Garlic Dill Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes (with Gravy),Meatloaf and Meatloaf Sandwich, Salted Caramel Lava Cake, Prime rib, Ribs (Beef with sauce), Steamed Vegetables, Sweet Potato Casserole, Turkey (roasted).[18] Many of the chicken items were based around the Rotisserie Chicken product, but delivered into different recipes, or alternatively, the Rotisserie oven was used to cook other meats.[19]

Boston Market at one point also introduced rotisserie nuggets. An example of steamed vegetable offered was broccoli, and an example of a dessert item is chocolate chip cookies.[20]

Boston market ribs with mac n' cheese, and a rice, corn, and beans mix as sides

Boston Market also had seasonal holiday menu and catering food packages, such as for Thanksgiving dinner (A traditional U.S. Holiday meal), they offered a whole Rotisserie Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Vegetable Stuffing, Spinach-Artichoke Dip, Cranberry Walnut Relish, Dinner rolls, and Pumpkin and Apple pies (example from 2018).[21]

The supermarket brand is produced by Bellisio Foods and as of 2024 continues to produce items such as Chicken Pot pie bites, mashed potatoes, and chicken fajita rice bowls.[22]

Trademark dispute and grocery brand

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In 2002, Boston Pizza commenced a lawsuit against Boston Market in the Federal Court of Canada over the trademark use of the word "Boston" in Canada.[23] In its defense, Boston Market alleged that Boston Pizza's trademarks were invalid because it described a style of pizza from a specific area.[24] The dispute continued after Boston Market ceased operations in Canada in 2004. The parties settled the dispute in 2008 under an agreement that Boston Market would not use the words "Boston" or "Boston Market" in Canada for five years for restaurants or any food or drink products (other than pre-packaged food products, but not including pizza and lasagna). Boston Market also agreed that it would not challenge Boston Pizza's use in Canada of any trademark that uses the words "Boston" or "Boston Pizza" (with certain exceptions).[25]

Financial problems of 2023-2024

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Closed down Boston Market, 2024
Note on the door of a Boston Market in Miami, May 2024

On July 3, 2023, a complaint in court was filed stating the Danbury, Connecticut Boston Market owed in excess of $61,000 in unpaid rent and connected charges. A ruling in the landlord's favor July 28, 2023 led to an eviction.[26]

On July 25, 2023, US Foods sued Boston Market for $11.3 million, accusing the company of owing them over $10 million for food distributed over several prior years.[27]

On August 14, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development gave a Stop-Work Order at 27 of the 31 Boston Market stores in New Jersey over multiple violations of workers rights, including owed backpay of up to $607,471 from up to 314 employees. An investigation on the matter began in November 2022 when an employee in Mercer County filed a complaint. The affected employees have since been reimbursed for their lost wages, and the stores were allowed to re-open a month later.[28]

In September 2023, investigative journalists of Restaurant Business Magazine revealed Pandya has over 200 lawsuits against him related to unpaid wages of employees, unpaid suppliers, and other violations related to his restaurants. The report described Pandya's ownership of Boston Market as "chaotic".[29]

In November 2023, the company failed to pay workers in Massachusetts.[30]

On November 14, 2023, all Detroit-area Boston Market locations were permanently shuttered and were handed eviction notices due to unpaid rent.[31] On November 20, 2023, all 8 remaining Connecticut Boston Market locations, located in East Haven, Meriden, West Hartford, Wilton, Stratford, Milford, Bristol, and Newington, were all permanently shuttered and handed eviction notices due to unpaid rent.[32] As a result of rising eviction notices and unpaid rent, Boston Market and owner Pandya filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2023.[33][34]

On January 10, 2024, the company announced that it would allow anyone to open a Boston Market franchise without the usual franchise fees or other buy-in requirements.[35]

On January 11, 2024, Boston Market's bankruptcy case was dismissed after being unresponsive to court requests.[36] On February 1, 2024, US Foods won its lawsuit against Boston Market, with federal judge Manish Shah claiming that Boston Market's defenses in the lawsuit were "gossamer".[37] On February 12, 2024, shortly after getting their second bankruptcy dismissed, Boston Market filed for bankruptcy for the third time after losing its lawsuit against US Foods.[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sofield, Tom (May 8, 2024). "Newtown-Based Boston Market Has Closed Several Hundred Locations". NewtownPANow.com. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Boston Market". brand-locator.orders.co. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Boston Market Overview".
  4. ^ "All Boston Market Locations | Rotisserie Chicken, Catering, Food Delivery". www.bostonmarket.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Theresa Howard (February 27, 1995). "Boston Chicken chain targets new Market". BNET.
  6. ^ The Storied History of Boston Market Don Daszkowski. liveabout.com December 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "A Chicken Autopsy". Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  8. ^ "McDonald's exploring options for Boston Market". Reuters. January 12, 2006. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  9. ^ Chris Burritt (August 7, 2007). "McDonald's to Sell Boston Market to Sun Capital". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  10. ^ "McDonald's Wraps Up Boston Market Sale". Dow Jones & Company, Inc. News Services. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Boston Market Used To Be A Thriving Chain. What Happened?". Yahoo Life. March 25, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  12. ^ "Boston Market Expands Menu to Offer New Rotisserie Prime Rib Nationwide, Unveils New 'Rotisserie Kitchen' Logo" (PDF). Boston Market Corporation. April 23, 2018.
  13. ^ Ellis, Kori (January 23, 2020). "Fast Food Chicken Chains, Ranked Worst To Best". Mashed. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "Boston Market bones up on its menu with tasty new baby back ribs - CultureMap Houston". houston.culturemap.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Affiliates of Sun Capital Partners Complete Sale of Boston Market". www.businesswire.com. April 29, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  16. ^ Maze, Jonathan (March 11, 2024). "Boston Market is down to 27 restaurants". Restaurant Business. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Jonathan Maze (December 17, 2024). "Boston Market, now down to 16 locations, apparently opens one in India". Restaurant Business. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ Maxwell, Samantha (February 28, 2022). "20 Popular Boston Market Menu Items, Ranked From Worst To Best". Mashed. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Carlson, Trevor (April 27, 2024). "The 4 Best And 4 Worst Items To Order From Boston Market". The Daily Meal. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Market, Boston. "Boston Market Gets Thanksgiving Dinner Done Right With Tasty Traditional Options For Every Table". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Foods, Bellisio. "BELLISIO FOODS EXPANDS FAST-GROWING BOSTON MARKET FROZEN RETAIL PORTFOLIO". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  23. ^ "Boston Pizza battles Boston Market over name rights in Canada". Pizza Marketplace. October 11, 2002. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  24. ^ Charlie Smith (March 17, 2005). "Pizza chain battles McDonald's over name". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  25. ^ "Boston Pizza settles dispute with Boston Market over the name Boston". Welland Tribune. 2008. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  26. ^ Baker, Kendra (October 12, 2023). "Boston Market evicted from Danbury location for unpaid rent: 'They weren't paying us'". News Times.
  27. ^ "US Foods sues Boston Market". Crain's Chicago Business. July 25, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "NJDOL Orders Work to Halt at 27 Boston Market Locations Statewide" (Press release). New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. August 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "Inside the Chaotic World of the Owner of Boston Market". restaurantbusinessonline.com/. September 11, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  30. ^ "Workers at Fall River's Boston Market Are Fed Up, Say They Haven't Been Paid in Weeks". Herald News. November 6, 2023.
  31. ^ "Boston Market locations in metro Detroit area all closed". November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  32. ^ Pitts, Amanda (November 20, 2023). "CT's Boston Market locations face evictions and lawsuits for unpaid rent". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  33. ^ Maze, Jonathan (December 12, 2023). "Boston Market owner files for bankruptcy". Restaurant Business Online. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  34. ^ Kline, Daniel (December 16, 2023). "Beloved fast food chain enters a bankruptcy death spiral". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  35. ^ "Struggling Boston Market will let anyone open a location". Restaurant Business Online. January 10, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  36. ^ "Boston Market owner's bankruptcy case is dismissed". Restaurant Business Magazine. January 11, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  37. ^ Canham-Clyne, Aneurin (February 1, 2024). "US Foods wins $11.9M suit against Boston Market by default". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  38. ^ "The owner of Boston Market has filed for bankruptcy again". Restaurant Business Online. February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
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