The decline of Boston Market: Why the chain that sparked the rotisserie chicken craze has closed dozens of stores
Seth Wenig/Associated Press
- Boston Market, founded in 1985, sparked the rotisserie chicken craze in the late 1980s and 1990s.
- The chain once owned by McDonald's is now shuttering stores and faces lawsuits over unpaid bills.
- This week, New Jersey officials ordered the closure of 27 locations tied to an unpaid wages probe.
In early November, Brenda Rivera, 64, of California, got a "buy one get one free" coupon for Boston Market. She was excited to use it, but ran into one big problem – she couldn't find a location in her neighborhood.
The restaurant Rivera had patronized for years had shut down. So, she went to another one about 10 miles away. But, when she arrived at lunchtime, the store had run out of classic menu staples. Soup, rice, and mashed potatoes were out of stock.
"I was really disappointed; they didn't have anything. Just the chicken," Rivera told Insider.
Customers like Rivera are experiencing the impacts of a chain spiraling financially.
Boston Market, whose spit-roasted whole birds sparked the rotisserie chicken craze in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is flailing as it faces lawsuits tied to unpaid bills, store closures, and state fines for unpaid wages.
The chain's latest challenge came August 14 when New Jersey's Labor Department ordered 27 locations closed. The temporary shuttering of the restaurants came after a state probe. The state said it found that the chain owed more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees. The agency also fined Boston Market $2.6 million.
Seth Wenig/Associated Press
Is Boston Market going out of business?
Between 2017 and 2022, the Golden, Colorado-based chain closed 161 stores, according to market research firm Technomic
About 50 more stores have closed this year. including the stores in New Jersey, according to trade magazine Restaurant Business.
The New Jersey citation alleges unpaid or late payment of wages and failure to pay minimum wage and earned sick leave to employees. The state labor agency also fined the chain for "hindrance of the investigation" and alleges that the chain failed to maintain records for earned sick leave.
"With restaurants across the country, Boston Market needs to set a better example for fair treatment of its workers," Joseph Petrecca, the labor department's assistant commissioner, said in a statement.
Boston Market, owned by Engage Brands since 2020, could not be reached for comment.
The chain's woes in New Jersey are part of a series of legal troubles plaguing the chain.
Boston Market is facing lawsuits in Massachusetts and Arizona that also allege unpaid wages, according to Restaurant Business.
In July, the chain was slapped with an $11.6 million lawsuit from distributor US Foods. The vendor, which mainly supplies produce to the chain, alleged in the suit that "beginning in 2022, Boston Market began to fall significantly behind in its payment obligations."
"Boston Market repeatedly has breached its payment obligations to US Foods," the suit states.
How did Boston Market get its start?
Boston Market began serving its homestyle meals of spit-roasted rotisserie chickens, made-from-scratch cornbread, and creamy mac and cheese in 1985. As it grew in popularity, it had about 1,200 locations, according to Restaurant Business.
The company, then called Boston Chicken, went public in 1993.
Amid the boom of fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Panera Bread, the chain struggled in the late 1990s. Boston Market also faced competition from grocery stores like Costco and Kroger, which began selling rotisserie chickens in 1994.
In 1998 the chain filed for bankruptcy as the desire for its homespun meals faded. McDonald's bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2000 and sold it seven years later to Sun Capital Partners. Under Sun Capital, the chain closed 45 stores in 2019 as part of a transformation plan that included adding new chicken sandwiches to the menu, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
A year later, Sun Capital sold Boston Market to Engage Brands, a Rohan Group of Companies subsidiary owned by real estate investor and restaurant operator Jignesh "Jay" Pandya.
Store counts declined, going from 461 at the end of 2017 to 300 at the end of 2022, according to Technomic.
Restaurant consultant Tim Powell said Boston Market has failed over the years to keep up with higher-quality fast-casual chains. The chain's "cafeteria style food" essentially went out of style years ago, he said.
That's too bad for fans like Rivera. Since her lunch trip last November, more Boston Markets have closed where she lives in Orange County, California. The only one left is about 14 miles from her home in Huntington Beach, California.
It's not worth the drive, she said. "When Boston Market is good, it's perfect. But when it's not, it's not good at all."