Operations

Boston Market's future is up in the air

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December 18, 2023

The future of Boston Market is in jeopardy after owner Jignesh Pandya filed for personal bankruptcy on Dec. 8 with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Court. The chain, which has over $329,000 in unpaid sales and payroll taxes, also had its headquarters seized by the Colorado Department of Revenue, according to The News Tribune.

Engage Brands, one of the Rohan Group of companies, owned by Pandya of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, purchased Boston Market from affiliates of Sun Capital Partners in 2020, the same year it also acquired Corner Bakery from affiliates of Roark Capital Partners. The Dallas-based bakery, however, filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year and was purchased in June by a Sonic franchisee for $15 million.

Colorado-based Boston Market, which had not returned FastCasual's request for comment by press time, debuted in 1985 and at one time had over 1,200 locations but has shrunk to 300 stores.

In August 2023, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development forced the chain to shutter 27 locations after finding multiple violations of workers' rights, including over $600,000 in back wages owed to 314 workers, according to the state of New Jersey.

"With restaurants across the country, Boston Market needs to set a better example for fair treatment of its workers," Joseph Petrecca, assistant commissioner of NJDOL's Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance, said in a prepared statement.

The chain's restaurants in Connecticut and South Florida have also been shut down due to formal evictions because of unpaid rent, according to TheStreet.

Those aren't the only problems for Boston Market, however, as it faces an $11 million lawsuit from food distributor US Foods as well as a $1 million claim from Ben E. Keith, a food distributor in Texas. Polar Leasing, a refrigeration company, also filed a suit earlier this year in Indiana, claiming Boston Market owed it $338,850.