Virtually Anyone Can Open A Boston Market Now
The embattled fast casual restaurant chain has opened up franchising to just about everyone.
Boston Market had a tumultuous 2023, and that's putting it lightly. From system-wide closures to being sued on all sides, the rotisserie chicken chain is still currently in dire straits. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Restaurant Business News reports that Boston Market is responding by allowing practically anyone to open their own Boston Market franchise now.
No more franchise fees to own a Boston Market location
Most people or companies that wish to open a location of a franchise-based business need to pay a fee in order to get started. But Boston Market has announced via press release that you can "become an operating owner/partner of a Boston Market location WITHOUT ANY BUY-IN REQUIREMENTS." That caps-lock emphasis is the company's—one can certainly sense an urgency to the whole thing.
The program is called Boston Market Connect (BMC), and it aims for new owners to "not just run a Boston Market restaurant but to forge it into a cornerstone of their community."
In order to begin the process of ownership, you fill out a vague questionnaire that includes questions such as "What contribution or value could you bring to Boston Market?" and "Are you able to make Boston Market into a community cornerstone? If yes, how?"
The press release says Boston Market is focusing on "non-traditional locations," such as "within your restaurant, deli, gas station, or any suitable establishment," which sounds as if it will accept nearly any type of infrastructure format. And pretty much anywhere. Again, urgency.
Boston Market’s menu will offer rotating international dishes
In an interesting move that appeals to customer appetites, Boston Market also announced in the press release that it would release a new menu item every six weeks, each inspired by food from other countries.
The first new dishes, chicken tikka and biryani, will be inspired from owner Jay Pandya's birthplace of India. I have to admit, both items sound intriguing; let's just hope that Boston Market's execution is better than some of the limited-time items we've tasted in the past.
Boston Market is so mired in legal issues (including Pandya's personal bankruptcy filing last month) that it's difficult to forecast its path to redemption. After closing as many as 200 locations—due in part to foreclosures by landlords over unpaid rent, lawsuits, and an investigation by U.S. Department of Labor over unpaid wages—we're wondering if chicken tikka and gas station locations will be enough to resuscitate this spit-roasted bird.