FORMERLY PE OWNED
Boston Market
Includes Boston Chicken
fast casual · Golden, CO
- PE Firm
- Sun Capital Partners
- Year Acquired
- 2007
Sun Capital bought America's rotisserie chicken chain, then watched it slowly rot.
What Happened
- Sun Capital bought Boston Market in August 2007 when the chain had roughly 600 locations — then opened zero new restaurants for years
- Sold the hollowed-out chain to private operator Engage Brands in April 2020, passing the problems downstream
- The post-PE owner was sued over 150 times, and Colorado seized the Golden, CO headquarters for unpaid taxes in 2023
- From over 1,100 locations at its peak to roughly 16 by the end of 2024 — one of the most complete destructions of a national restaurant brand
The Damage Done
- Locations closed steadily across the country with no communication to loyal customers — families showed up to find their neighborhood Boston Market dark and locked
- Menu variety shrank and food quality declined as investment dried up under PE ownership
- After PE sold the chain, conditions worsened further — some remaining locations reportedly stocked shelves with supermarket food when vendor contracts collapsed
- A brand that once served millions of Thanksgiving dinners is now functionally extinct — fewer than 20 locations remain from a peak of 1,100+
Sources
- A closer look at Boston Market's slow death — Nation's Restaurant News(2024-01-15)
- Colorado Dept of Revenue seizes Boston Market headquarters — Denver Post(2023-05-24)
- Sun Capital Partners sells Boston Market — Restaurant Dive(2020-04-15)
- Boston Market, now down to 16 locations, apparently opens one in India — Restaurant Business Online(2024-12-01)