Boston Market was a booming brand back in the mid-1990s, a pioneer of what we now know as the fast-casual landscape.
It existed in a space diners were just realizing they wanted to be in, somewhere between the greasy burgers of fast-food drive-throughs and the sit-down production of an evening out at the Olive Garden or Bennigan’s.
People flocked to its homey meals; its signature rotisserie chickens seemed fresh, even healthful, in that era of SnackWell’s cookies and Healthy Choice frozen dinners.
After being founded in 1985 as Boston Chicken, it eventually expanded to more than 1,200 locations well beyond its namesake city.
Now, only a few dozen remain; a report this month by the trade publication Restaurant Business put the number at 27, with more closures expected at every moment.
Earlier this year, Massachusetts labor officials fined the chain for late payments to employees; last year, New Jersey issued a stop-work order for 27 locations over failure to pay workers.
After the company paid $630,000 in back wages, they were allowed to reopen in the state, though it isn’t clear how many actually did.
Boston Market’s Colorado headquarters was seized. The biggest blow came in the form of a lawsuit from supplier U.S. Foods over unpaid bills in which a judge in January ordered Boston Market to pay $15 million.
It’s hard to imagine a time when rotisserie chickens weren’t ubiquitous, but looking back at news stories from the early to mid-1990s reminds us that, for a brief moment, they seemed, if not exactly chic, at least new — and exactly what diners were clamoring for.
Headlines called them “the answer to dinner dilemma” and “a new spin on fast food.” “Everyone’s flocking to join the rotisserie chicken revolution,” the Chicago Tribune declared in 1994.
Chains such as Kenny Rogers Roasters, Clucker’s and Muhammad Ali Rotisserie Chicken spread around the country, while KFC debuted its own spinoff called Rotisserie Gold. Boston Chicken, which changed its name in 1995, led the way.
Eventually, though, the chain’s all-American, homestyle fare, often served in family-size portions, fell out of step with tastes.
Diners were drawn to ultra-customizable bowls at Chipotle and the varied menu at Panera Bread, two leaders in the market now infiltrated by chains offering healthier options and global flavors, such as Sweetgreen and Cava.
Modern customers are more fickle, notes restaurant analyst Aaron Allen. That creates a challenge for all brands, but legacy ones in particular. Diners today have a restless mind-set influenced by our experiences with consumer technology.
After all, our iPhones get an upgrade every 20 months, so we come to expect that other things we spend money on should constantly evolve and modernize, too. “These days, the consumer gets tired a lot faster,” Allen says.
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1moLooking forward to visiting this location