Boston Pizza – Franchise Review
Boston Pizza is a Canadian-based restaurant chain known by various names; Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza, Bo Pi or BP. It owns and grants franchises in Canada, the US and Mexico. Founded in Edmonton, Alberta in 1964 by Gus Agioritis, Boston Pizza focuses on making pizza, pasta and ribs. It is based in Richmond, British Columbia and six years after its creation, it already has 17 locations in Western Canada of which 15 were franchised.
An officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was one of the first franchisees, who in 1968 noticed the growing popularity of Boston Pizza. After buying the rights to open his restaurant in British Columbia, he later teamed up with his friend and acquired the company from Ron Coyle, who had bought it from Agioritis. They had 16 restaurants, 15 of which they spun off and franchised.
They continued to grow and by 1995 their chain had expanded to 95 restaurants in Western Canada with more sports bars founded as an essential part of the business. Expansion continued with the first Eastern Boston Pizza established in 1998. There are currently over 325 Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada alone.
The American version of Boston Pizza is known as Boston’s and the first franchise was established in the US in 1998. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Boston’s Gourmet Pizza became a casual restaurant and sports bar in the USA that serves different varieties of pizza, pasta, sandwiches and other delicious foods. Offers a family atmosphere for dining with the sports bar featuring memorabilia from local teams. It is suitable for a family outing or sports fans. To date, Boston’s has 54 units in the United States and 2 franchises in Mexico.
Boston Pizza got a big financial and business boost when it became the official pizza supplier for Expo 86 in Vancouver. This gave the company exposure that allowed it to open 17 more franchises in the next 2 years. It is ranked in the top 100 of the fastest growing franchises, as well as the top global franchises in the United States.
Total revenue in 2007 was $755 million with a total investment of $1.7 million to $3.1 million. The franchise fee is $50,000 with a 5% ongoing royalty fee. To qualify as a franchise investor, you must have a net worth of $1.5 million and a cash liquidity requirement of $500,000 and general business experience. A franchised unit must be in charge of at least 7 employees and it is prohibited for a franchise owner to be absent.
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