Dive Brief:
- A Pennsylvania judge dismissed Boston Market owner Jay Pandya’s second bankruptcy filing Friday, according to court documents.
- The dismissal includes a six-month ban on filing another Chapter 11 petition.
- Pandya filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. His first bankruptcy case was dismissed in January after Pandya failed to fulfill the court’s request to provide additional information within a two-week period.
Dive Insight:
It appears unlikely Boston Market will have the finances to stay afloat or grow.
Earlier this year, Boston Market was ordered to pay U.S. Foods about $12 million over unpaid bills. The company has also faced several wage and hour violations, and has been sued over 150 times, largely over unpaid bills, Restaurant Business reports.
In January, Boston Market laid out what appeared to be a turnaround plan to bring the chain’s food into non-traditional locations and to start rotating various international dishes every six weeks. At the time, the chain said it was offering no buy-in fees for franchisees and was targeting locations like existing restaurants, delis and gas stations. As of February, Restaurant Dive found that no stores it contacted had heard of or had begun offering the two Indian-inspired dishes mentioned in the original press release.
Boston Market locations have been closing since the start of 2023 when it had about 300 restaurants. It’s unclear how many restaurants remain, as it appears the chain hasn’t updated its restaurant count on its website since February, when Restaurant Dive counted 79 locations. Restaurant Business reports the chain likely has about 30 restaurants left, citing various unnamed sources and employees.
