What happened to Boston Market restaurants in Fresno? Closure, eviction, more troubles
The rotisserie chickens have stopped spinning at the Boston Market restaurants in Fresno.
Both locations are closed.
Although there are “temporarily closed” signs in the windows, one has been evicted and the company is facing a slew of troubles, including expired health permits, lawsuits and closures.
The Colorado-based restaurants known for their rotisserie chicken and American food closed the location at Bullard and Highway 41 weeks ago.
The company did not return several messages seeking comment.
A manager at the other location in town at the time, at First Street and Nees Avenue, declined to give his name and said he didn’t have any information about the Bullard closure.
Then the First and Nees restaurant shut down recently. That restaurant, which has a drive-thru, has an eviction notice on the door. The landlord, property manager and lawyers could not be reached for comment.
Court records show the Nees Avenue location owes $79,661.86 in back rent. It has a typical monthly rent of $9,794.49.
The Clovis Boston Market closed years ago and has been replaced with a tire shop.
Both Fresno locations have health permits that expired on April 30.
Recent health inspections in 2023 show mostly minor violations, such as fire extinguishers in need of servicing, dust and mildew on the fans in the walk-in cooler used to store raw meat, and damaged floor tiles.
Boston Market corporation in trouble?
But challenges appear to be mounting for the company. At one point, Boston Market had more than 1,000 restaurants nationwide. It now has around 300 locations.
Restaurants have been quietly closing this summer across the country, including in New York, North Carolina and Massachusetts.
The Roseville Boston Market closed earlier this year.
The last location in Sacramento closed for a week in May after food suppliers weren’t paid, employees didn’t get their paychecks and the power was shut off for a day, according to The Sacramento Bee.
In June, that restaurant was still struggling with supply issues and did not have chicken pot pie and other dishes available.
About the same time, the company’s headquarters in Golden, Colo. and three remaining restaurants in the state were seized by the Department of Revenue for $328,592.34 in unpaid sales and payroll taxes.
The properties were later returned and reopened.
The company is facing several lawsuits. Or, as food and pop culture website TheTakeout.com put it in a headline, “Boston Market Is Being Sued by Seemingly Everyone on Earth.”
Food distributor U.S. Foods sued Boston Market late last month for $11.6 million in unpaid bills, according to Restaurant Dive.
Other suppliers and employees have also sued the company for unpaid bills and wages.
