https://ghostarchive.org/archive/nk4Jz
By Nico Madrigal-Yankowski
San Francisco’s only Boston Market has been served an eviction notice and may be closing permanently.
Boston Market is known for its fast-casual rotisserie chicken meals, as well as baby back ribs, meatloaf and chicken pot pie. At the corner of Potrero Avenue and 16th Street, on the ground floor of Potrero Center, the Mission District location opened in 2010, according to Facebook.
A tip from a reader this week notified SFGATE that the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department had served an eviction notice to the property owners on Sept. 6. According to the notice posted on the restaurant window, any tenants or property owners would be subject to arrest if they entered the property on or after Sept. 13.
A spokesperson for Boston Market said the company has no comment at this time. SFGATE reached out to the law firm of the property owners but did not hear back in time for publication. A sheriff’s spokesperson confirmed an eviction notice was served at 2300 16th St., Suite 100.
Nationwide, Boston Market has struggled as of late. In 2019, the chain closed 45 restaurants to improve the company’s “long-term sustainability.” In 2021, a Rancho Cucamonga, California, outpost shut down after a staffwide walkout on Thanksgiving, according to KTLA-TV in Southern California.
2023 has also been a bad year for the company. In May, the Colorado Department of Revenue seized the company’s headquarters, as well as three Colorado branches, for allegedly failing to pay taxes and withholding wages, according to KUSA-TV in Denver. Boston Market swiftly paid its taxes, and the seized buildings were reopened. However, in August, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development forced the company to cease operations across the state, as the department had found multiple violations of workers’ rights — 314 employees were owed over $600,000 in wages — but Boston Market quickly appealed the stop-work order, according to New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW-FM).
This summer, US Foods, an Illinois-based food distributor, filed a lawsuit against Boston Market alleging the fast-casual restaurant owes around $11 million in two years' worth of unpaid bills.
Boston Market was created in 1985 and went public in 1993, according to Business Insider. However, in 1998, the chain filed for bankruptcy. McDonald’s bought the brand in 2000 but sold it to Sun Capital Partners in 2007. After Sun Capital shuttered 45 stores in 2019, it sold the company to Engage Brands in 2020. Engage Brands is a subsidiary of the Rohan Group of Companies, which is owned by restaurant operator and real estate investor Jignesh Pandya.
As of now, there are eight Boston Markets throughout the Bay Area, according to the company website. However, along with the San Francisco location, outposts in Daly City, Pleasant Hill and San Jose are all reportedly either temporarily closed or permanently shuttered. The Oakland, Fremont and Santa Clara locations, as well as another San Jose location, are all still listed as open.___