Boston Pizza is a Canadian based restaurant chain that known by various names; Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza, Bo Pi or BP. It owns and franchises locations in Canada, the US as well as Mexico. Founded in Edmonton, Alberta in 1964 by Gus Agioritis, Boston Pizza concentrates on the making of pizza, pasta and ribs. It has its headquarters in Richmond, British Columbia and six years since its inception, it already has 17 locations in Western Canada of which 15 were franchised.
A royal Canadian Mounted Police officer was one of the first franchisees, who in 1968 had noticed the growing popularity of Boston Pizza. After purchasing the rights to open his restaurant in British Columbia, he later partnered with his friend and acquired the company from Ron Coyle, who had bought it from Agioritis. They had 16 restaurants, 15 of which they detached 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. The expansion continued with the first Eastern Boston Pizza established in 1998. There are currently more than 325 Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada alone.
The United States version of Boston Pizza is known as Boston’s and the first franchise was established in the U.S in 1998. With its headquarters located in Dallas, Texas, Boston’s Gourmet Pizza became a casual dining restaurant and sports bar in the US serving different varieties of pizza, pasta, sandwiches and other delicious meals. It offers a family eating atmosphere with the sports bar consisting of the local teams memorabilia. It is convenient for a family outing or sporting fans. To date, Boston’s has 54 units in the US 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 enabling it to open 17 more franchises in the next 2 years. It is ranked in the top 100 in the fastest growing franchises as well as in America’s top global franchises.
The total revenue in the year 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. In order to qualify as a franchise investor, you should have a net worth of $1.5 million and a cash liquidity requirement of $500,000 and general business experience. A franchised unit needs to be run by at least 7 employees and an absent owner of a franchise is prohibited.
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