Jay Pandya, owner of the struggling Boston Market, filed for personal bankruptcy earlier in December.
He listed between $10 million and $50 million in assets and liabilities. According to court documents, Pandya owes $10 million to US Foods, $4.4 million to a company called Southern Shoals, LLC, $3.3 million to Univest Bank and Trust Co., and $637,000 to Daniel and Mary Lezotte.
The real estate investor purchased Boston Market from Sun Capital Partners in April 2020 through his subsidiary, the Rohan Group of Companies. Since that time, controversy has swirled the chain, including several legal challenges over unpaid bills, rent, and wages. The most notable one is US Foods, which cut off its distribution agreement with the restaurant chain earlier this year and claimed it was owed $11.6 million in a lawsuit.
The financial turmoil has been so bad that government agencies have interjected. In August, the New Jersey Department of Labor ordered the closure of 27 Boston Market stores after discovering numerous workers’ rights violations, including more than $600,000 owed in back wages to 314 workers. The department also hit the chain with roughly $1.2 million in other damages and more than $731,700 in administrative penalties. These units were later allowed to reopen after the wages were paid.
Similar situations have occurred across the country. Local media outlets in places like Worchester, Massachusetts; South Florida; Long Island and Rochester, New York; and Connecticut have reported store evictions and closures and unpaid debt to landlords. A general manager in Boca Raton, Florida—whose restaurant closed in August—told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that it was the general manager’s responsibility to find items like fish, meatloaf, and cornbread every morning after the split from US Foods. She was making cream spinach from scratch in the microwave and making at least 15 batches to get through each night.
The general manager added that Pandya is no longer taking phone calls from workers, according to the Sun Sentinel.
It is not clear yet how Pandya’s personal bankruptcy will impact Boston Market’s restaurants. This isn’t the first time he’s dealt with financial ruin. He also acquired Corner Bakery Cafe in 2020, only for the chain to file bankruptcy in early 2023. SSCP Management, a franchisee of Sonic and Applebee’s, spent $15 million to buy Corner Bakery Cafe out of bankruptcy.
Founded in 1985, the chicken chain raced to roughly 1,200 locations over the next 12 years, but it was a story of one brand growing too fast. Boston Market filed bankruptcy in 1998 because of decreasing unit-level economics and large amounts of debt. Two years later, the company was acquired by McDonald’s. The burger giant held on to Boston Market until 2007 when it sold the restaurant to Sun Capital.
After closing hundreds of units in the past several years, Boston Market is now down to roughly 300 locations nationwide. Complaints from management, employees, and vendors have come from all over the country.
