The Boston Globe
The food came fast, yet it didn’t feel like fast food; Boston Market managed to feel like a home-cooked meal.
Many of us who grew up in New England have fond memories of a parent bringing home a hearty meal from Boston Market — maybe even memories of when the chain was called Boston Chicken. There was the gravy you could practically drink, gooey mac and cheese, crisp drumsticks, and that just-sweet-enough cornbread.
But since 2025, there hasn’t been a Boston Market location anywhere in Massachusetts.
The downfall of this once-omnipresent chain is a story of fast expansion, bankruptcy, private equity, and quite a few lawsuits. What the heck happened? Boston Market’s premise — hearty, affordable meals to-go that could feed a family, and maybe even offer leftovers — would seem like a winning business proposition that could withstand changing trends and economics. The food came fast, yet it didn’t feel like fast food; Boston Market managed to feel like a home-cooked meal.
That was exactly what founders Steven Kolow and Arthur Cores were going for when they founded Boston Chicken in Newton in 1985. Northeastern students at the time, the duo looked to serve comforting chicken at fast-food prices. While today chicken restaurants like Raising Cane’s, Popeyes, and Church’s are ubiquitous, at the time the concept was unusual. Most fast-food chicken that was available was fried. With its rotisserie, Boston Chicken felt like a slightly elevated and healthier option.
The business expanded rapidly over the next decade. Kolow and Cores brought on a partner, local businessman George Naddaff, and eventually both founders left. Boston Chicken rebranded as Boston Market in 1995, to reflect the fact that it offered more than just poultry. By 1996, the company projected it would open 2,700 new franchises in the next five to seven years — a tripling of its footprint at the time — according to the LA Times.
That expansion led to a large amount of debt, and just two years after announcing that plan, Boston Market filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. McDonald’s agreed to buy the chain in 2000 for $173.5 million, and kept it running fairly smoothly until 2007, but then sold it to private equity group Sun Capital in a deal that prompted one analyst to describe the chain as “flagging.” Sun Capital attempted to revitalize the brand with the addition of sandwiches and expansion into Florida and Texas, but ended up selling it again, to Engage Brands of the Rohan Group in 2020.
Boston Market declined repeated requests for comment, only replying to ask about the angle of this story.
As recently as 2018, the Globe declared Boston Market to have the best rotisserie chicken in the Boston area, writing that the “breast and thigh meat [were] both cooked just right, with teriyaki flavors on the skin.” At the time of publication, there were still 18 locations serving that golden, tender bird in Massachusetts.
The final Bay State holdout was in Worcester. Things got pretty bad at the end: The state seized the Worcester branch due to non-payment of taxes, according to the Worcester Business Journal. When it closed in March 2025, it had a Yelp rating of 2.5.
It wasn’t just Yelp; other observers noted the decline in the quality of the food. “On a recent visit, the creamed spinach — a dish that many people recall fondly from the chain’s heyday — mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese were all underseasoned,” Emily Heil wrote in the Washington Post in 2024. “The spuds were thick and starchy. Even the chicken, which looked nicely bronzed, tasted as if it hadn’t even once been within range of a salt shaker.”
Several suppliers and distributors claimed that Boston Market had a practice of not paying them, resulting in lawsuits — as many as 150 in total, Restaurant Business reported — and store closures. The largest legal action came from US Foods, a food supply and distribution service, claiming in 2023 that Boston Market owed it over $11 million. The following year, a judge ordered Boston Market to pay US Foods $11.9 million in a default judgment.
More than 90% of Boston Market’s locations have closed since the end of 2022, according to Restaurant Business, leaving the chain with about two dozen restaurants nationwide. What’s left of the chain is being picked over by creditors. The closest location to Massachusetts is in Hackensack, NJ, though the website’s outdated store locator still points to shuttered Massachusetts stores.
For those who feel nostalgic for the golden days of Boston Market — this writer has fond memories of putting together a Thanksgiving meal for a very broke group of students in the early aughts — there are plenty of places in the Boston area that offer tasty takeout rotisserie chicken, along with sides like mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, and gravy. Here are some local spots that fill that need, all still open as of publication time.
Amba
Chef Will Gilson’s fast-casual, East Mediterranean-inspired restaurant offers a whole ($40) or half ($23) chicken value meal. The bird is brined, rubbed in spices, slow-cooked, and finished with shawarma spice and dried roses. The meal comes with two sides, two sauces, and pita with choice of two mezze.
59 First St., Cambridge, 857-706-1962, www.ambacambridge.com
Shy Bird
With locations in Fenway, South Boston, and Cambridge, Shy Bird offers a whole or half rotisserie chicken ($29 and $20) that’s consistently juicy and cooked in a flavorful spiced dry rub, with a choice of fries or greens.
201 Brookline Ave., Boston, 857-449-2204; 12 Old Colony Ave., Boston 617-766-8309; and 390 Third St., Cambridge, 617-714-4200, www.shybird.com
Modern Rotisserie
Part of Newton’s New England Soup Factory, Modern uses a rotisserie custom-made in France, and locally raised, certified humane birds from Murray’s Chickens, marinated in the shop’s secret spice recipe. Twenty-seven years ago, owner Marjorie Drukor helped with the development of the original Boston Chicken. A whole apple-brined chicken is $17.95, and a half is $13.95.
244 Needham St., Newton, 617-558-9988, www.newenglandsoupfactory.com
Farm Grill & Rotisserie
Open since 1986, this Greek restaurant sells whole rotisserie chickens for $17 and half chickens for $14. You can also order a half or quarter chicken with two hot sides and a Greek salad for $16 and $14, respectively.
40 Needham St., Newton, 617-964-7766, www.farm-grill.com
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