In this FDD Talk 2016 post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2016 FDD

• Section III – Presentation and analysis of Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2016 FDD, including information on the:

• 2015 average, high, and low sales volume for the 23 franchised Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar restaurants in the U.S. which have been opened for more than 24 consecutive months as of December 31, 2015

• 2015 average, high, and low sales volume for the 2 affiliate-owned Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar restaurants in the U.S. which have been opened for more than 24 consecutive months as of December 31, 2015

Section I – Background Information

From Small Canadian Pizza Chain to International Success

Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar started out as Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House, which was founded by Gus Agioritis in Edmonton, Alberta. Agioritis began franchising a few years later and by 1970, there were 17 Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House locations in Western Canada.

Although the restaurant chain continued to find success and grow, in 1978, Agioritis sold the company to Ron Coyle.

One of Boston Pizza’s first franchisees was Jim Treliving, who purchased the rights to open a location in Penticton, British Columbia. While in Penticton, Treliving met George Melville, who went on to become Treliving’s business consultant for four years. In 1973, Treliving and Melville became business partners and went on to open 16 Boston Pizza locations in British Columbia over the next decade.

In 1983, Melville and Treliving bought the Boston Pizza company from Ron Coyle. The two divested 15 of their restaurants to other franchisees, kept one restaurant as a corporate training location, and standardized company operations.

Boston Pizza continued to expand throughout Western Canada in the 1980s and eventually, the restaurant chain made its way into Eastern Canada. Through the 1990s, Boston Pizza opened more locations throughout Canada and eventually expanded into the United States.

The company set up a U.S. headquarters in Dallas, Texas in 1998. Boston Pizza is branded as Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar in the United States and Mexico.

Today there are over 400 Boston’s locations throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Leadership Changes

In late 2016, Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar announced that Eric Taylor was appointed as the new president for U.S. operations. Around this same time, the company promoted Sergio Carvallo to president for Mexico operations. Both new presidents will report to Mark Pacinda, president and CEO of Boston Pizza International.

Along with the new appointments, the Boston’s team suffered one departure. Troy Cooper, former COO of Boston’s, with responsibility for supervising restaurants in the U.S. and Mexico, left the company.

The most recent addition to Boston’s executive team is Mo Boutara, who was appointed as the new VP of Development and Franchise Sales in early January 2017. Boston’s says, “Boutara’s expansive franchising knowledge will allow him to immediately launch a new franchise development plan to promote Boston’s growth throughout the upcoming years.”

Annual Heart-Shaped Pizza Campaign to Raise Money to End Childhood Hunger

Every year, Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar runs a fundraiser aimed at fighting childhood hunger. The fundraiser is an annual event called Boston’s Cares and typically runs early in the year. For 2017, Boston’s launched the campaign on January 23, and ran it until Valentine’s Day.

All Boston’s locations in the United States contributed proceeds from the sale of Gourmet Pizzas, as well as collected guest donations, for the Boston’s Pizza Foundation in support of its national charity partner, No Kid Hungry.

There were several ways customers could donate to the Boston’s Cares fundraiser, including:

• $0.50 from every pizza was donated to No Kid Hungry and the Boston’s corporate team matched the money raised with a donation of their own.

• February 10 to 14: Heart-Shaped Pizzas were available during the week of Valentine’s Day, also contributing to donations from pizza sales.

• Throughout the entire campaign, guests could decorate and display paper hearts in the restaurants, available for a minimum donation of $1.

Boston’s target was to raise $30,000 over the course of the campaign.

Up and Down on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

In the last decade, Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar appeared on Entrepreneur’s annual Franchise 500 list a few times. For 2017, Boston’s ranked No. 146, which is the highest spot the franchise has earned. Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar did not rank in 2016, but it did in 2015 at No. 420, which is the lowest Boston’s has ranked on Entrepreneur’s list in the last decade.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2016 FDD (updated).

Section III – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2016 FDD) and Analysis