Boston Pizza
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
 | |
| Founded | Edmonton, Alberta (1964) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Richmond, British Columbia |
| Products | Pizza, Pasta, Ribs, Hamburgers, Salads and Entrees |
| Revenue |  CAN $848 million (2009) |
| Owner | Jim Treliving and George Melville |
| Parent | T&M Group of Companies |
| Website | bostonpizza |
Boston Pizza (also known as BP and, in the United States and Mexico, as Boston's The Gourmet Pizza) is a Canadian-based restaurant chain which owns and franchises locations in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
History
Boston Pizza began in Edmonton, Alberta, on August 12, 1964, when a Greek immigrant, Gus Agioritis, opened Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House. By 1970, Boston Pizza had 17 locations in Western Canada, 15 of which were franchised.
One of the first franchisees was Jim Treliving, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. In 1968, he had noticed the growing popularity of Boston Pizza and purchased the rights to open a restaurant in Penticton, British Columbia. While in Penticton he met up with George Melville who was a chartered accountant. He acted as Treliving's business consultant for four years and in 1973 became Treliving's partner in the business. Over 10 years, they opened 16 restaurants in British Columbia.
In 1983, Treliving and Melville acquired the Boston Pizza chain from the then owner Ron Coyle, who had acquired the company from Agioritis in 1978. The two divested 15 of their restaurants to other franchisees, converted one restaurant to a corporate training restaurant and set about establishing systems and operating standards designed to standardize company operations. In 1986, Boston Pizza became the official pizza supplier for Expo 86 in Vancouver. This was a major success for the company - in the next two years it led to another 17 franchises.
By 1995, the chain had grown to 95 restaurants in Western Canada with sales in excess of $110 million (CA$). Over the many years the restaurants had become a success, more sports bars had been established as an integral part of the business.
In 1997, Mark Pacinda was hired to bring the chain to more eastern areas of Canada. Once an Eastern Office was opened in Mississauga, a restaurant was opened in Ottawa in September 1998. The company later opened a regional office in Laval, Quebec, in April 2004. Today, there are 350 Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada.[1]
Boston's
Boston's is the US version of the Boston Pizza franchise. In 1998, a U.S. headquarters was set up in Dallas, Texas. The Boston Pizza name was changed to Boston's The Gourmet Pizza. Boston's currently has 51 units in the US franchises and three in Mexico.[2]
Promotional branding
As part of an advertising campaign created by ZIP communication, during the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Boston Bruins played the Montreal Canadiens, the company temporarily rebranded their Montreal locations as "Montreal Pizza".[3] In the final round of the playoffs, when the Bruins played the Vancouver Canucks, the company temporarily rebranded each of its British Columbia locations as "Vancouver Pizza".[4]
Trade-mark dispute
In 2002, Boston Pizza commenced a lawsuit against Boston Market in the Federal Court of Canada over the trade-mark use of the word "Boston" in Canada.[5] In its defence, Boston Market alleged that Boston Pizza's trade-marks were invalid because they described a style of pizza from a specific area.[6] The dispute continued after Boston Market ceased operations in Canada in 2004.[7] The parties settled the dispute in 2008 under an agreement that Boston Market would not use the words "Boston" or "Boston Market" in Canada for five years for restaurants or any food or drink products (other than pre-packaged food products, but not including pizza and lasagna).[7] Boston Market also agreed that it would not challenge Boston Pizza's use in Canada of any trademark that uses the words "Boston" or "Boston Pizza" (with certain exceptions).[7]
References
- ^ "History".
- ^ "Welcome to Boston's The Gourmet Pizza". Boston's. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- ^ Juanita Ng (28 February 2011). "Brilliant marketing: How Boston Pizza became Vancouver Pizza". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ^ Haggarty, Elizabeth (30 May 2011). "Boston Pizza now Vancouver Pizza until the end of the playoffs". Toronto Star. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ "Boston Pizza battles Boston Market over name rights in Canada". Pizza Marketplace. 11 October 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Charlie Smith (17 March 2005). "Pizza chain battles McDonald's over name". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ a b c "Boston Pizza settles dispute with Boston Market over the name Boston". Welland Tribune. 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
