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As Boston Market continues to shrink its presence in the U.S., the once popular rotisserie chicken chain is down to just four restaurants in New Jersey.

Since late 2022, the brand has shuttered 95% of its locations nationwide, often due to unpaid rent or utility bills, trade publication Restaurant Business reported this week. 

Now, about 20 restaurants remain, according to its website.

As of March, Boston Market had 27 outposts in total. However, closures ramped up in recent months and the 39-year-old company turned the lights off at even more sites, per Restaurant Business.

Within New Jersey, Boston Market remains open in Hackensack, Lodi, Woodbury and Union.

A once sizzling-hot fast-casual spot, Boston Market peaked at 1,200 locations during the 1990s. However, the chain filed for bankruptcy by 1998 due to decreasing unit level economics and large amounts of debt.

Two years later, McDonald’s acquired the business. It held onto Boston Market until 2007, when private equity firm Sun Capital Partners acquired the chain.

More closed doors

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Engage Brands, a subsidiary of Rohan Group of Cos., now owns Boston Market stores. That company purchased the chain from Sun Capital Partners in 2020.

Along with growing competition and inflation, Boston Market has faced financial problems that led to more than 150 lawsuits from vendors, employees and management in multiple states.

Additionally, Rohan’s owner, Pennsylvania-based real estate investor and restaurant operator Jay Pandya, has attempted to file for personal bankruptcy twice since late 2023 – but both attempts were denied.

Local struggles

In August 2023 – when the chain had 27 restaurants across New Jersey – the state ordered all locations closed after discovering Boston Market owed more than $630,000 in back pay to 314 employees.

After the company paid a fine of nearly $2.6 million, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development lifted the stop-work order the following month.

Despite its recent struggles in the U.S, Boston Market is attempting to expand its footprint overseas. In November, a Boston Chicken India restaurant opened in Delhi, according to the eatery’s Instagram page.

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Described as “India’s first flagship outlet of the popular U.S. brand,” the restaurant has a logo that is almost identical to Boston Market’s American emblem. Pandya was also pictured in one of the posts announcing the launch, but his level of involvement with the venture is unclear.

A media inquiry sent by NJBIZ to Boston Market corporate in Colorado was not returned and a representative for Engage Brands could not immediately be reached.