Boston Pizza (also known as
BP) is a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
chain which owns and franchises locations in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Boston Pizza began in
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies...
,
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
in 1965 when Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened
Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House. By 1970 Boston Pizza had 17 locations in
Western CanadaWestern Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada generally including all parts of Canada west of the province of Ontario. The West is considered by many to be a cultural region with an identity separate from that of the rest of Canada...
, 15 of which were franchised.
One of the first franchisees was Jim Treliving, a
Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body...
officer.
Boston Pizza (also known as
BP) is a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
chain which owns and franchises locations in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
History
Boston Pizza began in
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies...
,
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
in 1965 when Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened
Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House. By 1970 Boston Pizza had 17 locations in
Western CanadaWestern Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada generally including all parts of Canada west of the province of Ontario. The West is considered by many to be a cultural region with an identity separate from that of the rest of Canada...
, 15 of which were franchised.
One of the first franchisees was Jim Treliving, a
Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body...
officer. In 1968 he had noticed the growing popularity of Boston Pizza and purchased the rights to open a restaurant in Penticton,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
. While in Penticton he met up with George Melville who was a chartered accountant. He acted as Treliving's business consultant for four years then in 1973 became Treliving's partner in the business. Over 10 years, they built 16 restaurants in BC.
In 1983, Treliving and Melville acquired the Boston Pizza chain from 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 86The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion - World in Touch", coincided with...
in
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
. This was a major success for the company - in the next two years it would lead to another 17 franchises.
By 1995 the chain had grown to 95 restaurants in Western Canada with sales in excess of $110 million . 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. The first eastern location opened in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
in September 1998. The company later opened a regional office in
Laval, QuebecLaval is a city and a region in southwestern Quebec, Canada. With a population of 368,709 in 2006, it is the second largest city in Greater Montreal, and the third largest in the province of Quebec. Laval is in between the Rivière des Mille Îles opposite the north shore and the Rivière des...
in April 2004. Today there are over 325 Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada.
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 53 units in the US franchises and 2 in Mexico.
Locations
Boston Pizza has over 325 locations in all provinces of Canada. The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operations, Boston's the Gourmet Pizza, based and founded in Dallas, has a total of 54 locations in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and 2 locations in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
External links