Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
Online > Web Feature Series > Upper Midwest

Title of entry: 
The Demise of Boston Market

Issue or Publication date:
Sept. 11-13, 2023

Publication name: 
Restaurant Business

Publishing/parent company: 
Informa Connect

View Website home page:
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Boston Market has been in a long-term decline. In 2023, that decline became a freefall.

RB Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze in this series uncovered numerous instances of dastardly behavior on the part of Jay Pandya, a former franchisee of Pizza Hut and other concepts who bought the chain in 2020. He combed through thousands of documents and conducted dozens of interviews to get at the story. He also endured four hours of interviews with Pandya himself, including one call in which Jay spent most of the time levying outrageous accusations while threatening legal action.

The series has been impactful, helping to highlight serious problems with a national chicken chain. The company has since been investigated by U.S. Department of Labor over wage and hour violations.

This piece also balanced the need for pageviews and subscriptions. We kept the first story free, which helped generate 100k pageviews. Subsequent stories were behind a paywall and generated 20 subscriptions to RB+. It was also supported by a social campaign that generated 180k+ views across multiple platforms.

Links to entry URLs

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Entry URL(s), if applicable:
Please enter a URL that will direct judges to the entry: 
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/inside-chaotic-world-owner-boston-market
Additional URLs, if needed:
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/corner-bakery-employees-thought-they-had-savior-they-got-something-else
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/boston-market-another-ugly-chapter-could-be-its-last

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