Boston Market's owner files for bankruptcy amid legal troubles
FILE-A cyclists walks his bicycle by a Boston Market restaurant in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The owner of Boston Market has filed for bankruptcy amid multiple lawsuits for unpaid bills.
Jay Pandya cited $10-$50 million in liabilities and the same range for assets in his personal bankruptcy filing on Dec. 8 in Pennsylvania.
Pandya is the head of Engage Brands under the Rohan Group of Companies, which bought Boston Market in 2020, according to the Nation’s Restaurant News, a trade publication that covers food service industry news.
RELATED: Rite Aid to close hundreds of stores in bankruptcy: report
Boston Market’s Denver headquarters was seized by local authorities in May 2023 for $300,000 in unpaid taxes, with several vendors filing lawsuits against the company for unpaid bills.
Business Insider reported that the restaurant chain faced an $11.6 million lawsuit from distributor US Foods in July 2023. The vendor claimed in the suit that starting in 2022, Boston Market fell behind on payments.
Nation’s Restaurant News reported that some of Boston Market's locations closed, as employees filled their restaurant shelves with food purchased at supermarkets because vendor contracts expired or canceled.
RELATED: Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy: Coupons expiring, return deadlines
In August 2023, Boston Market closed 27 restaurants in New Jersey after labor officials said they found "multiple violations of workers’ rights, including more than $600,000 in back wages owed to 314 workers," according to FOX Business.
These latest financial woes are among other issues Pandya and his companies have endured.
Earlier this year, Pandya Restaurant Growth Brands-owned Corner Bakery Café, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, after only three years of ownership.
Citing Restaurant Business Online, FOX Business reported in 2021 that after Pandya purchased the restaurant chain in April 2020, he opened 41 new locations. Some restaurants opened in former Boston Market locations that previously were shuttered.
FOX Business contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.