Colorado-based rotisserie chicken chain Boston Market is being sued by food supplier US Foods for $11.3 million in unpaid bills, according to a lawsuit that was filed with the United States district court of Illinois on Monday.
According to the lawsuit, Boston Market “began to fall significantly behind in its payment obligations to US Foods” beginning in 2022 and secured a promissory note-based payment schedule from the struggling restaurant chain. However, US Foods claims that Boston Market still failed to keep up with the agreed payment schedule and as such owes the company $10.5 million in accrued debt as well as interest that totals more than $800k.
However, this is not the only financial issue that Boston Market has run into recently. The company’s headquarters in Golden, Colorado and three remaining Colorado locations were seized in May for $328,592.34 in unpaid sales and payroll taxes that had been accumulating for about a year, according to The Denver Post.
“After exhausting all other options, distraint warrants were issued on May 16. When a distraint warrant is issued, the Department of Revenue posts signs on the business premises, changes the locks and seizes business assets until the state receives due back taxes — in this case wage withholding and sales tax,” Derek Kuhn, a tax supervisor with the department, told The Denver Post.
After struggling for years, Boston Market had mostly disappeared from the public eye and is slowly closing stores. In 2020, Sun Capital Partners sold the company to Engage Brands LLC, which operates under the Rohan Group of Companies, which is owned by real estate investor and restaurant operator Jay Pandya.
At the time of the acquisition, Eric Wyatt the then-CEO of Boston Market, said they will “continue to focus on key operational initiatives to improve guest experience, menu development, and focus on the growth of our brand.” Wyatt, however, is no longer with Boston Market, after having stepped down from CEO to COO, and leaving the brand in 2022. The company appears to no longer have a chief executive.
Nation’s Restaurant News reached out to Boston Market for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Contact Joanna Fantozzi at [email protected]