Boston Market is no stranger to being a publicly traded company. Before Shake Shack started serving hormone-free burgers and Chipotle began dishing out overstuffed organic burritos to crazy crowds, investors were infatuated with Boston Market. The rotisserie chicken chain was one of the hottest IPOs back in the early to mid 1990s. It captured the minds of deep-pocketed investors for its unique concept: shoveling large amounts of homey-feeling dinner foods such as mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese into platters. At the time, consumers were mostly accustomed to the fast food at McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. As icing on the cake, the company, originally known as Boston Chicken, was aggressively expanding nationwide and began selling food in supermarkets to add to its sales strength. The company’s aggressive expansion and the rise of new competitors ultimately led it into bankruptcy in 1998. That attracted fast food giant McDonald’s, which bought Boston Market in 2000. However, amid faltering sales and profits, McDonald’s sold Boston Market to private equity firm Sun Capital Partners in 2007. Since then, the company has sought to strengthen its business model on several fronts. The company has shifted its attention to its menu, offering customers new items like pulled pork and emphasizing its ingredient quality in new marketing. With the restaurant IPO market continuing to be hot this year, with the likes of biscuit chain Bojangle’s and better burger business Shake Shack pulling off wildly successful introductions to public markets, the question is: will Boston Market make a triumphant return to being a publicly traded company? TheStreet’s Brian Sozzi and Boston Market CEO George Michel discuss how the company is positioned today, and it’s plan for the future.
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