Photo | Eric Casey
The doors of Boston Market were padlocked on Thursday.
March 27, 2025
Boston Market in Worcester seized by state over taxes as chicken franchise spirals
Photo | Eric Casey
Boston Market in Worcester has been seized by the state due to unpaid taxes.
A Boston Market location on Park Avenue in Worcester has been seized by state officials, the latest issue for both the location and the once-prominent rotisserie chicken franchise.
The doors to the Boston Market at 14 Park Ave. were chained as of Thursday, with notices adhered to the inside of the doors and windows stating the property was now in the possession of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts due to nonpayment of taxes. A paper sign stuck to the outside of the door said the restaurant’s operator is working to resume operations.
“We are working on resolving our current situation, please be patient with us,” the sign reads. “We will be close for the time being.”
Boston Market did not immediately respond to requests for comments sent to emails listed on recent press releases from the firm.
The seizure comes as Boston Market has struggled to pay rent for the location. A 2023 lawsuit from property owner WCC Realty of Worcester resulted in a default judgement against the company of $168,343, according to Middlesex Superior Court documents.
For Richard Carr, owner of WCC Realty, the seizure represents the apparent end of a long struggle with Boston Market since it came under new ownership in 2020, ranging from the lack of rent payments to issues with overflowing garbage containers at the site this month.
“In the end, [the owner] was unloading the back of his Tesla with food from Costco and other supermarkets, just to keep food under the heat lamps, but it wasn't being serviced by any vendor or any kind of legitimate restaurant provider,” he said. “Countless states have shut them down for not paying employees. So I'm not surprised.”
Carr said he had received the funds awarded in the 2023 lawsuit. He questioned why ownership would pay the judgement while owing money to the state.
“I would rather stiff a landlord who can't put me in jail, rather than the state of Massachusetts who can put me in jail," he said. “But hey, I'll leave that to them to prioritize their debtors.”
Carr said hadn’t heard from the state’s Department of Revenue about the seizure but is hopeful the situation can be resolved soon so the property can be marketed to new tenants at the site, which had been occupied by Boston Market for about two decades.
The financial difficulties of Boston Market’s only remaining New England location mirrors larger problems with the company which once had more than 1,200 locations across the country, according to NJBiz.
Rohan Group, a company founded by Pennsylvania businessman Jay Pandya, purchased the franchise in 2020.
The franchise was already struggling in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reporting from Restaurant Business Online, but its financial struggles have escalated under Rohan Group’s ownership.
More than 200 lawsuits have been filed against Boston Market and fellow Rohan-owned restaurant chain Corner Bakery since the firm acquired the two brands, with Illinois-based US Foods winning a $15-million default judgement against Boston Market in January 2024. Multiple creditors owed money by Boston Market have fought for access to its bank accounts.
Despite the litany of lawsuits and financial woes, Rohan Group has pressed ahead. The same month of the US Foods ruling, the firm launched Boston Market Connect, a franchise model it claimed would allow individuals to become operating owners or partners without any buy-in requirements as long as they could offer a suitable location.
“The company feels this program, laden with historic significance, is set to become a transformative force, paving the way for entrepreneurs to inscribe their names in the records of the Boston Market legacy,” the January 2024 press release announcing the launch of the new franchise model reads.
In December, the firm opened a Boston Market location in Delhi, India dubbed Boston Chicken India, according to a LinkedIn post.
Boston Market lists 20 locations on its website, including the Worcester location. It’s unclear if all the locations listed on the website are still in operation; Google Maps only lists six remaining locations, with the closest to Worcester being a Boston Market in New York City.
The company was founded in 1985 as Boston Chicken, with its first location opening in Newton, according to the New York Times.
The franchise rapidly expanded in the 1990s before facing bankruptcy in 1998, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. It was then purchased by McDonald’s, who eventually sold it to Florida-based private equity firm Sun Capital Partners in 2007 before Rohan Group purchased it in 2020.
Carr lamented the current state of Boston Market, which had once brought long lines of customers looking to pick up dinner on Thanksgiving, but he expressed optimism the location will soon be home to a new restaurant.
“There is a backlog of national chains that have an interest in the property, despite it not having a drive through,” he said. “So hopefully it'll be filled again soon.”
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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