Colorado's Boston Market is joining the Army

Boston Market is joining the Army - Denver Business Journal

Tara Ruby

Boston Market and military officials cut the ribbon on one of the two locations they... more

Boston Market executives have seen their future, and it is clad in camouflage.

After a six-year period in which the number of restaurant locations for the Golden-based chaindeclined by more than 25 percent, Boston Market is growing again. But as officials look to open 10-12 new restaurants this year and expand beyond that in the future, they are targeting specificlocations, including military installations, chief administrative officer Randy Miller said.

Two of the three new Boston Market stores that opened last year were on Army posts, at Fort Blissin Texas and Fort Meade in Maryland. And as the company moves forward, it expects about a thirdof its new stores to be on military bases, he said.

Courtesy of Boston Market

Boston Market Chief... more

Putting stores in the more limited space available on bases -- Boston Market is opening 600- to 900-square-foot units there rather than its standard 2,800- to 3,200-square foot restaurants -- allows thecompany to reduce its initial investments, as well as reduce labor costs and needed improvementcosts in the future.

But the strategy is appealing too because of the success the chain has seen early in its militaryendeavors.

CEO George Michel told Nation's Restaurant News in January that revenues had come in twice ashigh as they expected at the military installations. With soldiers who have returned recently fromcombat zones going as far as sending hand-written notes to company officials to thank them, officialsthink they've found a successful rebound niche.

"It's a change for Boston Market. And I think you'll find other fast-casual players in thesenontraditional spaces too," Miller said. "Our belief is that we're filling a void in that area ... We bringhealthier options."

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Boston Market was one of America's great boom chains in the halcyon days of the 1990s, openinglocations at a rate of nearly one a day across the country from 1994 to 1997. While it downsized insubsequent years, it still stood at roughly 630 stores before the Great Recession hit.

Since 2007, however, that number has dropped to 456, as the company let leases at many under-performing locations expire, Miller said. Rather than look to re-populate elsewhere, officialsconcentrated on how they could make the customer experience better.

In 2011, Boston Market began offering real plates and silverware to customers, and managers beganwalking the dining room to interact with diners and refill drinks. The next year, the company beganits push toward healthier dining, starting by removing salt shakers from the table and then goingthrough its menus to introduce lower-calorie options.

With the changes, Boston Market is now in the midst of 4-1/2 straight years of same-store-salesgrowth, including a roughly 9 percent boost in 2013 that restaurant leaders believe was among thehighest nationally for the fast-casual segment, Miller said.

In addition to military installations, the company will look to expand in mall food courts afteropening its first such location last year in Syracuse, New York, he said.

Miller suspects the company could open 20 new locations nationwide in 2016 and then bump up toas many as 30 a year after that.

"We'll definitely be keeping our existing locations open," he added. "The food courts and the otheropportunities are to supplement that."

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