The restaurant and retail row near the Wachovia Arena is a little less crowded with the closing of Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar.
The chain restaurant located at 900 Schechter Drive shut down before the New Year, approximately two years after opening.
Traffic barricades were placed at the entrance to the restaurant’s parking lot on Wednesday. A call to Diane Wylam, vice president and general manager, was not returned.
The chain has no other restaurants in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The owners of the franchise had planned to build another restaurant in Dickson City in 2006, but never broke ground.
The nearest Boston’s, operated by a different franchisee, is in Allentown and that is doing well, said Michael Sebazco, director of operations for the chain in Dallas, Texas.
“It expected a little more volume,” Sebazco said. “Obviously it’s regrettable when we close a store.”
Boston’s, which offered casual dining and a sports bar, was among a number of franchise restaurants along Highland Park Boulevard and near Exit 168 of Interstate 81.
The restaurants include Bennigan’s, Uno Chicago Grill, Wendy’s, Logan’s Roadhouse, the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Red Robin and Bob Evans.
The closing could be the result of too many restaurants competing for limited dollars in the market, said Ron Gorodesky, president of the consulting firm Restaurant Advisory Services in Paoli.
“Wilkes-Barre is a very price-sensitive market,” Gorodesky said, and the difference of a dollar on menu items between restaurants could be the deciding factor of where customers go to eat and drink.
What happens next to the building and property is in the hands of the franchisees, Sebazco said.
“This is one of those rare ones that didn’t work out,” Sebazco added.
The chain has 270 restaurants in Canada and more than 60 in the United States.
According to its Web site, applicants for a Boston’s franchise must demonstrate at least $1.5 million in net worth and at least $600,000 in liquid capital to invest in the business.
Source: Times Leader