Boston Pizza: We’ll make you a fan

Fifty-five years ago (1964), Greek immigrant, Gus Agioritis, opened Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House, in Edmonton, Alberta. By 1970, Gus had 17 locations in Western Canada of which 15 were franchised. Today, there are 389 Boston Pizza locations in Canada.

Boston Pizza’s 389 Canada Store Locations

One of the first franchisees was Jim Treliving, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer whom you’ve probably seen on the popular television show, Dragon’s Den. In 1968, Jim purchased the rights to open a Boston Pizza restaurant in Penticton, British Columbia.  

Through this franchise, Jim met chartered accountant, George Melville, who acted as his business consultant. In 1973, Jim and George became business partners and, over the next 10 years, they opened 16 more Boston Pizzas in British Columbia.

And the two partners kept growing the business…
In 1983, Jim and George bought the Boston Pizza chain from Ron Coyle, who had purchased it from its founder, Gus Agioritis, in 1978. Their next step was to divest 15 of their restaurants, keeping just one which became the corporate training restaurant. They established operating standards to ensure company operations were consistent right across the board.

In 1986, Boston Pizza became the official pizza supplier for Expo 86 in Vancouver. This was a huge success for the company, which led to the opening of 17 franchises in Eastern Canada.

Today, Boston Pizza is Canada’s No. 1 casual dining restaurant with annual gross sales in excess of $1 billion. The restaurants serve more than 40 million guests in its 389 Canadian restaurants.

The company is a Platinum Member of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and has been a Franchisees’ Choice Designation winner for six consecutive years.

The Boston Pizza Foundation believes in inspiring kids to be great and has raised and donated over $24 million to various charities since 1990.

Boston Pizzas head office is located in Richmond, BC, with regional offices in Mississauga, ON and Laval, QC.

There are 40 Boston Pizza locations in the
United States and Mexico.

Gloria Sauvé
Communications and Marketing

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