Boston Market

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Boston Market began in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1985 as Boston Chicken, founded by Steven Kolow and Arthur Cores. Its rotisserie chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cafeteria-line comfort food pitched a tidy miracle: a home-style dinner without the home-style pile of dishes.

The chain grew at breakneck speed in the early 1990s. Its corporate headquarters operated in Naperville, Illinois, before moving to Golden, Colorado, in August 1994. In 1995, Boston Chicken broadened its menu with turkey, ham, and meatloaf, then rechristened its restaurants Boston Market. The corporate name became Boston Market Corporation in 1997.

Expansion came with a side of overreach. Boston Chicken entered Chapter 11 in October 1998; McDonald’s acquired the business and its assets in 2000 for $173.5 million. McDonald’s sold Boston Market to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners in 2007, and Sun Capital sold it to Engage Brands, a Rohan Group company, in 2020.

The later chain contracted sharply amid closures, unpaid-bill litigation, and repeated bankruptcy filings during 2023–2024. But its cultural afterimage remains wonderfully durable: the smell of turning birds, the fluorescent promise of creamed spinach, and a dinner that felt halfway between takeout and somebody’s determined aunt.

Our Boston Market collection celebrates the optimistic, overbuilt rotisserie empire that tried to turn Tuesday night into Thanksgiving—one styrofoam tray, tiny cornbread loaf, and suspiciously comforting side dish at a time.