Latest news with #Bertucci'sPronto
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Beloved Italian restaurant chain abruptly shuts 30% of locations
A family-favorite restaurant has closed a group of stores after filing its third bankruptcy in five years. Bertucci's, the Massachusetts-based Italian restaurant chain known for its brick oven pizzas and family-friendly atmosphere, has closed nearly a third of its stores across the state. The company recently shut down four locations — in Braintree, Mansfield, North Andover, and Norwood — according to updates on its website, dwindling its state-wide headcount from 14 to 10. It just won the People's Choice Award at the 2024 Boston Pizza Festival. But several restaurants encountered financial stress after the company took home the prize. 'Thank you for your loyalty and support all these years,' a notice hanging outside of the restaurant's former Braintree location says, and pointed diners toward still-operating locations in Hingham and West Roxbury. The closures mark another chapter in a turbulent stretch for Bertucci's, which has now filed for bankruptcy three times in just five years. Bertucci's first entered bankruptcy in 2018, slashing its footprint in half from 56 restaurants down to 28. A second filing came in 2022, after pandemic supply chain disruptions squeezed operations. This year, Bertucci's filed for bankruptcy a third time. Just fifteen locations remain, with a smattering of restaurants in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. This isn't the end for the chain. It opened a fast-casual offshoot of the famous pizza shop called Bertucci's Pronto in Boston earlier this month. 'The Bertucci's you know and love is here to stay as well, just with a few less locations for now,' the company said. In its bankruptcy filing, the company pinned the health of its business on the success of the new platform. It also said remaining stores remain profitable. But for the closing locations, the restaurant chain cited rising costs, lower consumer confidence, and a tougher economy for its latest collapse. 'On April 24, 2025, Bertucci's filed bankruptcy with the goal of promptly reorganizing its business for a sustainable and successful future,' the company wrote in the filing. 'Consistent with numerous other recent restaurant brand bankruptcies, consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands.' Bertucci's bankruptcy tracks closely with a broader shakeout in the sector. Multiple casual dining brands — including Red Lobster, Hooters , TGI Fridays , On The Border , and Roti — have all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. Meanwhile, other restaurant staples, like Denny's, Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, and Cracker Barrel have all reported shrinking sales estimates at the start of 2025. Chains are facing two main issues: their costs to operate keep increasing, while inflation-stressed middle-income consumers are cutting back on restaurant spending. To confront the financial strain, multiple chains have rolled out fast-casual spinoffs of their menus. Golden Corral and Perkins both launched scaled back versions of their restaurants to entice value-seeking diners. The initial response to the fast-casual rollouts has been mixed. Bloomin' Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, has already scaled down its remodeling efforts .
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Beloved Italian restaurant chain abruptly shuts 30% of its locations
A family-favorite restaurant has closed a group of stores after filing its third bankruptcy in five years. Bertucci's, the Massachusetts-based Italian restaurant chain known for its brick oven pizzas and family-friendly atmosphere, has closed nearly a third of its stores across the state. The company recently shut down four locations — in Braintree, Mansfield, North Andover, and Norwood — according to updates on its website, dwindling its state-wide headcount from 14 to 10. It just won the People's Choice Award at the 2024 Boston Pizza Festival. But several restaurants encountered financial stress after the company took home the prize. 'Thank you for your loyalty and support all these years,' a notice hanging outside of the restaurant's former Braintree location says, and pointed diners toward still-operating locations in Hingham and West Roxbury. The closures mark another chapter in a turbulent stretch for Bertucci's, which has now filed for bankruptcy three times in just five years. Bertucci's first entered bankruptcy in 2018, slashing its footprint in half from 56 restaurants down to 28. A second filing came in 2022, after pandemic supply chain disruptions squeezed operations. This year, Bertucci's filed for bankruptcy a third time. Just fifteen locations remain, with a smattering of restaurants in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. This isn't the end for the chain. It opened a fast-casual offshoot of the famous pizza shop called Bertucci's Pronto in Boston earlier this month. 'The Bertucci's you know and love is here to stay as well, just with a few less locations for now,' the company said. In its bankruptcy filing, the company pinned the health of its business on the success of the new platform. It also said remaining stores remain profitable. But for the closing locations, the restaurant chain cited rising costs, lower consumer confidence, and a tougher economy for its latest collapse. 'On April 24, 2025, Bertucci's filed bankruptcy with the goal of promptly reorganizing its business for a sustainable and successful future,' the company wrote in the filing. 'Consistent with numerous other recent restaurant brand bankruptcies, consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands.' Bertucci's bankruptcy tracks closely with a broader shakeout in the sector. Multiple casual dining brands — including Red Lobster, Hooters, TGI Fridays, On The Border, and Roti — have all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. Meanwhile, other restaurant staples, like Denny's, Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, and Cracker Barrel have all reported shrinking sales estimates at the start of 2025. Chains are facing two main issues: their costs to operate keep increasing, while inflation-stressed middle-income consumers are cutting back on restaurant spending. To confront the financial strain, multiple chains have rolled out fast-casual spinoffs of their menus. Golden Corral and Perkins both launched scaled back versions of their restaurants to entice value-seeking diners.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iconic Pizza Chain Files for Bankruptcy Amid Industry Challenges
Owning and operating a restaurant following the COVID-19 pandemic is no easy feat — even for a chain. Bertucci's Restaurants, a casual-dining pizza eatery, knows this all too well. Bertucci's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the third time in seven years. Bertucci's filed for bankruptcy for the first time in then, operations have been cut to 21 restaurants across the U.S., primarily in the Northeast. Before filing for bankruptcy again, Bertucci's debuted a new type of dining experience called Pronto in the Boston Government Center. Bertucci's currently has 14 locations in Massachusetts. 'Reflecting the fast-paced lifestyle of its urban customers, Bertucci's Pronto menu will also include breakfast pizzas and sandwiches for busy morning travelers and will remain open into the evening for the reverse commute,' the company said in a statement, per NRN.'We are thrilled to return to downtown Boston with a new concept in this historic location,' Robert Earl, the owner of Bertucci's, detailed. 'The community has been so supportive of Bertucci's. and we have been searching for the perfect spot in the city to launch our first Bertucci's Pronto restaurant. This spot, on Tremont Street, is what we were looking for.' It seems the company will be applying this strategy to all of their remaining locations. "Consistent with numerous other recent restaurant brand bankruptcies, consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands," Bertucci's said in a separate statement. "In order to adapt, Bertucci's will be emphasizing its new fast casual spinoff going forward, Bertucci's Pronto! The first Bertucci's Pronto recently opened at 22 Tremont Street in Boston to rave reviews. Bertucci's Pronto offers delicious pizza, sandwiches, salads and more.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iconic Pizza Chain Files for Bankruptcy Amid Industry Challenges
Owning and operating a restaurant following the COVID-19 pandemic is no easy feat — even for a chain. Bertucci's Restaurants, a casual-dining pizza eatery, knows this all too well. Bertucci's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the third time in seven years. Bertucci's filed for bankruptcy for the first time in then, operations have been cut to 21 restaurants across the U.S., primarily in the Northeast. Before filing for bankruptcy again, Bertucci's debuted a new type of dining experience called Pronto in the Boston Government Center. Bertucci's currently has 14 locations in Massachusetts. 'Reflecting the fast-paced lifestyle of its urban customers, Bertucci's Pronto menu will also include breakfast pizzas and sandwiches for busy morning travelers and will remain open into the evening for the reverse commute,' the company said in a statement, per NRN.'We are thrilled to return to downtown Boston with a new concept in this historic location,' Robert Earl, the owner of Bertucci's, detailed. 'The community has been so supportive of Bertucci's. and we have been searching for the perfect spot in the city to launch our first Bertucci's Pronto restaurant. This spot, on Tremont Street, is what we were looking for.' It seems the company will be applying this strategy to all of their remaining locations. "Consistent with numerous other recent restaurant brand bankruptcies, consumer demand has shifted away from legacy casual-dining brands," Bertucci's said in a separate statement. "In order to adapt, Bertucci's will be emphasizing its new fast casual spinoff going forward, Bertucci's Pronto! The first Bertucci's Pronto recently opened at 22 Tremont Street in Boston to rave reviews. Bertucci's Pronto offers delicious pizza, sandwiches, salads and more.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved New England chain restaurant unveils first-ever fast-casual concept
A beloved New England chain restaurant is looking to reinvent its model by piloting a new concept in Massachusetts. The first-ever Bertucci's Pronto officially opened near Government Center in Boston on Wednesday, April 23. 'This is home base. This is where we have all the resources, and this is where we're the most well known,' CEO and owner Robert Earl said about the company's decision to open the new concept in Boston. 'And actually most of our Bertucci's are sort of outliers geographically, where the people that work in Boston go home to. So you've got that crossover.' Bertucci's Pronto intends to join the rapidly expanding fast-casual market while providing the same great food that Bertucci's has been serving for decades. 'Historically, Bertucci's has been a Boston legend that's been around for over 40 years. As a sit-down restaurant, we actually never even did really the COVID-19 pandemic,' Earl told MassLive at the eatery Wednesday. 'Then we saw the huge demand for people to take out pizzas to the office or have them at home and on-the-go instead of eating in the restaurant,' he said. 'So we've always thought about how can we maximize that and look at where the trends are going.' Bertucci's Pronto reinvents the chain's classic menu by offering breakfast items for the first time in the company's history. Those who grew up loving Bertucci's famous rolls can now try them as a sandwich with egg, cheese and either bacon or sausage. Other breakfast items include the 'Croast' — a croissant topped with smashed avocado, fried egg, arugula and Parmesan — or the breakfast pizza that's topped with eggs and bacon. Aside from Bertucci's signature pastas, Bertucci's Pronto offers other classic dishes including pizzas, small bites, salads, sandwiches and desserts. Pizzas such as the 'Sporkie' and 'Meat Me in Boston' are sold by the slice or as a whole pie. Earl said Bertucci's plans on building more Bertucci's Pronto locations or converting existing restaurants into a fast-casual setting. That would just involve conversations with landlords to see if they can give up some space while still occupying part of the building. 'We do plan on expanding this. But of course, with any test, you've got to make sure that it works and you learn from it and see that we've got it right,' Earl said. Bertucci's opened its first restaurant in Davis Square in Somerville in 1981, according to the company's website. By the turn of the century, Bertucci's had opened locations from Florida to New Hampshire and as far west as Illinois. However, the Northboro-based chain has closed multiple locations in recent history. In 2018, Bertucci's closed 15 restaurants after filing for bankruptcy. The company filed for bankruptcy again in 2022 and closed seven New England locations at the time. Bertucci's most recently closed its Swampscott location in December, CBS Boston reported. There are now only 14 locations in Massachusetts. Earl believes restaurant chains across the country have been affected by 'a plethora of problems' in the casual dining setting, from surmounting debt to changes in dining habits. 'There's so many factors, but unfortunately, the casual dining space is in a bad way,' he said. Earl is optimistic that the inception of Bertucci's Pronto will help keep his company afloat. '[When] I bought it, it was in distress and I've managed to preserve it,' the CEO, with 56 years of experience in the restaurant industry, said. 'But it needs a shot in the arm.' 'I'm sure that it will be popular,' Earl said of the new concept. Earl anticipates that Bertucci's Pronto's customer base will be equally divided among three dining styles. A third of people will sit down for meals, another third will take their food to go and another third will order takeout or delivery. To help with that, Bertucci's Pronto is available on all third-party delivery apps, including Yelp, GrubHub and DoorDash. The address for Bertucci's Pronto is 22 Tremont St., Boston. The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Boston Greek restaurant included on Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Hot List Best outdoor dining spots around Boston MassLive staff shares their 10 must-try Massachusetts restaurants Read the original article on MassLive.
