Boston’s the Gourmet Pizza: Difference between revisions

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'''Boston's the Gourmet Pizza''' was a Canadian pizza and sports-bar chain's restaurant at 8420 Market St. in Middleton's Greenway Station, open from shortly before Christmas 2004<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14">(2005, January 21). Capital Times review of Boston's the Gourmet Pizza, 8420 Market St., Middleton, open since shortly before Christmas 2004. ''The Capital Times''. p. 14. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/525980056/ 525980056].</ref>.
'''Boston's the Gourmet Pizza''' was a Canadian pizza and sports-bar chain's restaurant at 8420 Market St. in Middleton's Greenway Station, open from shortly before Christmas 2004<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14">(2005, January 21). Capital Times review of Boston's the Gourmet Pizza, 8420 Market St., Middleton, open since shortly before Christmas 2004. ''The Capital Times''. p. 14. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/525980056/ 525980056].</ref> until the first half of 2010<ref name="wsj-2009-12-13-p470">(2009, December 13). Display ad: Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar — 'Eat. Laugh. Share.' (Greenway Station, Middleton). ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 470. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/396058020/ 396058020].</ref><ref name="ct-2010-07-15-p7">Martell, C. (2010, July 15). Table Talk: Mount Horeb now has a Pizza Extreme, at 1200 Highway 151 in a former Pizza Pit; the chain's other stores listed. ''The Capital Times''. p. 7. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522548861/ 522548861].</ref>. It is not the Boston's in Waunakee, which opened in 2019 and closed in September 2020<ref name="mc-2021-08-20-dark-horse-artbar">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, August 20). [https://madison.com/galleries/article_b8dca43b-15b8-5a5e-b232-b158da60d69e.html "Dark Horse rides again: New gallery and music space taking shape in former Star Bar."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.


==History==
==History==
The chain began as a pizza joint in Canada in 1964 — not in Boston — and by 2005 had 180 franchises in Canada and 17 in the United States; Middleton's was one of two in Wisconsin, the other in Eau Claire. Diners turned right into a loud, smoky sports bar or left into a family dining room with an open kitchen; the same menu served both. The State Journal's reviewer found the kitchen "has the pizza part right", with more than 25 pizzas on hand-pressed medium crusts<ref name="mc-2005-02-06-bostons-review">Martell, C. (2005, February 6). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_adc8a50c-f691-5d7a-8807-9e8e0224a924.html "Adding to the chain gang: Restaurant review: Boston's the Gourmet Pizza."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. The restaurant had opened quietly before Christmas 2004 with a trial night for HospiceCare staff<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14" />. It was still among Greenway Station's restaurants in December 2005<ref name="mc-2005-12-15-sals-pizzeria">Kalk Derby, S. (2005, December 15). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_3c032bde-5fae-5d72-bd6a-7797821acdbb.html "Sal's Pizzeria helps a family tradition grow."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
The chain began as a pizza joint in Canada in 1964 — not in Boston — and by 2005 had 180 franchises in Canada and 17 in the United States; Middleton's was one of two in Wisconsin, the other in Eau Claire. Diners turned right into a loud, smoky sports bar or left into a family dining room with an open kitchen; the same menu served both. The State Journal's reviewer found the kitchen "has the pizza part right", with more than 25 pizzas on hand-pressed medium crusts<ref name="mc-2005-02-06-bostons-review">Martell, C. (2005, February 6). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_adc8a50c-f691-5d7a-8807-9e8e0224a924.html "Adding to the chain gang: Restaurant review: Boston's the Gourmet Pizza."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. The restaurant had opened quietly before Christmas 2004 with a trial night for HospiceCare staff<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14" />. It was still among Greenway Station's restaurants in December 2005<ref name="mc-2005-12-15-sals-pizzeria">Kalk Derby, S. (2005, December 15). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_3c032bde-5fae-5d72-bd6a-7797821acdbb.html "Sal's Pizzeria helps a family tradition grow."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
Ground was broken on August 25, 2004, for the 7,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar at 8420 Market St., with a patio for about 70, built by Engineered Construction of Verona; the chain, founded in Edmonton in 1964, then had about 200 restaurants, 20 of them in the United States<ref name="ct-2004-08-25-p36">(2004, August 25). "Greenway Station getting Boston's Pizza." ''The Capital Times''. p. 36. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/526012892/ 526012892].</ref><ref name="wsj-2004-09-22-p24">Balousek, M. (2004, September 22). "Business openings: Boston's the Gourmet Pizza and Sports Bar, Middleton." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 24. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406814331/ 406814331].</ref>. The grand-opening advertisements ran on December 23<ref name="ct-2004-12-23-p52">(2004, December 23). Boston's the Gourmet Pizza advertisement: grand opening, Middleton. ''The Capital Times''. p. 52. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/525977332/ 525977332].</ref>, and on December 26 the State Journal described it as the market's latest entrant, opened "about two weeks ago" by Rick Horstman, who had sold 13 Curves for Women franchises and planned a Boston's in Green Bay and two more in Madison by 2006<ref name="wsj-2004-12-26-p21">Wallmeyer, A. (2004, December 26). "Pizzas with pizzazz: Gourmet pizza places are proliferating." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 21. Newspapers.com images [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406304963/ 406304963], [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406304963/ 406304963], [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406304975/ 406304975].</ref>.
By October the restaurant was expected "next month", one of the arrivals that Damon's blamed when it closed its west-side restaurant<ref name="wsj-2004-10-14-p47">Balousek, M. (2004, October 14). "Officials call center a success." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 47. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406661609/ 406661609].</ref><ref name="ct-2004-10-19-p36">Ivey, M. (2004, October 19). "Damon's west restaurant closes." ''The Capital Times''. p. 36. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522299050/ 522299050].</ref>. In November the chain hired every position from a job trailer on the site and advertised a grand opening for November 30<ref name="wsj-2004-11-07-p140">(2004, November 7). "Boston's the Gourmet Pizza & Sports Bar now hiring — Grand Opening Nov. 30th." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 140. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/406623660/ 406623660].</ref>, but the restaurant opened in the week of December 13, 2004: 300 seats, more than 120 employees, more than 25 gourmet pizzas and 13 pastas on a menu served until closing, and a dozen televisions for the sports bar. The franchisee, Rick Horstman of Advantage Control Company, planned it as the first of 14 Boston's in the upper Midwest<ref name="ct-2004-12-18-p26">(2004, December 18). "Boston's Pizza opens at Greenway." ''The Capital Times''. p. 26. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/525976679/ 525976679].</ref>.
===Closing===
The restaurant was still advertising in the State Journal on December 13, 2009<ref name="wsj-2009-12-13-p470" />, but by July 2010 it was gone. Chris Martell's Table Talk column of July 15, 2010, reported that "the Madison area recently lost two restaurants": Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar at Greenway Station had "sprouted a 'For Sale' sign and its phone is disconnected", and the Tilted Kilt on Gammon Place had closed too<ref name="ct-2010-07-15-p7" />. The chain's own website tells the same story: the Internet Archive's capture of its location finder on July 24, 2010, still lists Wisconsin among its states, and the capture of September 14, 2010, does not<ref name="bostons-com-2010-07-24-locations">[http://www.bostons.com/locations/ Boston's location finder: the list of states still includes Wisconsin (Internet Archive capture).] ''bostons.com''. Internet Archive capture of July 24, 2010: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100724101228/http://www.bostons.com/locations/ archived copy]. Retrieved October 23, 2026.</ref><ref name="bostons-com-2010-09-14-locations">[http://www.bostons.com/locations/ Boston's location finder: Wisconsin is no longer among the states listed (Internet Archive capture; also absent 2010-10-18, 2011-01-22 and 2011-05-05).] ''bostons.com''. Internet Archive capture of September 14, 2010: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100914201051/http://www.bostons.com/locations/ archived copy]. Retrieved October 23, 2026.</ref>. So the Middleton Boston's closed between December 2009 and July 2010, after about five and a half years.
That November a classified advertisement announced that Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill was "opening soon" at 8420 Market St., "the old Boston Pizza"<ref name="wsj-2010-11-14-p103">(2010, November 14). Help wanted: 'Opening Soon — Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill', 8420 Market St., Middleton, '(The old Boston Pizza)'. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 103. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522992141/ 522992141].</ref>, and Wild Bull was advertising by January 6, 2011<ref name="ct-2011-01-06-p2">(2011, January 6). Wild Bull ad: www.wildbullsportbar.com, 8420 Market Street, Middleton, 608-203-8420. ''The Capital Times''. p. 2. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522556961/ 522556961].</ref>. Its general manager, Joe Burdick, had been an operating partner in the Middleton Boston's and carried some of its menu over; the State Journal's reviewer in April 2011 thought the two restaurants seemed "remarkably similar with sandwiches, pastas, salads, ribs and a focus on pizza"<ref name="wsj-2011-04-17-p57">(2011, April 17). Restaurant review of Wild Bull, 8420 Market St., Middleton (608-203-8420): 'the restaurant which preceded Wild Bull' was Boston's; general manager Joe Burdick had been an operating partner in the Middleton Boston's and car…. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 57. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/523129700/ 523129700].</ref><ref name="wsj-2011-06-12-p53">(2011, June 12). Wild Bull scorecard, 8420 Market St., Middleton: 'Picking up where Boston's left off, Wild Bull has a large menu that it executes well'; pizzas $6.99 to $16.99. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 53. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/523083942/ 523083942].</ref>. Wild Bull did not last the year: Isthmus's review of 2011 noted that "at Greenway Station, Wild Bull opened and closed"<ref name="isthmus-2011-12-29-openings-closings">Falkenstein, L. (2011, December 29). [https://isthmus.com/food-drink/amid-2011s-openings-and-closings-madison-restaurants-delivered-some-pretty-impressive-food/ "Amid 2011's openings and closings, Madison restaurants delivered some pretty impressive food."] ''Isthmus''.</ref>. The site has since been redeveloped; the Market West Apartments, built in 2018, now stand at 8420 Market St.<ref name="point2homes-market-west-apartments">[https://www.point2homes.com/US/Apartment-Buildings/WI/Middleton/Market-West-Apartments.html Market West Apartments, 8420 Market St., Middleton: built 2018, 240 units.] ''Point2Homes''. Retrieved October 23, 2026.</ref>
Online listings that say the Middleton Boston's closed in 2020 have confused it with the chain's later Waunakee restaurant, at 1370 Water Wheel Dr., which opened in 2019 and closed in September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic<ref name="mc-2021-08-20-dark-horse-artbar" />.


==Pizza==
==Pizza==
Line 8: Line 19:
* An 8-inch pizza with one topping was $4.99 on the 2005 lunch menu<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14" />.
* An 8-inch pizza with one topping was $4.99 on the 2005 lunch menu<ref name="ct-2005-01-21-p14" />.


==Locations==
==Former Locations==
* 8420 Market St., Middleton (December 2004 to ?).
* 8420 Market St., Middleton, Greenway Station (week of December 13, 2004<ref name="ct-2004-12-18-p26" /> to the first half of 2010<ref name="ct-2010-07-15-p7" />). Followed by Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill (about January to late 2011)<ref name="wsj-2010-11-14-p103" /><ref name="isthmus-2011-12-29-openings-closings" /> and, from 2018, the Market West Apartments<ref name="point2homes-market-west-apartments" />.


==See also==
==See also==
* [[COVID-19 pandemic]] (the Waunakee Boston's)
* [[Item:Q1471|Boston's in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]
* [[Item:Q1471|Boston's in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
<references />
<references />

Latest revision as of 05:09, 24 October 2026

Boston's the Gourmet Pizza was a Canadian pizza and sports-bar chain's restaurant at 8420 Market St. in Middleton's Greenway Station, open from shortly before Christmas 2004[1] until the first half of 2010[2][3]. It is not the Boston's in Waunakee, which opened in 2019 and closed in September 2020[4].

History

The chain began as a pizza joint in Canada in 1964 — not in Boston — and by 2005 had 180 franchises in Canada and 17 in the United States; Middleton's was one of two in Wisconsin, the other in Eau Claire. Diners turned right into a loud, smoky sports bar or left into a family dining room with an open kitchen; the same menu served both. The State Journal's reviewer found the kitchen "has the pizza part right", with more than 25 pizzas on hand-pressed medium crusts[5]. The restaurant had opened quietly before Christmas 2004 with a trial night for HospiceCare staff[1]. It was still among Greenway Station's restaurants in December 2005[6].

Ground was broken on August 25, 2004, for the 7,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar at 8420 Market St., with a patio for about 70, built by Engineered Construction of Verona; the chain, founded in Edmonton in 1964, then had about 200 restaurants, 20 of them in the United States[7][8]. The grand-opening advertisements ran on December 23[9], and on December 26 the State Journal described it as the market's latest entrant, opened "about two weeks ago" by Rick Horstman, who had sold 13 Curves for Women franchises and planned a Boston's in Green Bay and two more in Madison by 2006[10].

By October the restaurant was expected "next month", one of the arrivals that Damon's blamed when it closed its west-side restaurant[11][12]. In November the chain hired every position from a job trailer on the site and advertised a grand opening for November 30[13], but the restaurant opened in the week of December 13, 2004: 300 seats, more than 120 employees, more than 25 gourmet pizzas and 13 pastas on a menu served until closing, and a dozen televisions for the sports bar. The franchisee, Rick Horstman of Advantage Control Company, planned it as the first of 14 Boston's in the upper Midwest[14].

Closing

The restaurant was still advertising in the State Journal on December 13, 2009[2], but by July 2010 it was gone. Chris Martell's Table Talk column of July 15, 2010, reported that "the Madison area recently lost two restaurants": Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar at Greenway Station had "sprouted a 'For Sale' sign and its phone is disconnected", and the Tilted Kilt on Gammon Place had closed too[3]. The chain's own website tells the same story: the Internet Archive's capture of its location finder on July 24, 2010, still lists Wisconsin among its states, and the capture of September 14, 2010, does not[15][16]. So the Middleton Boston's closed between December 2009 and July 2010, after about five and a half years.

That November a classified advertisement announced that Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill was "opening soon" at 8420 Market St., "the old Boston Pizza"[17], and Wild Bull was advertising by January 6, 2011[18]. Its general manager, Joe Burdick, had been an operating partner in the Middleton Boston's and carried some of its menu over; the State Journal's reviewer in April 2011 thought the two restaurants seemed "remarkably similar with sandwiches, pastas, salads, ribs and a focus on pizza"[19][20]. Wild Bull did not last the year: Isthmus's review of 2011 noted that "at Greenway Station, Wild Bull opened and closed"[21]. The site has since been redeveloped; the Market West Apartments, built in 2018, now stand at 8420 Market St.[22]

Online listings that say the Middleton Boston's closed in 2020 have confused it with the chain's later Waunakee restaurant, at 1370 Water Wheel Dr., which opened in 2019 and closed in September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic[4].

Pizza

  • Specialty pizzas included the Zorba the Greek (olives, onions, green peppers, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and feta), the Rustic Italian with spicy sausage, and a Russian-inspired "spicy perogy" on a sour-cream base; pizzas cost $6.79 to $23.99 in 2005[5].
  • An 8-inch pizza with one topping was $4.99 on the 2005 lunch menu[1].

Former Locations

  • 8420 Market St., Middleton, Greenway Station (week of December 13, 2004[14] to the first half of 2010[3]). Followed by Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill (about January to late 2011)[17][21] and, from 2018, the Market West Apartments[22].

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 (2005, January 21). Capital Times review of Boston's the Gourmet Pizza, 8420 Market St., Middleton, open since shortly before Christmas 2004. The Capital Times. p. 14. Newspapers.com image 525980056.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 (2009, December 13). Display ad: Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar — 'Eat. Laugh. Share.' (Greenway Station, Middleton). Wisconsin State Journal. p. 470. Newspapers.com image 396058020.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Martell, C. (2010, July 15). Table Talk: Mount Horeb now has a Pizza Extreme, at 1200 Highway 151 in a former Pizza Pit; the chain's other stores listed. The Capital Times. p. 7. Newspapers.com image 522548861.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2021, August 20). "Dark Horse rides again: New gallery and music space taking shape in former Star Bar." madison.com.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Martell, C. (2005, February 6). "Adding to the chain gang: Restaurant review: Boston's the Gourmet Pizza." madison.com.
  6. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2005, December 15). "Sal's Pizzeria helps a family tradition grow." madison.com.
  7. ↑ (2004, August 25). "Greenway Station getting Boston's Pizza." The Capital Times. p. 36. Newspapers.com image 526012892.
  8. ↑ Balousek, M. (2004, September 22). "Business openings: Boston's the Gourmet Pizza and Sports Bar, Middleton." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 24. Newspapers.com image 406814331.
  9. ↑ (2004, December 23). Boston's the Gourmet Pizza advertisement: grand opening, Middleton. The Capital Times. p. 52. Newspapers.com image 525977332.
  10. ↑ Wallmeyer, A. (2004, December 26). "Pizzas with pizzazz: Gourmet pizza places are proliferating." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 21. Newspapers.com images 406304963, 406304963, 406304975.
  11. ↑ Balousek, M. (2004, October 14). "Officials call center a success." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 47. Newspapers.com image 406661609.
  12. ↑ Ivey, M. (2004, October 19). "Damon's west restaurant closes." The Capital Times. p. 36. Newspapers.com image 522299050.
  13. ↑ (2004, November 7). "Boston's the Gourmet Pizza & Sports Bar now hiring — Grand Opening Nov. 30th." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 140. Newspapers.com image 406623660.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 (2004, December 18). "Boston's Pizza opens at Greenway." The Capital Times. p. 26. Newspapers.com image 525976679.
  15. ↑ Boston's location finder: the list of states still includes Wisconsin (Internet Archive capture). bostons.com. Internet Archive capture of July 24, 2010: archived copy. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
  16. ↑ Boston's location finder: Wisconsin is no longer among the states listed (Internet Archive capture; also absent 2010-10-18, 2011-01-22 and 2011-05-05). bostons.com. Internet Archive capture of September 14, 2010: archived copy. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 (2010, November 14). Help wanted: 'Opening Soon — Wild Bull All American Pub and Grill', 8420 Market St., Middleton, '(The old Boston Pizza)'. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 103. Newspapers.com image 522992141.
  18. ↑ (2011, January 6). Wild Bull ad: www.wildbullsportbar.com, 8420 Market Street, Middleton, 608-203-8420. The Capital Times. p. 2. Newspapers.com image 522556961.
  19. ↑ (2011, April 17). Restaurant review of Wild Bull, 8420 Market St., Middleton (608-203-8420): 'the restaurant which preceded Wild Bull' was Boston's; general manager Joe Burdick had been an operating partner in the Middleton Boston's and car…. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 57. Newspapers.com image 523129700.
  20. ↑ (2011, June 12). Wild Bull scorecard, 8420 Market St., Middleton: 'Picking up where Boston's left off, Wild Bull has a large menu that it executes well'; pizzas $6.99 to $16.99. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 53. Newspapers.com image 523083942.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Falkenstein, L. (2011, December 29). "Amid 2011's openings and closings, Madison restaurants delivered some pretty impressive food." Isthmus.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Market West Apartments, 8420 Market St., Middleton: built 2018, 240 units. Point2Homes. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
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