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Not so fast with that Chick-fil-A in Copley Square

When news broke last week that Chick-fil-A had an agreement to move into the Boylston Street location now occupied by a Boloco, it was news not just to fans and haters of the chicken chain, but to Boloco.

Boloco owner John Pepper says today:

Related to the rumors of Chick Fil A taking over our Copley location, there is not yet any agreement for Boloco to leave. We have a lease thru 2020 and a decade of options after. We are working with landlord to find a solution based on what we’ve read

The owner of the building is Raj Dhanda, who also owns the Crimson Galleria in Harvard Square and other commercial properties. Last year, Dhanda filed a federal RICO lawsuit to try to block a medical-marijuana dispensary from opening in Harvard Square.

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Comments

My favorite boloco will stay (for now.)

To think that they have gone from 22 locations to 9 is sad, but at least this one soldiers on.

I got Chick Fil-A on Saturday, so I'm happy that the option is nearby. The restaurant was crowded, so hopefully more locations will open.

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To think that they have gone from 22 locations to 9 is sad

I think they only ever expanded to 22 because of the economic downturn and recession where rents for retail space bottomed out. They've got a decent product, but once rents climbed back up as the economy recovered and is now booming, they were spread too thin.

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Most of their locations are in the Back Bay or downtown, with one location in the LMA, one location in Lynnfield, and one in Hannover, NH. I would say there is an outlier there.

But, it's better to be lean than to be defunct.

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Hanover NH because the founders went to Tuck, I think.

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That's stretching the supply chain a bit.

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nation-wide

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Someone needs to tell them to take down pages like http://www.boloco.com/concord-nh/ , or edit them to say the location is closed.

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My only complaint with Boloco is that I think they need to update their menu a bit. With so many fresh fast casual options now, Boloco is feeling a bit tired with their menu selections.

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Compared the to single offering at Chicken & Rice Guys?

The ordering kiosks at Boloco are pretty great for making some crazy burrito. The chain is a victim of their success and age. They've been around long enough that many assume they aren't hip and new. Their stores makes them look like they are a big national chain which drives some people away yet they are too small to have the economy of scale needed to support their business. It's a shame.

Boloco is far superior to Clover. But Clover has them beat at the "image branding" so they do better even with worse food and high prices.

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but Chicken & Rice Guys is literally called...Chicken & Rice Guys.

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You also can choose your meat and get veggies

Its not like you JUST get chicken and rice with no options.

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I very rarely go to C&RG for the same reason. I get bored of it. My complaint about Boloco is that their menu has remained largely unchanged for years, while places like Sweetgreen, Dig Inn, Bgood, etc tend to change it up every now and then, adding seasonal items or new permanent items to the menu.

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Boloco had a Thanksgiving burrito. I tried it once. Sometimes change is not necessarily good.

Raising Cane's, on the other hand, has I believe 5 items total on their menu and are doing okay (in that they are not retrenching.)

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I can't believe nobody challenged you on "Boloco is far superior to Clover." I like Boloco but that's bananas.

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I also agree with they need to freshen up their menu. Way back when they opened, it *was* the place to get a burrito. (this was long before we had an influx of Qdoba and later Chipolte)

But with so many options for this style food.. they really haven't updated their menu in a while

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sounds like a rather disagreeable character.

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Sounds like a real piece of shit.

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Can't win here. Beans make you fart. Chick-fil of Hate makes you puke.

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