Boston Pizza franchise training and support

The published programme

Boston Pizza’s traditional-format page answers the question “Does Boston Pizza provide a training program?” with a 4-week programme at Corporate Training Centres in Mississauga, Ontario and Laval, Quebec, followed by 2 weeks of on-site training pre-opening and 2 weeks post-opening for you and your new team. It calls this an 8-week program and says that beyond it franchisees have continued access to the Online Learning Platform and the support of the Training and Operations teams.

Other support Boston Pizza names

The same page lists real estate support, from market studies to site selection and leasing details; design and construction guidance; a Regional Operations Manager who it says provides operational support and conducts operational assessments throughout the year; and national marketing support. These are descriptions of the franchisor’s own offer to a new franchisee, not a promise to any particular buyer.

The approval timeline

Boston Pizza says its discovery and approval process on average can be 10-12 weeks, depending on how quickly the applicant and the franchisor work through the necessary steps. That is the franchisor’s description for applicants for a new restaurant; it says nothing about a purchase from an existing franchisee.

What a resale buyer should ask

The pages read describe training for new franchisees opening a restaurant, and say nothing about a buyer who takes over a trading one. Ask the franchisor in writing whether you would be required to complete any part of the programme, when, and at whose cost, and whether any fee is charged for it — does buying a resale require retraining? Get the answer before you commit to a price, because time away from the restaurant and any fee are part of the real cost.

The CFA listing says something different

The Canadian Franchise Association directory gives a different programme length from Boston Pizza’s own pages, so this page uses the franchisor’s own page for the duration and the directory for membership only. Ask Boston Pizza for the current programme length and read the disclosure document, which is the governing description.