NEW GLASGOW – The Boston Pizza outlet in New Glasgow closed its doors on Oct. 26.
After being open for a little more than a year, workers at the Highland Square Mall restaurant and sports bar were notified of the closure via email.
A public relations worker at Boston Pizza’s regional corporate office in Mississauga, Ont. Issued a brief statement on Friday morning.
"We regret that the local owners of this location have decided to close their doors,” Peter Blackwell told The News in an email.
“However, Boston Pizza is committed to begin anew in New Glasgow and ask that folks bear with us while we work to reopen as quickly as possible and ensure we deliver the full Boston Pizza experience for everyone in New Glasgow.
“We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this temporary closure and we look forward to seeing the residents of New Glasgow again soon.”
READ MORE:
• Boston Pizza coming to Highland Square Mall
• Boston Pizza to open next month in New Glasgow
• Boston Pizza opening delayed in New Glasgow
The restaurant franchise owners were Jan and Troy Relf, who said before it opened that they had decided on New Glasgow because they thought it would be a good opportunity for the town and wanted to be able to get involved in the community. Just shy of 6,000 square feet, with a seating capacity of 120 in the dining room and 110 in the lounge, it was initially hoped it would employ about 60 full-time staff.
A restaurant employee, who has worked there since it opened in September 2017, said staff received an email informing them that the doors were locked, and the locks and alarm system had been changed.
“The owners are walking away from it and corporate is looking for a new owner,” said the employee, who estimated that roughly 40 people have been thrown out of work.
“The writing was on the wall (but) we tried to be upbeat. A lot of the servers and the cooks are pretty worried, where we are two months away from Christmas.”
A person who works at a store at Highland Square Mall said it wasn’t much of a shock that the restaurant was shut down.
“No one here is surprised it closed,” said the employee, who wanted to remain anonymous. “They’d say it was busy, but it never seemed busy when I left here after work.”
“The owners are walking away from it and corporate is looking for a new owner,” said the employee, who estimated that roughly 40 people have been thrown out of work.
“The writing was on the wall (but) we tried to be upbeat. A lot of the servers and the cooks are pretty worried, where we are two months away from Christmas.”
A person who works at a store at Highland Square Mall said it wasn’t much of a shock that the restaurant was shut down.
“No one here is surprised it closed,” said the employee, who wanted to remain anonymous. “They’d say it was busy, but it never seemed busy when I left here after work.”
