Back Bay Restaurant Group was an American
restaurant company headquartered in
Boston, Massachusetts, which operated a number of upscale restaurant chains along the
East Coast
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Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a radio station in Co. Wicklow, Ireland
* East Coast Swing, a f ...
, primarily in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...
.
History
The Back Bay Restaurant Group was founded in 1992 when it was spun off from
Charles Sarkis' Westwood Group and went public at $17 a share.
It was listed on the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
under the symbol "PAPA". At the time Back Bay Restaurant Group went public it had 14 restaurants. By 1999 the company stock had dropped to $3.50 a share and a 25% shareholder wanted out. Sarkis took the company private again for $38 million. By 2002, Back Bay Restaurant Group consisted of 35 restaurants on the East Coast, including the Abe & Louie's, J.C. Hillary's, Atlantic Fish Co., Coach Grill, Joe's American Bar & Grill, and Papa Razzi chains.
In 2010, Sarkis' health seriously declined. He was also under significant financial strain following the closure of his other business,
Wonderland Greyhound Park
Wonderland may refer to:
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.
In 2011, Back Bay Restaurant Group sold 33 of its restaurants, which included 15 Joe's American Bar & Grill locations, 12 Papa Razzi restaurants and its flagship enterprise, Abe & Louie's, to the Tavistock Restaurants, LLC.
In March 2012 he sold seven Papa Razzi locations to the Newport Harbor Group. In December 2013, it closed its final two Massachusetts restaurants, Papa Razzi and Joe's American Bar and Grill in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
.
Its final two restaurants, both located in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
, were closed at the end of March 2018.
Sarkis died on March 11, 2018, at the age of 78.
As of March 2018, six Joe's American Bar and Grill restaurants were in business, though now owned by Tavistock; five in Massachusetts and one in
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan are ...
. In early 2020, however, two Joe's American Bar and Grill restaurants were closed; one in Massachusetts and the Fairfield location.
References
{{reflist
Holding companies established in 1992
Holding companies disestablished in 2018
1992 establishments in Massachusetts
2018 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Companies based in Boston
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Restaurant groups in the United States
Restaurants established in 1992
Restaurants disestablished in 2018