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Boloco's last restaurant survives closing date, gets reprieve

Boloco's last restaurant survives closing date, gets reprieve

Built World Boston, MA local

A Boloco-fan developer pushed the closing to Oct. 16. That date has passed with no public word.

September 25th, 2026: Scheduled closing date passes

Overview

Updated Oct 23

Boloco's last restaurant was due to close Sept. 25, when its Congress Street building in downtown Boston is converted into 169 apartments. Developer Patrick Mahoney, who turned out to be a Boloco fan, then gave owner John Pepper until at least Oct. 16 to work out a move.

That deadline has passed. As of Oct. 23, no public report has said whether the shop closed, reopened at the chain's old Federal Street address, or won more time. Pepper had said he wasn't sure he had the energy to keep the 29-year-old chain going.

Why it matters

Boloco's 29-year run now depends on whether one owner wants to keep going and one developer keeps waiting.

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Key Indicators

Oct. 16
Deadline that has passed
Date the developer set for a move; no public word since
1
Locations remaining
Down from 22 at the chain's peak
22
Locations at peak
Across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
169
Residential units planned
In the building being converted, including 34 income-restricted units

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People Involved

JP
John Pepper
Founder and owner of Boloco
Weighing whether to keep the chain going; the Oct. 16 deadline has passed without public word on his decision
PM
Patrick Mahoney
Principal of Mahoney Development Group
Redeveloping Boloco's building; granted the chain extra time

Organizations Involved

Boloco
Boloco
Restaurant chain
Last location was kept open until at least Oct. 16; no public word since on whether it closed or moved

Boston-born burrito chain founded in 1997, once had 22 locations.
MD
Mahoney Development Group
Real estate developer
Converting Boloco's building into 169 apartments

Development firm converting Boloco's Congress Street building into homes.
Boston Planning Department
Boston Planning Department
City agency
Overseeing the office-to-residential conversion program

Boston city agency overseeing the Office-to-Residential Conversion Program.

Timeline

June 1997 September 2026

5 events Latest: September 25th, 2026 · 2 months ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Scheduled closing date passes

    Latest Milestone

    Boloco's last location stays open past closing date

  2. Developer grants three-week reprieve

    Development

    Patrick Mahoney agreed to let Boloco stay past its Sept. 25 closing date. Pepper announced the extension, to at least Oct. 16, the week before Sept. 28.

  3. Boloco announces last location closing

    Announcement

    Posts that 50 Congress St. closes Sept. 25, 60 days away

  4. Rebranded as Boloco

    Milestone

    The Wrap rebrands to Boloco

  5. Under Wraps opens in Boston

    Founding

    Restaurant opens, later rebranded Boloco

Scenarios

1

Boloco reopens at Federal Street

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: Boston.com's reporting on the potential deal

Pepper and Mahoney work out terms for the former Federal Street location. Pepper said he hopes to open shortly after the Congress Street store closes. The chain survives in some form.

2

Boloco closes for good after Oct. 16

Deadline passed (Oct 31, 2026)

Discussed by: Boloco's own September closing announcement

No new space materializes and the Congress Street location closes after Oct. 16. The building converts to 169 apartments and the chain's 29-year run ends. Pepper's employee-ownership dream goes unrealized.

3

Boloco gets another extension

Deadline passed (Oct 20, 2026)

Discussed by: Mahoney's willingness to work with Pepper

As Oct. 16 nears, Mahoney grants more time if a Federal Street deal is close. Boloco stays in limbo while negotiations continue past the current deadline.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2022

Howard Johnson's last restaurant (2022)

The last Howard Johnson's restaurant, in Lake George, New York, closed in 2022. The chain, founded in Quincy, Massachusetts, once had over 1,000 orange-roofed locations before shrinking to a single outlet serving fried clams and ice cream.

Then

The closure ended the restaurant brand, though Howard Johnson's hotels continued operating.

Now

The brand now survives mainly through its namesake hotels, a shadow of its mid-century dominance.

Why this matters now

Shows how an iconic New England-born chain can dwindle to one beloved location before vanishing, echoing Boloco's shrink from 22 locations to 1.

2013

New Belgium Brewing employee ownership (2013)

New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado, completed a transition to 100% employee ownership in 2013. The craft brewery, founded in 1991, became one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States.

Then

The employee-ownership model made workers partial owners and the company continued expanding.

Now

In 2019, New Belgium sold to Lion, owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings, showing that employee ownership can end in a conventional acquisition.

Why this matters now

Pepper has long dreamed of making Boloco employee-owned. New Belgium's path shows both the appeal and the limits of that model.

Sources

(4)
Boston.com NBC Boston Patch The Boston Globe