Boston Pizza Arthur Street Undergoes Major Renovation
Whenyou walk into the Boston Pizza restaurant on Arthur Street after November 17th, from the bar door to the dining room, nothing will be the same. There will be all new equipment and walls. The customers will notice different flooring and tables but not a structural change. The
middle of the restaurant will be totally different. It will have the new colours and design of today’s Boston Pizza according to Pamela Lyghtle, General Manager/ Franchisee Boston Pizza Thunder Bay and shareholder in the company. The almost $1 million renovation will allow the location, originally opened in 1979, to serve their customers better. The two Boston Pizza locations in Thunder Bay and one in Kenora are owned by Terry & Judy Bicknell.
“In 1979 we had 50 items on our menu, now we are over 105 items and business has changed so we needed the renovation. As we are using an existing building it isn’t like our traditional Boston Pizza today as we don't have the room there to expand the building as was done with our Memorial Ave location,” said Pamela Lyghtle. “The work has gone pretty smooth so far. Gateway Contractors has done a really good job and all the sub trades have been good. We totally gutted to the floor, redid our drainage and water pipes, totally relocated our office and dish washing area to different spots and put in a walk in freezer. The kitchen will be a lot bigger than it was and will be multipurpose.
” Pamela Lyghtle is from Nova Scotia and came to Thunder Bay in her early teens and got a job at Boston Pizza as a bus girl and then server. She went to college taking Hotel & Restaurant Management at Centennial College in Toronto. “I started working in the Arthur
Street store in 1980 and went into management there in 1982. In 1987 I came to this store at Memorial just shortly after they opened as a dining room manager before going back to Arthur Street and now becoming General Manager,” said Lyghtle. “Boston Pizza was started in Edmonton by a Greek family as a family owned business. Until about 8 years ago we were the only Boston Pizza’s in Ontario but now they go coast to coast. Right now there are about 340 in Canada and 60 in the US, after just entering the US a few years ago.”
Jim Treliving is now the chairman and owner of Boston Pizza International Inc., Canada’s number one casual dining brand with operations in three countries and almost $1 billion in annual system-wide sales. With Jim and his partner George Melville at the helm, Boston Pizza has been consistently recognized as one of Canada’s"50 Best Managed Private Companies" and more recently as one of Canada’s Top Ten Most Admired Corporate Cultures. Jim Treliving was an RCMP officer and bought a franchise in the Vancouver Victoria with
George Melville. They bought out the whole franchise from Ron Coil who had bought it from the Greeks. At that time they had about 40 stores. He is a Dragon on Dragons Den.
“We have 80 employees at Memorial and 60 at the Arthur Street location for 140 in total. I think we have a good franchise owner which allows lots of input from the franchise’s. Boston gives us a lot of voice. We are the people working on the front lines. Each market is different and requires something different,” said Lyghtle. “It is a job you have to love or you wouldn’t do it. You have to work evenings, weekends and holidays when everyone else is off because that is when you are busy. You deal with a lot people. We have regulars as customers since 1979. I love the business, it is in my blood. I enjoy it. Every day is different and not the same day. It is not a boring job for sure.”
“ The weather and what is going on in the city plays an important part in our business. When we had the World Junior Baseball across the street that created a different approach. The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, the Fort William Gardens, Fireworks at the Marina or
events at The Fort William Historical Park all affect our activity greatly. You have to know what is going on in your city. If it is too hot out you know you will be busy because people want to come in, be cool in an air conditioned place and eat,” said Lyghtle. “The restaurant business
requires a lot of work. There is a lot to learn with so many items on the menu. You also need your parking lot clean, the grass cut, all your lights working, the equipment kept up, the dining room area clean and the washrooms working and then there is the staff. We have some staff
over 20 years with us. We give recognition awards. I think it can be a great career. You have to be a people person and enjoy working with the public.”
Pamela Lyghtle and her team shut down the Arthur Street location on September 13th and will reopen on Nov 15 or 17. “We had to lay some of our staff off. We are able to employ about 12 at Memorial but we want to have our experienced people back. It is a big deal to stop. We worry about staff who need the income. You also lose revenue and are spending on the renovation. This is the first time Arthur Street has shut down for more that a few days in its history, even when we added the lounge or redid the dining room in the past.” said Pamela Lyghtle.
It will be fun to visit the new Boston Pizza on Arthur Street and experience their food and new environment!
