Operations

Bertucci's to open a limited-service spinoff, Bertucci's Pronto

The restaurant in downtown Boston will offer the full-service chain’s signature brick-oven pizza and other items for takeout and dine-in.
The opening this spring will also mark Bertucci's return to downtown Boston. | Photo: Shutterstock

Full-service pizza chain Bertucci’s is launching a limited-service riff on its core concept.

Bertucci’s Pronto will open this spring in downtown Boston’s Government Center area. The scaled-down Pronto will offer a selection of Bertucci’s menu items, including its signature oven-baked pizzas, salads and sandwiches. It will be takeout-focused, though a 34-seat dining room will accommodate dine-in customers. 

Bertucci’s expects Pronto to attract an audience of businesspeople as well as tourists visiting the nearby Freedom Trail. Pronto will also cater to commuters with breakfast sandwiches and pizzas, and it will stay open into the evening for workers headed home. Delivery will be available to the surrounding area, which is home to many of Boston’s administrative buildings.

Customers can expect the quality at Pronto to match that of Bertucci’s full-service locations, the chain said. The dough used in Pronto’s pizza and rolls will be made in-house each morning.

The new location marks Bertucci’s return to downtown Boston. A full-service outlet in the Faneuil Hall area closed in 2018 after it was reportedly unable to agree on a new lease. 

“We are thrilled to return to downtown Boston with a new concept in this historic location,” said Robert Earl, owner of Bertucci’s parent company, Earl Enterprises, in a statement. “The community has been so supportive of Bertucci’s and we have been searching for the perfect spot in the city to launch our first Bertucci’s Pronto restaurant.”

Bertucci’s was founded in 1981 in the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts. Its headquarters are located west of there, in Northborough.

The 23-unit chain has been shrinking recently. It closed five restaurants last year, and systemwide sales declined by more than 27%, according to data from Technomic. 

It is the latest full-service brand to try a limited-service spinoff in recent years, joining IHOP, P.F. Chang’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Outback Steakhouse and Hooters. 

The strategy gives full-service operators a chance to tap into consumer demand for convenience, and the scaled-down format opens up new real estate possibilities. But results have been spotty: IHOP abandoned its Flip’d concept, and P.F. Chang’s has scaled back plans for P.F. Chang’s To-Go units. Buffalo Wild Wings’ BWW Go has been growing quickly, however.

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