I’ve just started reading McDonald’s Behind the Arches by John F. Love, a well-written history of the business of the ubiquitous hamburger franchise. Therefore, an item in the paper piqued my interest; Boston Chicken, the parent company of Boston Market restaurants, is being acquired by McDonald’s Corp. Boston Chicken filed for bankruptcy in 1998. That was about the time I stopped eating there (no, it wasn’t my fault!). From what I’ve already learned about McDonald’s business practices, they seem well-suited to whip the lagging restaurant chain into shape. As of January 2000 there were 858 Boston Market restaurants. In December 1997 there were 1166.