When Pizza Huts announced plans to open a second location in Boston this month, its first order of business was to make sure that it was a “true pizza experience” in the city.
But there were a few other requirements that the company must meet first: the first place it serves must be within a 50-minute drive of the company’s current location, and the company has to be willing to work with the city on the design.
Pizza Hut’s Boston location is slated to open in November, though the chain has not yet set an opening date.
The Boston location will be located on the north side of the city, at a block of buildings that includes a popular eatery.
It will be owned by Pizza Hut’s parent company, Unilever, and it will offer the same type of pizza as the other restaurants in the neighborhood, but Pizza Hut will also offer its own unique menu.
The company also plans to offer a “classic, Italian-inspired menu” with “delicacies from the world’s best Italian restaurants.”
It is expected that the first customers at Pizza Hut in Boston will be students from Harvard.
The other requirements for the Boston location are simple.
The first place Pizza Hut has to serve its pizza is within 50 minutes of the restaurant.
It can’t open the restaurant on weekends or after hours.
Pizza Hut must also be willing, and willing to provide, certain types of catering services.
“We will need to make certain our catering services are adequate for the size and the quality of the food that we are serving,” said Dan Cianci, general manager of the Boston Pizza Hut franchise.
Unilever is currently selling the rights to Pizza Hut to PizzaHut LLC, a joint venture between Pizza Hut and Unilevers.
Unileven has the rights on the brand of the Chicago-based company.
While Unileves is the owner of the chain, it is not a minority shareholder.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in April, the company confirmed that it holds a 51 percent stake in Pizza Hut, with Unilevez owning just 0.5 percent.
The filing did not indicate whether the remaining 1 percent of the stake was controlled by Unilev.
As of January, Unilyves had an estimated $7.3 billion in net assets.
It is unclear whether the Boston franchise will be able to compete with Pizza Hut.
According to an investor presentation prepared for Unilevs shareholders, it was uncertain whether the chain would have enough time to establish a full-service restaurant in Boston.
“Pizza Huts Boston will not be able, in our opinion, to compete against any existing restaurants, such as Pizza Hut or Domino’s, in the Boston market,” the presentation read.
“Additionally, the franchising model will likely be less favorable than Pizza Hut Boston, and, in fact, may not offer the optimal combination of competitive pricing and quality service.”
Unilvers’ franchise in Boston has been in the works for several years.
The company announced that it had secured a franchise for a $300 million restaurant in April.
The deal with Unilves included a lease on the space, which is a 10-year lease.
When the Boston launch was announced, Pizza Hut was quick to announce the news.
The chain said it is looking forward to serving its customers in the “largest city in the country,” which is “a testament to the great work Unilevered has done over the past 10 years to transform the restaurant industry.”