Boloco

History

Boloco started out as Under Wraps in 1996, the brainchild of Adam Liebman, Gregg Harris, John Pepper, and Jason Hutchinson. Their first shop opened the following year on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston's Back Bay. In 1998, they bought out competitor Wrap Culture, which had spots in Harvard Square and Cleveland Circle, and renamed all three locations The Wrap and Smoothie Bar. A 2000 merger with Jera's Juice, a four-outlet juice chain, created the Stellar Restaurant Group.

Over the next few years, new locations popped up at Northeastern University, on Newbury Street, at Boston Children's Hospital, on Pearl Street, and on Federal Street, bringing the total to eight. A ninth outpost opened at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in February 2004, marking the first venture beyond Boston. Later that year, the founders sold The Wrap brand to Joe Lanni and his sons, who aimed to franchise nationally. The new owners rebranded the chain as Boloco, short for Boston Local Company, a name chosen from six options developed by FRCH Design Worldwide.

Corporate identity

In 2007, the Humane Society of the United States noted that Boloco had switched to cage-free eggs, using about 318,000 dollars’ worth of liquid eggs each year. The CEO at the time, Harder, said it was the right move and led to better food. A year later, the chain became the first fast-casual restaurant in New England to earn Certified Green status from the Green Restaurant Association, and by 2011 it had a two-star rating. The group said Boloco cut its environmental impact and boosted sustainable practices, like recycling, organic t-shirts, and teaching employees about the environment.

Supplier HT Berry helped by offering compostable items and getting rid of Styrofoam cups. In 2016, Boloco became a certified B Corp, a label for businesses that balance social responsibility with profits. In 2022, it tried out plant-based minced chicken at its Congress Street location. The chain was also known for paying above minimum wage.

In 2002, when the minimum was 5.15 dollars, Boloco paid at least 8 dollars an hour. By 2018, its average hourly wage was 14.50 dollars, while similar industries paid 9.54 dollars. In February 2014, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Durbin spoke at the Congress Street restaurant to support raising the federal minimum wage. That August, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez held an event at the Bethesda location for the same cause.