The Canadian Chain That Made Mérida Home Opens Its 5th Location

More than two decades after a Canadian sports bar chain planted its first flag in Mexico — in Mérida — Boston’s Pizza has opened its fifth location in the city, this time at the new Prime Center shopping complex on the northern outskirts of town.

The opening, which took place on Thursday, marks the 11th location operated by BPT Group, the Mérida-based franchisee that has driven the brand’s aggressive expansion across southeastern Mexico and beyond. It also puts an exclamation point on what has become one of the more quietly remarkable stories in the Yucatán dining scene: a Canadian chain finding its most fertile ground not in Canada, not in the U.S., but in a mid-sized Mexican city with a booming expat population and an increasingly cosmopolitan appetite.

The chain’s Mexican story began in Mérida. When Boston Pizza entered Mexico, its first restaurant opened in Mérida, Yucatán, in early 2003 — a decision that was, by the company’s own admission, largely unplanned. The brand grew steadily from there, and BPT Group eventually became its primary franchise operator in Mexico, building a network that now spans cities from Monterrey to Villahermosa.

Boston’s Pizza celebrated its 20th anniversary in Mexico at a ceremony in Mérida in 2023, attended by Jim Treliving, president and owner of Boston’s Pizza International, and the Canadian ambassador to Mexico — a sign of just how central the city has been to the chain’s Latin American identity.

The new Prime Center location is timed to coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off this summer with matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The opening campaign, dubbed Nos vemos en el 5to partido — “See you at the 5th game” — is a play on both the fifth Mérida location and the Mexican soccer fan’s dream of seeing the national team advance to the fifth round of the tournament.

“More than opening a new location, we’re looking to create a space where people can come together, celebrate, and experience the emotion of sport as a community,” said Eduardo Vargas Torrado, general director of BPT Group.

Prime Center sits at the intersection of the Mérida-Progreso highway and the access road to Distrito Xcanatún, a fast-developing corridor in Mérida’s north that has attracted a mix of big-box retailers and upscale residential development. The center also houses a Chedraui supermarket among other tenants.

The format at the new location follows the chain’s established playbook: gourmet pizzas, pasta, cocktails, and a sports bar with multiple screens — a formula that has found a ready audience in a city where a growing number of North American expats and international visitors are looking for familiar, relaxed dining with a sports-watching component. Yucatán Magazine readers have long recognized the brand’s role in that niche; the chain appeared in our Best of Yucatán dining poll, with readers noting its sports bar atmosphere and the variety of its menu.

Boston Pizza International, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, was founded in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1964 and operates nearly 400 locations in Canada. In Mexico and the United States, the brand goes by Boston’s: The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar.

With the World Cup approaching and Mérida’s dining scene growing more competitive, the timing of the Prime Center opening is no accident. BPT Group has been on an expansion tear in the lead-up to the tournament, opening a location in Querétaro in late May 2026 and bringing the brand’s national total to 28 restaurants across Mexico.

Quick Facts: Boston’s Pizza Prime Center

• Location: Prime Center, Mérida-Progreso highway at Distrito Xcanatún, northern Mérida
• Operator: BPT Group (Mérida-based franchise group)
• Format: Casual dining and sports bar; gourmet pizza, pasta, cocktails, multiple sports screens
• Mérida locations: 5 (the first opened in 2003, making Mérida the brand’s original Mexico home)
• Mexico-wide: 28 locations in cities including Mérida, Cancún, Mexico City, Monterrey, Villahermosa, Veracruz, Tijuana, and Querétaro
• More info: bostons.com.mx

Sources: yucatan.com.mx; bptgroup.mx; encyclopedia.com; bostons.com.mx