Tastes Like Chicken McDonald's adds yet another nugget to its family.

Restaurant giant McDonald's recently announced its plannedacquisition of the Boston Market chain of stores for $173.5million. "We see great potential for Boston Market. It's awell-established brand with excellent employees, quality products,loyal customers and growth potential," says Lisa Howard, aspokesperson for McDonald's.

Relying on the strength of Boston Market's menu,McDonald's isn't planning any functional or physicalchanges to the existing 751 company-owned and 108 franchisee-ownedBoston Market restaurants. Any major changes will come in the formof expertise. As Howard points out, McDonald's has a vastglobal supply infrastructure and the "experience of running amultiunit restaurant business with a standard of highquality."

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998, Boston Market, asubsidiary of Boston Chicken Inc., strove to turn things around andincreased store sales, which made them an attractive commodity toMcDonald's. "The Boston Market family has put the chainback on positive footing in the last year or so," saysHoward.