The Boston Pizza concept began in Edmonton, Alberta in 1964 when Greek immigrant Gus Agioritis opened "Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House". By 1970 Boston Pizza had 17 locations throughout Western Canada, of which 15 were franchised.

One of the first franchisees attracted to the Boston Pizza concept was an RCMP officer named Jim Treliving. Treliving noticed the growing popularity of Boston Pizza, and in 1968 opened his first franchise restaurant in Penticton, British Columbia. In Penticton, Treliving met George Melville, a chartered accountant and then manager of the local Peat Marwick office. Melville acted as Treliving's business consultant for four years before becoming his partner in the business in 1973. Over the next 10 years the two men built a chain of 16 Boston Pizza restaurants throughout B.C., giving them the hands on experience that would prove invaluable in their future position as the franchisor of the Boston Pizza concept.

In 1983, Treliving and Melville acquired the chain of 44 Boston Pizza restaurants from then owner Ron Coyle, who had bought the company from Agioritis in 1978. The pair immediately divested 15 of their restaurants to individual franchisees, converted one restaurant to a corporate training restaurant and set about establishing systems and operating standards designed to enhance the already successful franchise system. In 1986 Boston Pizza made a corporate commitment to be the official pizza supplier for Expo 86 in Vancouver, B.C. The exposure that Boston Pizza received through the course of the world's fair created significant interest in the franchise opportunity, leading to 17 new franchises in 1987 and 1988.

Over the years the concept had evolved into a full service restaurant, sports bars had been established as an integral part of the business, and the menu had been expanded to include a variety of appetizers, entrees, salads and desserts. On the corporate side the organization was preparing for future growth and evolution by adding more management resources to the corporate management team.

In order to ensure the success of its eastern expansion, BPI made a significant commitment of finances and personnel in Eastern Canada. In 1997, BPI opened a regional office in Mississauga and Jim Treliving moved to Toronto to oversee the operations, hiring senior experienced foodservice management and transferring a senior operations person from Vancouver. The organization signed its first development agreement for the city of Ottawa in that same year and opened the first restaurant in September, 1998. Today there are 39 Boston Pizza restaurants in Eastern Canada, including two in the Maritimes, and BPI has signed agreements and/or collected deposits for approximately another 70 restaurants. At the same time, development continues in Western Canada, as the strength of the brand provides new opportunities for growth.

It took 12 years for the Boston Pizza chain to grow from $25 million in annual system sales to $100 million in 1995. Five years later the chain had reached $200 million in annual system sales and only two years later surpassed $300 million in annual system sales.