Bozii Time

3040

Offering organic and healthy food, Bozii Restaurants Corp. is adding eateries in Midwest states including Michigan and Illinois, Canada, and Asia in a bid to be a global player in the healthy, quick-meals industry. In five years, the future franchisor plans to have 100 outlets open around the world.

Already, the company operates seven restaurants in greater Windsor and metro Detroit. New locations will come on line in Clinton Township and inside the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit over the summer.

“We’re looking at Ann Arbor, Campus Martius (in Detroit’s central business district), Lansing, Grand Rapids, Chicago, other parts of the Midwest, China, and other parts of Canada,” says Michael Steffke, Bozii’s director of operations. “Our goal is to be in every major market. We use organic chicken and turkey, roasted tenderloin, and local ingredients. We can have (a Bozii) prepared in less than a minute.”

Free of additives and preservatives, a Bozii consists of a warm baked dough exterior shaped in a half circle. It easily fits in the palm of a hand. Filled with ingredients ranging from a Maryland crab cake to bleu buffalo chicken to turkey and Brie, the unique shape all but eliminates spills. Prices range from $2.50 to $4.50 each, depending on the selection.

The company, whose U.S. headquarters is in Clinton Township, got its start two years ago in Windsor, where it operates locations at the Devonshire Mall, Tecumseh Mall, Clair College, and the University of  Windsor. Last October, Bonzii opened an eatery at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills, and in March an outlet was added at Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn.

“We have no fryers in the kitchen, each Bozii averages 330 calories, and we make nearly everything from scratch, including our chicken soup and fruit smoothies,” says Dave Bachtold, Bozii’s vice president of operations. “We have 14 different (Bozii) flavors, so we won’t be adding many more. But I could see us adding a Rueben one or, if we were in Boston, something with lobster.” — R.J. King