VANCOUVER — Boston Pizza International Inc. is kicking off the year on a good note with news that 18 new restaurants have been opened across Canada and added to the Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund pool to reflect units opened between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009.

"We are very pleased to have opened another 18 Boston Pizza restaurants in 2009,” said George Melville, co-chair of BPI. “Since the inception of the Fund in 2002, Boston Pizza has opened a remarkable total of 190 new restaurants in Canada, which is more than any other full-service restaurant chain over that period. This robust growth is evidence of Boston Pizza's strong operating model."