Cambridge-based vegetarian fast-food chain Clover Food Lab will shut down all of its restaurants today, ending 17 years of operation across Greater Boston after failing to secure a buyer, local news sources report.
CEO Julia Wrin Piper confirmed the closure in an email to customers on May 26, citing ingredient costs that have risen 30 to 50% over the past two years. “Our current situation isn’t a unique story. In the best of times, restaurants are a tough business: margins are thin, building new restaurants is expensive, and our industry is the most exposed to macroeconomic forces,” she wrote.
The closure will result in the layoff of approximately 170 to 182 employees. Meal box delivery service will also end on May 28.
A sale process that came up short
In March, Clover filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the state of Massachusetts, as required by law when mass layoffs are anticipated. At the time, the company said it was “optimistic” a deal could be finalized. No buyer was ultimately found.
A difficult few years
Clover was founded in October 2008 by Ayr Muir, an MIT materials science graduate and Harvard Business School alumnus, as a single food truck on MIT’s campus. It grew into a chain known for its kosher-certified, plant-forward menu sourced largely from local New England farms. Muir left the company in late 2023, shortly before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid pandemic disruption, a failed commissary expansion, and tightening investment markets. Clover emerged from that process in 2024 with most locations intact and plans to add up to 50 new sites across New England. Those plans did not materialize.
“Today, everyone is getting hit with rising costs — food prices are up, delivery prices are up, and a hundred other costs are moving in the same direction… even the less flashy things like cardboard and fry oil,” Wrin Piper said.
She added,”For 17 years, we have championed local farms and served tens of thousands across Greater Boston. We’re deeply saddened to share this news — for our employees, New England farmers, and you, our guests and supporters.”
