Mass.-based vegetarian restaurant chain Clover to shut down

Clover Food Lab, a restaurant chain of veggie-focused eats around Greater Boston, will close all 11 of its locations Thursday, ending its 17-year run. Around 170 employees will lose their jobs.

Clover filed a layoff notice to the state in March, saying the company was at risk of closing in late May.

The fast-casual company blamed the "hangover effects" of  COVID and inflation for its closure. The company said their ingredients cost 30 to 50% more today than two years ago.

"Our current situation isn’t a unique story," the company said in a memo to customers. "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."

Clover started as an MIT food truck by founder Ayr Muir and expanded to brick-and-mortar restaurants over the years, selling signature dishes like chickpea fritters and mushroom popper sandwiches. The vegetarian eatery bought ingredients from local farmers and ran a subscription-based meal box delivery service to customers.

Clover filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, citing low sales, high rent and lack of funding following the pandemic. Later in 2024, the company exited bankruptcy with a goal to open 50 new restaurants across New England. As part of the reorganization, Clover shut down restaurants in Boston's Copley Square and Somerville's Assembly Row, and ended its lease on a 40,000 square foot facility in Hyde Park that was originally planned to produce food for its meal box delivery business.

"At Clover, we’ve raised prices some, of course, but there is a limit—every one of you is likely thinking about how you save and spend right now too," the company said in the memo.