Clover Food Labs, a Cambridge-based fast-casual vegetarian chain, may close all locations and lay off over 180 employees if it can’t find a buyer before June.
According to a March 30 notice filed with the state, all 182 of Clover’s workers, including executives, will be laid off May 29 if a buyer is not secured before that date. Some employees will work for a limited time after the closure, states the notice, filed by Clover’s people operations director Maureen McSweeny.
Companies with more than 50 employees are legally required to file a report with the state before a mass layoff or business closing and provide workers with 60 days’ notice.
In response to an interview request from Cambridge Day, the company sent an unsigned statement that read: “We simply want to comply with all regulations. We are optimistic that Clover will continue to serve our locally sourced farm-to-table fast food in our company’s next chapter.”
Clover has 11 locations across Greater Boston, with five in Cambridge. It began as a food truck run by founder Ayr Muir in 2008. Muir was succeeded as CEO in 2023 by then-chief operating officer Julia Wrin Piper. Wrin Piper was COO of Somerville’s Aeronaut Brewing Company before joining Clover.
Neither Muir nor Wrin Piper responded to multiple emails requesting an interview.
The company previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating that it could no longer pay the leases on multiple locations, The Boston Globe reported in 2023. At the time of the filing, Clover employed roughly 260 workers, according to the Globe. It exited bankruptcy less than six months later, with 13 stores and plans to expand to 60 locations.
Restaurant employees were sent an internal message to “not share any info” with reporters, and said they could not speak with Cambridge Day, citing the message.
“We cannot share further information at this time,” the emailed statement reads.
The chain prioritizes locally sourced ingredients and a plant-based approach to reduce its carbon footprint, according to its website. For vegetarians like Upala Kalim, 34, of Wakefield, Clover provides several options that might not otherwise be available.
“I think it meets my needs,” she said. “It definitely caters to the kind of food I like.”
Brian Forbis, 36, cited Veggie Galaxy in Central Square and Life Alive Organic Cafe as restaurants with large vegetarian menus. Forbis brought Kalim to Clover twice. He enjoys the rosemary fries.
“It’s always been reliable,” said Forbis, a regular customer. The restaurant’s food truck was often parked near a job Forbis previously had in Watertown, and he would get lunch there. “It’d be hard for some other place [to] expand to the footprint that Clover’s had.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.