CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A popular Cambridge, Massachusetts-based restaurant chain announced Wednesday that it will close all its locations this week.
Clover Food Lab CEO Julia Wrin Piper confirmed in an online post that the chain’s 11 Boston-area restaurants and meal box delivery service will be shuttered come Thursday.
“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," Piper wrote in a statement.
Clover started out as a food truck parked on MIT’s campus in 2008, before growing into a culinary destination known for transforming fruits and vegetables from local farmers into sandwiches, soups, and salads, according to the chain’s website.
“From the very first day on the MIT food truck in 2008, we’ve loved making food for you. The kind of food that gets under your skin, that you dream about,” Piper wrote. “The kind of food that tells you where it came from. The Chickpea Fritter. The Brussels. The Japanese Sweet Potato. The Zucchini. The kind of food you can’t get anywhere else.”
Piper noted that the ultimate decision to close the business stems from the “hangover effects of COVID” and “inflation at every part of our supply chain.”
“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," Piper explained. “Across the board, our ingredients cost 30-50% more today than they did just 2 years ago. Our farmers are experiencing the same pressures we are.”
Piper says 170 Clover workers will be impacted by the closures.
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