Sudbury Eatery Closing As Vegetarian Chain Shuts Down

SUDBURY, MA — A fast-food eatery is ceasing operations in Sudbury later this week, as the business announced it will close all of its locations.

Cambridge-based vegetarian fast-food company Clover will close its 12 locations and delivery services at the end of the day on Thursday, May 28. Company leadership cited financial challenges, including inflation and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as reasons for the shutdown.

“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,” Clover said in a statement. “Across the board, our ingredients cost 30 to 50 percent more today than they did just two years ago. Our farmers are experiencing the same pressures we are.”

In addition to the chain’s Sudbury location, Clover restaurants and kiosks can be found in Boston, Cambridge, Newton and Westford.

In March, the business filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act with the state,signaling the upcoming dismissal of 182 Massachusetts employees based out of its central kitchen and administrative headquarters at 1075 Cambridge St. in Cambridge.

The layoffs and closure are scheduled to take effect Friday, May 29, if the company is unable to find a buyer.

The vegetarian restaurant chain was founded in 2008 by MIT and Harvard Business School graduate Ayr Muir with the goal of serving fully organic, plant-based food. What began as a food truck grew into 12 brick-and-mortar locations.

In November 2023, Muir filed for bankruptcy and turned operations over to Julia Wrin Piper. The business simplified its name from Clover Food Labs to Clover in early 2024 as part of a rebrand and restructuring effort.

In addition to its restaurant locations, Clover offers meal boxes with ingredients that customers can prepare at home, as well as catering services.

“We’re deeply saddened about the circumstances,” Clover said in a statement. “Especially for our employees—you’ll never find a more standout group of dedicated, mission-driven, awesome people who deeply care about their work.”

This story includes reporting from Benjamin Pierce's earlier report: Cambridge-based Food Company Closing All Locations

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