Meat-Free Restaurant Chain Clover Food Lab Seeks New Buyer to Avoid Closure

US fast-casual chain Clover Food Lab, one of Greater Boston’s most well-known meat-free establishments, risks mass layoffs and closure if it doesn’t find a new buyer before June.

One of Massachusetts’s longest-standing vegetarian restaurant chains is on the verge of shutting down.

Cambridge-based Clover Food Lab has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act letter with the state, announcing that all 182 employees will be affected if the business doesn’t find a new buyer by the end of May.

Some employees will continue to work for a limited time to wind down the restaurant chain, the notice stated. Companies with 50+ employees are legally required to file a WARN notice before mass layoffs or closure, and provide workers with 60 days’ notice.

It comes two-and-a-half years after Clover Food Lab had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, before emerging from the financial state with a new CEO and nearly all locations intact. But the continued trials of the meat-free market and the restaurant industry have pushed the company to the brink.

Clover Food Lab’s expansion thwarted by financial challenges

Clover Food Lab began as a food truck run by Ayr Muir, a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, with a spotlight on sustainability – aside from its meat-free philosophy, its trucks were retrofitted cargo vehicles that partly ran on recycled vegetable oil, and its cutlery fully compostable.

It began in 2008, and the concept evolved into brick-and-mortar locations, a meal box delivery service, and a catering business. At its peak, Clover Food Lab had over 400 employees working in 15 restaurants across the Greater Boston area.

But like many businesses, the chain was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing financial crisis. Slowing sales, rising costs, and difficulties in raising funds led the company to file for bankruptcy protection in November 2023.

In its Chapter 11 filing, Clover Food Lab said it was unable to pay the lease for its new commissary, which was set to serve as a base for its expansion across New England and into New York City.

The restructuring effort saw two of its locations close down and then-COO Julia Wrin Poper take over from Muir as CEO, with the company emerging from bankruptcy in April 2024 with just 20 fewer employees.

Its new leadership announced an aggressive expansion strategy, with a plan to open 50 more locations across New England in the coming five years.

Since then, however, two other locations have shut down, and the increasingly challenging restaurant environment meant its expansion did not materialise.

A tough time for meat-free restaurants

This is why Clover Food Lab is now on the hunt for a buyer to save the business. “We are optimistic that Clover will continue to serve our locally sourced farm-to-table fast food in our company’s next chapter,” it told Boston.com in a statement.

It comes after several meat-free restaurants have shuttered over the last couple of years, including Kevin Hart’s Hart House, Leonardo DiCaprio- and Lewis Hamilton-backed Neat, Matthew Kenney’s Veg’d, and pioneering fast-food chain Amy’s.

Last month, vegan sushi chain Planta fell into liquidation and began winding down its business – although a new company that emerged out of its bankruptcy last year continues to operate seven locations.

Other restaurants, including three-starred eatery Eleven Madison Park, have attempted to turn things around by adding meat back to their menu. That said, this has resulted in mixed success – Sage Regenerative Kitchen, for instance, closed shortly after it made this transition.

These challenges aren’t unique to vegan or vegetarian eateries. In the US, three in five restaurant operators reported a decline in traffic in 2025, and 45% were unable to turn a profit. Analysis shows that a higher share of non-vegan restaurants closed in 2025, compared to the percentage of plant-based eateries that shut.

This isn’t to say that the plant-based industry doesn’t face hurdles. Sales of meat alternatives have fallen by 26% in the last two years, and many companies have ceased operations, including Hooked Foods, Aqua Cultured Foods, Planetarians, Konscious Foods, and more. Beyond Meat, meanwhile, recorded its worst-ever revenue total in 2025, and has expanded into drinks to regain momentum.