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Clover Food Lab
Industry Food
FoundedOctober 2008
Headquarters Cambridge, Massachusetts
Number of locations
12 restaurants, (as of May 2017)
Area served
 Boston, Sudbury, Cambridge, Burlington, Westford, Somerville
Key people
  • Ayr Muir (Founder and CEO)
  • Julia Wrin Piper (Chief Operating Officer)
ProductsFast food
Number of employees
400 (May 2017)
Website cloverfoodlab.com

Clover Food Lab is a vegetarian fast food chain, founded in 2008 which operates food trucks and restaurants in Massachusetts, United States. [1] The company serves a simple menu that changes daily and with the seasons based on what is available from local farmers and includes a large mix of organic ingredients. [2] [3] [4] [5] The company also offers meal delivery boxes and catering. [1] [6]

History

The company was founded in October 2008, by MIT material science graduate and Harvard MBA Ayr Muir, as one food truck serving the area around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [7] As of summer 2018, Clover Food Lab had some 400 employees operating in 12 restaurants across the greater Boston area. [8]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 United States banking crisis disrupted Clover's expansion plans, and forced its Back Bay location to close in August 2023. [9] On November 3, 2023, high rents and continued low sales prompted Clover Food Lab to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [10] [11] [12]

Environmental vision

The company was founded by Ayr Muir, a graduate of MIT in Material Science and Harvard Business School MBA program. [13] Muir, a distant cousin of naturalist John Muir, [13] has cited environmental motivations as a driving force behind the company's creation. He wishes "to shrink the ecological footprint of the food industry by making fresh, local, sustainable vegetarian food as common and convenient as the fare at Burger King or McDonald's". [13] The company's food trucks are decommissioned and retrofitted cargo vehicles that use recycled vegetable oil to help them run. [14] [15] All of the company's utensils, napkins, and other items are compostable. [16] Despite Clover Food Lab's focus on local, sustainable and vegetarian food, Muir consciously avoids branding the company's food as such, fearing that "no one will eat it if we do". [13]

Design

Clover Food Lab's trucks and restaurants have minimalist, somewhat industrial design, and include elements that give them the look and feel of a laboratory. [14] The sides and walls are plain white, menus are written on whiteboards with black dry-erase marker, and the restaurants are brightly lit and have mostly stool seating. The kitchen has "a pop-up quality, as if the crew is here temporarily, planning to relocate elsewhere." [17] Staff enter customer orders and process credit and debit cards through an iPad (previously an iPod touch), and give change from their money belts instead of cash registers.

  • Interior of Inman Square location
    Interior of Inman Square location
  • Harvard Square Massachusetts Avenue location seating
    Harvard Square Massachusetts Avenue location seating
  • First location in Harvard Square
    First location in Harvard Square
  • Assembly Square location
    Assembly Square location

Reception

A Clover sandwich and drink

Clover Food Lab's BLT sandwich uses soy bacon, [17] and was cited as the best BLT sandwich in Boston by Mayor Thomas Menino. [7] The company was a winner of the Food Truck Challenge, [18] a competition initiated by Menino to bring healthy mobile food vending to Boston, which has led to a rising trend in the city in the use of food and coffee trucks. [19] Clover Food Lab was named one of the top 10 food trucks in the United States by The Wall Street Journal, [2] and given the 2011 Best of Boston award for vegetarian food by The Improper Bostonian. [3] The company was one of several food truck services highlighted by The Huffington Post for its intense use of technology (especially social media), distinctive product, and cult-like following. [20] In 2016, it was named the best farm-to-table restaurant in Massachusetts by Travel + Leisure. [4]

Pay What You Want Day

Typically held on the first day of operations of a new Clover location, Pay What You Want Day allows the area to get to know the food and for the staff to work out their pace. [21] In 2015, Pay What You Want Day was experienced in Central Square with the opening of CloverHFI. [22]

In 2016, Clover Food Lab opened the doors to three new locations and one food truck all featuring Pay What You Want Day. [23] [24] All proceeds made during the openings were donated to The Food Project. [25]

Kosher certification

Most Clover locations are certified kosher by Lighthouse Kosher, a kosher certification agency under Rabbi Barry Dolinger ("Rabbi D") of Providence, RI. [26] Rabbi D, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and mashgiach, serves as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Providence, RI. A graduate of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University, Rabbi D belongs to the Rabbinical Council of America and the International Rabbinic Fellowship. Lighthouse Kosher is not listed among the Acceptable Kashrus Agencies of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. [27]

References

  1. ^ a b Bigora, Peyton (2022-10-10). "Clover Food Lab opens newest location complete with specialty grocery store". Grocery Dive. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. ^ a b Chung, Juliet; Wingfield, Nick; et al. (June 5, 2009). "The Truck Stops Here: 10 Top Food Trucks in The U.S." Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Boston's Best Food & Drink 2011". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Matison, Lauren (May 10, 2016). "The Best Farm-to-table Restaurant in Every State". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. ^ Baskin, Kara (April 25, 2023). "Clover Food Lab COO Julia Wrin Piper wants people to dream of vegetables - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  6. ^ Trieger Kurl, Ann. "A beefed-up (but still beefless) Clover opens in Assembly Row". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  7. ^ a b Landrigan, Kelly (October 24, 2011). "Menino looks toward a healthier Boston in kicking off Food Day". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  8. ^ "Locations and hours -Clover Food Lab". Clover Food Lab. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  9. ^ Sad news about CloverBBY
  10. ^ "Boston eatery chain Clover Food Lab files for bankruptcy". WBUR.
  11. ^ "Clover files for bankruptcy". BKData. November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Lee, Thomas (November 6, 2023). "Vegetarian restaurant chain Clover Food Lab files for bankruptcy - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Kalin, Sari (November–December 2010). "Everything will be different tomorrow". Technology Review. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Chang, Lian Chikako (February 4, 2011). "Because you can't eat architecture". Boston Society of Architects. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  15. ^ Bettex, Morgan (January 13, 2010). "Even in the cold, Clover is hot". MIT News. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  16. ^ Johnston, Susan (March 8, 2011). "Clover Food Lab Does the Impossible". Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  17. ^ a b Julian, Sheryl (February 16, 2011). "An experiment in building better food". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  18. ^ "Food Truck Challenge". City of Boston. 2011. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  19. ^ Al Hmoud, Mounira (October 28, 2011). "Getting coffee on the go in Allston, thanks to food trucks". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  20. ^ Waters, Joe (November 5, 2011). "What Nonprofits Can Learn From The Food Truck Craze". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  21. ^ "Clover will donate all proceeds from its Downtown Crossing opening on Tuesday". Boston.com. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  22. ^ "The First 24-Hour Restaurant in Cambridge Opens Today with Free Sandwiches". BostInno. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  23. ^ Hatic, Dana (2016-01-22). "Pay What You Want for Clover DTX's Opening Day". Eater Boston. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  24. ^ "CloverNEW opening: Pay What You Want on Wednesday June 1, 11am-2pm - Clover Food Lab". www.cloverfoodlab.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  25. ^ "Clover will donate all proceeds from its Downtown Crossing opening on Tuesday". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  26. ^ "Clover is Kosher". Clover Food Lab.
  27. ^ "Acceptable Kashrus Agencies". Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Further reading

External links

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