---
title: "Clover Food Lab to Permanently Close"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b3f597a6-44fc-41a4-8ae8-9e1b27ee319b
source: "QSR Magazine"
original_url: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/clover-food-lab-to-permanently-close/
author: "Ben Coley"
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2026-05-28T12:00:41.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:56.961Z
image: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/650x450_EarlyBirdEnding_QSR2026-02.png
---

# Clover Food Lab to Permanently Close

**TL;DR:** Clover Food Lab, a plant-based concept, is permanently closing its 11 units due to COVID and inflation. The company, founded by Ayr Muir in 2008, had been navigating macroeconomic pressures and filed for bankruptcy in 2023.

*By Ben Coley, originally published in QSR Magazine on 2026-05-28. [Read the original](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/clover-food-lab-to-permanently-close/).*

## Story

Plant-based concept Clover Food Lab will officially close its doors on Thursday.

In an email to customers, CEO Julia Wrin Piper said the 11-unit brand has been navigating the lingering effects of COVID and inflation throughout its supply chain, although it still managed to source ingredients from local farms. But the constant macroeconomic pressures were too much for the company to bear. It said ingredients cost 30 to 50 percent more than they did two years ago.

“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,” Wrin Piper said. ” … At Clover, we’ve raised prices some, of course, but there is a limit—every one of you is likely thinking about how you save and spend right now too. We’re deeply saddened about the circumstances.”

Clover indicated in early April that these closures were coming if it didn’t find a buyer. The fast casual filed a WARN notice in Massachusetts, letting the state know that it may lay off nearly 200 workers. Wrin Piper confirmed that 170 employees will lose their jobs.

Clover was founded by Ayr Muir, a graduate of MIT, in 2008 with the goal of making plant-forward food appealing to mainstream consumers, eventually evolving from a food truck into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2011.

The chain filed for bankruptcy in late 2023 after facing ongoing fallout from the pandemic, challenging landlord negotiations, tighter financial markets, and the expiration of rent relief and government aid, including complications tied to an abandoned plan for a significantly larger commissary facility in Boston.

At the time, CEO Wrin Piper described the restructuring process to *QSR magazine* as an accelerated transformation period that forced the company to rapidly reassess its operations and long-term strategy. Despite maintaining commitments to local sourcing and compostable packaging, Clover streamlined operations, reorganized internal processes, and cut corporate positions as it worked through the restructuring.

Plant-based chains have struggled in recent memory. Amy’s Drive Thru closed its final restaurant this year, while Next Level Burger acquired Veggie Grill in 2024 after the chain shut down roughly 40 percent of its locations. PLANTA, a full-service plant-based chain, declared bankruptcy in May 2025 and lost a majority of its footprint.

## Entities

- QSR (sector)
- QSR Magazine (publication)
- Ben Coley (person)
- inflation (topic)
- bankruptcy (topic)
- unit closure (topic)
- Veggie Grill (company)
- Clover Food Lab (company)
- Julia Wrin Piper (person)
- Ayr Muir (person)
- Next Level Burger (company)
- Planta (company)

---
Originally reported by Ben Coley, QSR Magazine (https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/clover-food-lab-to-permanently-close/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b3f597a6-44fc-41a4-8ae8-9e1b27ee319b).