After bankruptcy, vegetarian dining chain closes all locations | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Vegetarian restaurants operate with a built-in disadvantage compared to eateries with a broader menu.

When you visit a restaurant with a traditional menu, there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a vegetarian meal. Most places will accommodate special dietary requests, and many restaurants offer salads and other dishes that are naturally vegetarian.

But a meat-eater can’t order a steak, a chicken sandwich, or any other non-vegetarian meal at a vegetarian restaurant. And although there’s nothing stopping a non-vegetarian from eating at a vegetarian restaurant, many non-vegetarian diners may choose restaurants with broader menus.

Only 1% of Americans identify as vegans, according to Gallup, while the same poll showed that 3% consider themselves vegetarian. That means a vegetarian restaurant, unless it’s in a very large city, needs to appeal to non-vegetarian customers.

That has led to a number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants going out of business, including Clover Labs, an 18-year-old Boston-area chain with over a dozen restaurants, which will close its doors on May 28.

Clover Labs is closing all locations

Clover Labs, which began as a food truck and grew to more than 15 locations at its height, has decided to shut down all of its restaurants and its meal delivery service on May 28.

There have been signs that the chain was in trouble even after its 2023 bankruptcy filing, including a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), which told the state that it would lay off 182 workers if it didn’t find a buyer by May 29, according to Boston Business Journal.

Clover Labs shared an email explaining its closing with NBC Boston.

“So what’s happened? We’ve always prized transparency along Clover’s journey. Our current situation isn’t a unique story. In the best of times, restaurants are a tough business: margins are thin, building new restaurants is expensive, and our industry is the most exposed to macroeconomic forces,” the company shared.

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Ultimately, the chain blamed rising costs and the Covid pandemic.

“For years we’ve been navigating the hangover effects of Covid and inflation at every part of our supply chain, but we are proud to have remained committed to sourcing high-quality ingredients from local farms. 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,” the company added.

A brief history of Clover Labs

Clover Food Lab was founded in 2008 by Ayr Muir as a vegetarian food truck near MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to the company’s website.
Founder Ayr Muir said the company’s goal was to create “fast food that’s healthy, environmentally sustainable, and delicious,” reported Inc.
Clover expanded from a single food truck into a fast-casual restaurant chain across the Boston area, with locations in Cambridge, Boston, Brookline, and Burlington, according to the company’s website.
The company became known for sourcing ingredients from local farms and changing its menu daily based on seasonal availability, added the Boston Globe.
Clover built a loyal following with tech workers, students, and environmentally conscious diners through its vegetarian menu and sustainability focus, according to Forbes.
The chain raised millions from investors during its expansion years, including funding intended to support regional growth and a large commissary kitchen operation, according to Boston Business Journal.
In November 2023, Clover Food Lab filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Massachusetts bankruptcy court, reported Boston.com.
Court filings cited rising labor costs, inflation, reduced office-worker traffic after the pandemic, and financing challenges after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, according to PacerMonitor.
During restructuring, Clover closed some locations and canceled plans for a major new commissary facility, reported WBUR.
Clover emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2024 after reaching agreements with creditors and landlords, according to WBUR.

Restaurants with limited menus have struggled.

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Vegetarian restaurants have struggled

Clover Labs is not alone in its struggles. A number of other vegan and vegetarian restaurants have closed over the past few years.

“When customers have uncertainty, and they’re really watching every dollar, the cost of things becomes more important, which puts specialty outlets perhaps at a competitive disadvantage,” Jason Kaplan, CEO of restaurant and hospitality consulting firm JK Consulting, told Bloomberg Law.

Clocer Labs joins a list of similar restaurants that have shut down.

Plum Bistro (Seattle, WA): Flagship vegan spot, plus Plum Chopped, closed in Jan. 2025, reported Eater Seattle.
Paradox Cafe (Portland, OR): Longtime vegan-friendly diner, closed in 2025, KGW 8 reported.
Fair Weather (Portland, OR): Vegan/pescatarian brunch spot, reopened briefly but then closed permanently in July 2025, reported Oregon Live.
Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery (Pasadena & Echo Park, CA): Formerly Sage Vegan Bistro; closed in Jan 2025 after reintroducing animal products, according to Eater Los Angeles.
Veggie Grill: Closed 12 locations (about 40% of units) in 2025 as part of restructuring, reported Restaurant Dive.
Neat Burger: Backed by Lewis Hamilton & Leonardo DiCaprio: Closed all U.K. locations in April 2025, entered liquidation in July 2025, reported TheStreet.
Planta: Upscale vegan restaurant chain; filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2025 and later moved toward liquidation after rapid expansion and weakening consumer demand, according to Restaurant Business.

Vegan and vegetarian restaurants are vulnerable because traditional chains offer options for customers who follow those diets.

“Leading QSR brands like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Dunkin are adding more vegan-friendly options to their menus, limiting the need to only frequent fully vegan chains,” Placer.ai Vice President of Marketing Ethan Chernofsky told QSRweb.

“…There is an increasing availability of vegan options across the food and restaurant space, and this is likely impacting traffic to specialty chains.”