Clover Food Lab emerging from bankruptcy process

Clover Food Lab is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, shutting down two locations and a warehouse and moving ahead on a base of 13 units, the company said Thursday.

Boston-based Clover Food Lab, founded in 2008 as a food truck, also has named a new CEO, Julia Wrin Piper, and a new chief marketing officer, Kiernan Schmitt, the company said.

The company filed for protection in Delaware Bankruptcy Court on Nov. 3 last year, using “Chapter 11 Subchapter 5, a relatively new process in the bankruptcy code designed specifically to help small businesses keep operating and emerge fiscally healthier in a short period of time,’ Schmitt said.

Schmitt said the company restructured operations and renegotiate leases.

“We are laser-focused on future growth and food innovation, with the ambition to reach 60 restaurants across New England in the next five years,” Schmitt said in an email.

During the bankruptcy process, he said, Clover closed its Copley Square (Boston) and Assembly Row (Somerville) restaurants, as well as a large warehouse in Dedham, Mass.

Schmitt said Clover planned to continue sourcing its supply from a network of local farms and artisanal producers for its sandwiches, platters, bowls, and soups.

Expansion will be focused on the Boston and New England area, he added.

“Clover’s five-year plan calls for an additional 47 new units, with a focus on smaller footprint restaurants in university areas and urban locations,” a company statement said. “The company will soon undertake a brand refresh to attract new customers and prepare for entrance into new markets.”

Clover Lab was founded in 2008 by Ayr Muir.

Clover Food Lab was named a Nation’s Restaurant News Breakout Brand in 2019, before the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

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