No, that’s not a picture from 2 years ago of Clover HSQ construction. That’s a photo from 2 weeks ago of what will be the next Clover (after Burlington and Brookline Village).
That’s going to be Clover Kendall Square. That’s right, Kendall. Given our truck at Kendall we’ve been determined that someday we’d open a full restaurant in that area. I thought it might take 5 years before we found the right opening. When Chipotle opened we watched their construction jealously. There just aren’t that many openings on Main St. and that’s where we wanted to be.
Then Jesse told me about this spot. Jesse is our Real Estate Lawyer, advisor, and a long-time friend of Clover. I discovered the space was being created alongside a larger project to create a new entrance for Google. This is beautiful new space between Legal Seafoods and the Coop. Seemed too good to be true, but I had to temper my excitement.
I found the landlord was Boston Properties, and wasn’t sure this was going to work out. Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is one of the largest landlords in the country. And we’re just tiny, right? How would we have a shot at this space?
A bunch of meetings and tastings and meals and secret shopping and we find ourselves with a lease. I couldn’t be happier. I think this is going to be absolutely amazing. Lots more to come. Google folks, I know it’s hard to compete with your awesome in-house dining. But we’ve come to know some of you at the trucks. What would you like to see in this space? We already have dreams of creating a little “lab” within our food lab that would allow you to test/ play with new ideas. I’m thinking a couple of screens/ an area of the restaurant that would be open to Google developers who want to see how live people interact with their ideas.