October 23, 2020

Club member news digest: Friday Oct 23

I am so excited to share that we gained 20 new members over the past 2 weeks and are now at 51 Clover Meal Club members. Welcome, everyone! So glad to have you here!! I’m trying to post updates here regularly so that you’re tuned in to the latest happenings at Clover.

RESTAURANT UPDATES

  • Just a couple weeks ago, we added Desserts to our restaurant takeout menus – house-baked fudgy brownies, crumbly shortbread topped with lemony sumac, our super-moist olive oil cake, and sesame/pistachio halva. These desserts are now officially included in the Meal Club! They are considered a side (so anyone who has a lunch + sides plan right now should be able to order them with Meal Club credit!)
  • We’re going to announce this officially in our newsletter tomorrow, but I wanted to let you know first that we are re-opening our Downtown Crossing location at 27 School St! Our first day will begin at 11am on Thursday Oct 29 (also Clover’s 12th birthday). After that hours will be 7am-8pm every day of the week. If you visit us on opening week, say hi to Jasper!
  • Our breakfast muffins are getting a seasonal update. The Plimoth Corn muffin will remain, but the Maine Blueberry muffin is going to get swapped out for a Pumpkin Pecan muffin – roasted pumpkin puree, toasted pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove (still vegan)
  • Lucia just designed some new patches for our Clover uniforms. That’s the photo you see up at the top of this post. You’ll start seeing these on employee hats this weekend! Also, Clover is making Nov 3 a paid holiday for all employees so that everyone can go vote (woohoo! This does also mean that Clover will be closed on Tuesday Nov 3 – as a heads up)

OTHER UPDATES

  • Our birthday is coming up!! Clover turns 12 on October 29. To celebrate we are going to be giving out cupcakes just like we did in our earlier years. We’ll do cupcakes with our takeout orders, and also include cupcakes as a gift for our Meal Boxes that day 🙂
  • I just put a new item on our Meal Box menu! A 5lb (1/2 peck) bag of apples that you can get as an add-on 🙂 $10. The apples are from Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton. The varietals are Golden Russet (firm and mildly tart, kind of like a pear) and Empire (super juicy, super sweet.

You’ll probably see some more changes in the coming weeks. I’ll elaborate once final details are ironed out and things are in place. Goal is to maximize the variety and # of options from our menu that you can have as part of your Meal Club membership. Stay tuned for more details!

Recent Posts

November 28, 2023
These sweet potato latkes date back to early days on the Clover food truck. They’re so yummy and the sweet potatoes lend them such a fun golden color. They’re probably the most popular item in our Hanukkah Meal Box, which you can get delivered on December 7th. Inside the box you’ll find: 
November 21, 2023
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. We will be closed Thursday 11/23 at all locations. For our kitchen team, it will be a good chance to rest after prepping a ton of Brussels casseroles for our Thanksgiving Box : ) As for the days surrounding Thanksgiving, we’ll be open normal hours, except for CloverFIN (Financial District) and CloverHSC (Harvard Science Center) which will be closed tomorrow and Friday. CloverHSQ (Harvard Square) will be closing early (at 8pm) tomorrow. 
November 16, 2023
I’m not a big believer in multitasking (which, in my experience, is doing a bunch of things simultaneously and badly.) But there’s a lot going on at Clover right now, so I had to break my No Multitasking Rule on Wednesday. I asked Michele and Greg on our Finance team if they’d mind if I took myself off video during a meeting to review Accounts Payable. “I have to draw a cartoon Delicata Squash,” I explained, reasonably.
November 16, 2023
Some of you have been asking for a sides-only box – and it’s true, sides are the best part, aren’t they? We’re making a limited number of boxes with mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and King Brussels’ Casserole. Each Sides Box serves 6-8 people and can be delivered to your door for 11/21 or 11/22. 
November 9, 2023
The moment you’ve waited for is here. Western Mass Brussels sprouts are back in the restaurants, which means the King himself has landed! What’s on this glorious sandwich and why is it the King of all seasonal sandwiches? A dijon-mayo spread, smoked Grafton cheddar, fried Brussels tossed with za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice blend), pickled red cabbage, and toasted hazelnuts.
November 6, 2023
On Friday we had a company meeting with all our leadership to talk about a decision we’ve made about the future of Clover. We are all focused on putting Clover on solid financial footing so we can continue to make the food you love for many years to come. COVID changed everything for restaurants like us. The way we eat, drink, work, and get together has shifted substantially and, while Clover has seen a steady recovery in sales…
October 29, 2023
Julia here. Today, October 29, is Clover’s birthday! 15 years of perfect pita, crispy chickpea fritters, countless sandwiches that cycle with the seasons, and of course the occasional birthday cupcake. How lucky are we? Although I’ve been working at Clover for a year and a half, this was my first week as CEO. I’m excited and honored to be stepping into this role. I’ve been a Clover enthusiast for a long time – since my first taste of a Blue Oyster Mushroom sandwich as a grad student in 2013. As COO and now as CEO…
October 26, 2023
If you stop by tomorrow (Friday 10/27) around 11am, you might be treated to a bit of Clover history in the form of a carrot cupcake with buttercream frosting. One per paying customer, while they last! And they may not last long : )
October 26, 2023
A bunch of you have been asking, and yes, we are doing a Thanksgiving Box menu again this year, with all the favorites from years past – Hubbard Squash glazed with maple-Sriracha butter, mashed potatoes, gravy, Ayr’s dad’s walnut-mushroom patè, stuffing – there’s even a limited run of Petsi pies. Free delivery to your door if you’re within 30 miles of us. Click here to reserve yours.
October 22, 2023
I’ve recently asked somebody who believes in Clover as much as I do to step into the CEO role. Julia Wrin Piper has been Clover’s COO for the past 18 months and will take over running the company day-to-day. I’ll be shifting my efforts to provide support for Julia and the team, work on growth opportunities, and pursue partnerships that will amplify Clover’s mission. I’ll remain a member of the Board of Directors and active as an advisor and mentor. Clover is facing a potent mix of opportunity and challenge right now and I know Julia is exactly the right person to lead the team through these twists and turns.
October 18, 2023
On 10/29 Clover will turn 15 years old. It’s been 15 years since we first pulled up a tiny white food truck to the MIT campus in hopes of testing a menu that could make a dent in global warming. Since then we’ve supported so many local farmers; had tons of adventures on board trucks and restaurants; and met tons of wonderful customers. And most of all we’ve made food. Lots and lots of food. In honor of our 15th birthday, we sent out a survey asking you about your favorite LONG-LOST MENU ITEMS. We’ve picked the top results and we’re going to bring them back for one day only – in the form of a Birthday Meal Box!
October 12, 2023
We’ll be pulling up the truck to two events this weekend (a Cornhole Tournament in Lincoln and an Oktoberfest event in Southie), both of which are open to the public! BTW, this photo is of the POV of a beautiful chickpea fritter sandwich, made by Ariel from CloverHSQ. I took it on board the truck, when I got to work one of the events a few weeks ago (a movie night in Southie).