Clover announced it is closing down until further notice due to Salmonella. Photo by cloverfoodlab.com
Popular vegetarian restaurant and food truck chain Clover said it plans to reopen this week after concerns from a salmonella outbreak caused the company to shut its doors and turn off its engines.
Clover is aiming to reopen Wednesday, according to the company’s website. It shut down about nine days ago after it learned that multiple people who had all eaten at Clover had become ill with salmonella after visiting the chain. The people had also eaten at various other restaurants and state health officials have not identified the source of the outbreak.
“Remember, they ate [at] other places as well. We’re not the only restaurant. But we’re obviously taking this seriously and [are] concerned,” Clover’s owner Ayr Muir wrote on the chain’s website, adding that he had been told the count of people who had eaten at Clover and became ill had reached 12.
Muir said in a blog post that Clover will take steps to ensure that its operations are safe. One of the steps is testing all employees that handle food. The testing is being done after two Clover employees tested positive for currently having salmonella. Muir said it’s not likely that the employees are the source of the outbreak because the last reported illness to him was three weeks ago.
So far, food and environmental samples have tested negative for salmonella, Muir said.
Other steps include sanitizing all facilities and having them re-inspected before opening and the hiring of a food safety consultant.
Clover has four restaurants and even more food trucks, started as one truck at MIT.
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