A beefed-up (but still beefless) Clover opens in Assembly Row

Veggie restaurant chain Clover Food Lab opened its 15th location, CloverRow, at Assembly Square in Somerville. If you’re in the neighborhood and plan to grab a bite there, check out the grocery setup inside. It’s a new concept for Clover. Specialty items from artisan purveyors across the Northeast fill the shelves: sauces, syrups, sodas, crackers, pasta, and coffee from New England roasters. There’s a small collection of fresh produce from Western Massachusetts farms, like squashes, potatoes, and pumpkins. “We have over 500 items on the shelves,” says Kiernan Schmitt, Clover’s chief marketing officer. Bobby MacLean and Alexandra Whisnant, from Bow Market’s Picnic & Pantry and gâté comme des filles chocolate shop, helped curate the selection. The couple also runs Zuzu’s Petals in Cambridge. The market may appeal to Clover customers because the restaurants’ own products are stocked in the refrigerated cases, too. It’s the first time you can just grab-and-go their romesco and barbecue sauces, soups, salsas, dips, dressings, batters, and more. “We scaled up recipes that fans told us they love,” says Schmitt. Some of these items were developed during the pandemic for the meal boxes they delivered, which contain ingredients you can quickly assemble to make Clover meals. You’ll also find a few boxes in the refrigerator ready to take home. Run in for a sandwich and you might leave with eggs from Black Dirt Farm in Vermont or fusilli from Boston’s Seven Hills Pasta Co. 330 Foley St. in Assembly Row, Somerville.