Prospective owners look to reopen Four Leaf Clover Restaurant in Bernardston under new name

By ZACK DeLUCA

Staff Writer

Published: 06-10-2021 2:39 PM

BERNARDSTON — Pending final approval, the former Four Leaf Clover Restaurant may reopen under new ownership and a new name.

Husband and wife Alex and Amy Fiorey recently took to Facebook to announce they put in an offer to buy the property at 19 South St. and the Four Leaf Clover business, but they are awaiting official approval for the sale. Within 24 hours, the Facebook post had garnered hundreds of likes, shares and comments.

Speaking this week, the Fioreys said they hope to close the sale in the next two months and, “if all goes well,” they could open the restaurant sometime this fall. They said the idea of purchasing the property first came about during a conversation with former owner Paul Skiathitis over a year and a half ago.

“We met Paul, and talking to him one day he said ‘Hey, you wanna buy the property?’ as a joke,” Alex Fiorey recalled. “It just didn’t happen at the time. It couldn’t happen at the time. Once COVID hit, and Mark (Snow) had to shut down ... we thought, ‘OK, maybe this is our opportunity to open it back up.’”

The Fioreys will be buying the property from Skiathitis, but the Four Leaf Clover business from Linda and Mark Snow. Citing the financial impact from the lasting COVID-19 pandemic, the former restaurant co-owners closed the Four Leaf Clover in December and put the business up for sale. It had been open for 71 years.

Amy Fiorey said she and her husband wavered on the decision to pursue the restaurant before putting in an offer. At the time the Four Leaf Clover closed in December, the Fioreys told the Snows they weren’t interested in buying, but with more time and thought, they came around to the idea.

“It went from not really being a possibility, to ‘Oh, we might be able to actually do that,’” she said.

The Fioreys are Bernardston residents who own multiple local businesses, including The Laundry and The Solar Express Tanning Salon on Federal Street in Greenfield, and Pioneer Valley Tire across the street from the Four Leaf Clover building in Bernardston. Alex grew up in Turners Falls, and Amy in Bernardston. She had visited the Four Leaf Clover ever since she was a little girl.

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“I couldn’t count how many times I’ve been to the Four Leaf,” she said.

Alex Fiorey spent 10 years in the Air Force during which he held numerous part-time jobs, including as a line cook at different restaurants. He also noted Amy is “an incredible baker.”

Their background in food service continues, with Alex Fiorey’s father having owned Creamy Creations, which existed from roughly 1987 to 1998 where The Solar Express Tanning Salon is now. Alex said the ice cream shop had a small kitchen to serve takeout food and was known for its “broasted chicken” — an item that may find its way onto their restaurant’s future menu.

“We love cooking for people, and making people happy through food,” Alex said.

“And drink,” Amy added.

Assuming the sale proceeds as planned, the Fioreys said they intend to rename the restaurant under their ownership because they want this venture to be their own. Possibilities include variations of “Alex and Amy’s” and ways to incorporate “The Four Leaf.” They said purchasing the business gives them the ability to use “The Four Leaf” in their new name, and on their menu for something like a potential “Four Leaf Classics” section.

“Feel free to refer to it as the Four Leaf from here until eternity; we probably will, too,” the Fioreys wrote in their Facebook post.

Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.

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