Restaurant/grocery store hybrid Foxtrot is planning to reopen locations across the country after shutting down systemwide and declaring bankruptcy, according to several media reports.
Mike LaVitola, the company’s founder, said more than a dozen spots will reopen in Chicago, Dallas, and Austin within existing spaces sometime this summer. None of the outlets in Washington, D.C., will reopen. A spokesperson said Foxtrot “will maintain the same layout and merchandising, focusing on small and local makers.”
In April, Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market abruptly closed all their stores. The move came about five months after the two sides merged to form Outfox Hospitality. At the time, there were 33 Foxtrots in Chicago, Austin, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., and two Dom’s units in Chicago. The company said it explored several options to continue business, but “found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts.” According to Eater Chicago, employees were informed in the morning, only hours before stores were scheduled to permanently close.
Outfox Hospitality declared bankruptcy a few weeks later, and investment firm Further Point Enterprises won Foxtrot’s assets in an auction for $2.2 million. LaVitola is working with the company to reopen the popular chain after being removed by Outfox’s board of directors in February 2023, the Chicago Tribune published.
“It’s a totally new company starting from scratch, but [we] have the Foxtrot name and the [intellectual property] and a bunch of our locations,” LaVitola said in an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business. “We’re like a new startup again.”
The Chicago Tribune said Foxtrot will re-hire laid-off employees wherever possible. Following the closures, former workers of Foxtrot and Dom’s filed a lawsuit accusing Outfox of not giving required notice or proper severance pay.
Foxtrot, which began as a delivery app before launching into brick-and-mortar retail, is a chain offering upscale convenience shopping, including a selection of artisanal and locally sourced products, along with a cafe and delivery service. At the beginning of 2022, Foxtrot announced $100 million in fundraising and had plans to expand into places like New York, Nashville, and Miami.
No bids were placed for Dom’s, leaving that concept’s future unknown.