Foxtrot, Dom's Kitchen & Market to close all stores

Five months after Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen and Market merged, the new company appears to be heading toward bankruptcy, with all stores in the Illinois, Texas, and Washington, D.C. areas closing on Tuesday, April 23rd. .

Business employees were informed Tuesday morning via a conference call with management that the store would close by noon. Store staff were left in the dark and instructed not to discuss the incident with customers. Their emotions ranged from frustration to fear of losing their jobs. Dom's stores in Lincoln Park and Old Town closed Tuesday morning, and one account said staff had to turn away shoppers in Lincoln Park to close the stores.

Outfox Hospitality, a combined business of two Chicago-based entities, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to Substack's newsletter Snaxshot. A meeting was called Tuesday night to discuss the company's future with employees, Eater confirmed. Outfox has not yet responded to a formal request for comment, but employees are panicking after Snaxshot's Monday afternoon scoop. As of Tuesday morning, the filed documents were not in court records. Outfox employs approximately 1,000 people across multiple states, with approximately 100 full-time employees in Chicago. There were no notifications on WARN reporting pages in Illinois or Texas, which track mass shooting notifications. In Illinois, businesses with 75 full-time employees are eligible. They are legally required to provide notice of termination with a 60-day warning. WARN also applies if a company files for bankruptcy.

The company made the announcement around 11:30 a.m. Central Time. Below is part of the statement. There was no mention of bankruptcy.

This decision was not taken lightly. We understand that this decision will impact our customers, our loyal customers, and our dedicated team members. Thank you very much for your support and patronage over the years. It is our greatest honor to be able to improve the everyday and create amazing shopping experiences for people who love food as much as we do. It is an honor to serve you and be a part of your daily life.

Snapshot reported last week that Dom's did not create a regular purchase order. This grocery store has two locations in the Chicago area, one in Lincoln Park (near the Lakeview border) and one in Old Town. When I visited the store in Old Town on Monday, the produce section was overstocked and several staple items were missing. Some items, such as cucumbers, were already rotten. Several key members of Outfox's leadership began jumping ship last week, Snapshot reported.

Barry Breshuisen/Eater Chicago

In February, the company hired Rob Twyman, a 27-year Whole Foods veteran, as its new CEO. Foxtrot debuted in Chicago in 2016 as a delivery-only app using alcohol delivery. Sales have soared during the pandemic as bars are closed due to coronavirus precautions. But as the company matured, it partnered with acclaimed restaurant brands such as Pretty Cool Ice Cream and pasta restaurant Tortello, creating a modern alternative to the corner store. This gave Foxtrot an edge over traditional corner stores while giving restaurant owners another place to sell their products and build their brands.

We started raising millions of dollars while expanding our business. In 2023 alone, the company raised $18.6 million in debt financing while expanding to 33 locations primarily in four markets: Chicago, Austin, Texas, Dallas, and the Washington DC area. The company has invested in stores in prime locations such as Fulton's Market and Wicker Park's Four Corners, and has worked on trendy establishments such as GT Fish & Oyster, Maple & Ash, and Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Designer Karen Herold was hired to launch Foxtrots. Chicago has 15 of his Foxtrot locations in locations such as the Willis Tower and the old Tribune Tower. All of them are on the Northside except for Willis. In January 2023, they brought in Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine to boost the candy collaboration. A Foxtrot representative visited Chicago earlier this year and said the brand was interested in expanding to New York.

Dom's has ties to the historic Chicago grocery store. Bob Mariano was the chain's co-founder and co-chairman. Mariano was a friend of Dominic DiMatteo of Dominic's Fine Foods fame. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming CEO, but left after Safeway acquired the chain. He will be launching a new brand, Mariano's, which debuted in 2010 (pending federal approval, Mariano's will be merged with Chicago's iconic Jewel-Osco).

After Kroger took over Mariano's, Bob Mariano left the company in 2016 and would eventually co-found Dom's. Dom's opened a store in River North in the summer, and was also planning to open a store in Fulton's Market. Another location headed to suburban Vernon Hills.

Dom's, a cross between a basic grocery store and a gourmet vendor, debuted in 2021 at the southwest corner of Diversey and Halstead in Lincoln Park. A second store will open in Old Town in November 2022, and former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended the ribbon cutting and listened to the company talk about expanding throughout Chicago. Dom's goal was to open his 15 stores in Chicago by 2025.

Lightfoot praised Dom's food court, which had a deal with Bonci Pizza, the famous Italian pizzeria recommended by Anthony Bourdain, to sell pies. In Lightfoot's eyes, stores like Dom's were key to providing affordable prepared food options at a time when inflation was making restaurants more expensive for many people.

The location in Old Town was controversial. Dom's arrival displaced Michigan-based retailer Plum Market, which had found a comfortable home along Wells Street for nine years. Plum's owner was angry that the deal had been done in secrecy and refused to allow negotiations. Apparently, according to Snapshot, the Lincoln Park store was profitable while Old Town was struggling. Neither Bonci nor the owners of Pretty Cool Ice Cream were aware of the closure when contacted by phone Tuesday morning.

For the past two weeks, employees have been worried about Outfox's future, which is in stark contrast to the image its owners had hoped for. The company showed ambition earlier this year when it switched coffee roasters and introduced La Colombe, but Foxtrot Coffee Bar was seen as competition with neighborhood coffee shops. They planned a pop-up dinner to drum up interest in the new snack. They saw potential in house-brand chips and snacks like Chicago-style hot dog chips. But over the past two weeks, employees have begun to sense that the once-promising company is in trouble.

This story is developing and will be updated if more information becomes available.