Foxtrot Is Ready for Much-Anticipated Relaunch in Chicago
Foxtrot is back in Chicago, reopening a location in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood on Sept. 5. While it’s a return to the retail landscape following the sudden, shocking closure of all of the banner’s stores in April, the retailer is balancing the familiar with an expanded emphasis on the in-store dining and drinking experience.
Progressive Grocer talked with founder and Foxtrot Chairman Mike LaVitola, who essentially took back control of the company with backing of a New York-based investment firm in the wake of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy of then-parent company Outfox Hospitality. As he relaunches the business, he says that the company is going back to its core mission and also giving shoppers more of what they originally enjoyed about Foxtrot.
That back-to-the-roots approach is exemplified in the choice of the first reopened site at 23 W. Maple in Chicago, a residential area close to the Magnificent Mile. “This location was the most central location downtown and it shows everything that Foxtrot is,” he said.
LaVitola was keenly aware of the fallout of the abrupt shuttering of Foxtrot stores, an action that included Dom’s Kitchen & Market stores that were also under the Outfox umbrella organization that came together in late 2023. “I think over the last year, the company got away from why it started, which was the obsession around merchandising, storytelling and product quality. When you try to overly-systemize things, it can take the soul out of it,” he told Progressive Grocer.
Foxtrot 2.0., then, brings back the soul for shoppers and vendors left in the lurch this spring. “It's a great opportunity to welcome back as many of our brands as we can and give them room to breathe. Everyone was blindsided, and we had all individual conversations, as we should have had. Now, almost all of the vendors are back,” LaVitola reported. “We were the first retail account for many of them and we are on a first-name basis with a lot of them, so we regularly call them and text them. That’s what a lot of this summer was – trying to explain from our perspective what happened and saying, ‘Listen, if you want to come back now, how do you want to work with us?’”
In addition, LaVitola and other Foxtrot leaders strove to bring back as many former employees as they could and connect with shoppers to rebuild trust while relaunching the operation. “We added more seating, and have done a bunch of stuff behind the scenes to make the ordering and pickup process a lot smoother. If it’s working, the tech becomes invisible, which is our whole thing,” he explained, adding, “The stores have to be warm and inviting, with good music and all of that.”
To his point, the chain is now billed as Foxtrot Café and Market and is officially described as “a modern coffee shop and upscale market offering a carefully curated selection of coffee, groceries, and café products from local makers and beyond.” In addition to grabbing coffee, food from an expanded menu and, later in the day, drinks during happy hour, shoppers can find many of the market favorites that they got to know and enjoy in the previous iteration of Foxtrot.
“From a merchandising perspective, for the longest time we only had 2,500 SKUs and then it ballooned to about 5,000. Now, SKUs are back down to that number,” LaVitola said.
During the Sept. 5 grand re-opening in Chicago, shoppers can enjoy a free coffee from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., along with cookie and berry chai samples. Foxtrot is also hosting a Happy Hour on Sept. 6, with $4 local draft pours and $7 wine pours.
More stores are set to reopen in Chicago and Dallas over the next year. “After the first one reopens, we will have reopenings every two to four weeks. Some of it has to with licensing and hiring, and marking sure everyone is well-trained before stores reopen,” LaVitola remarked.
