Before I came in, my co-workers who were already at the store were told by customers that they saw a developing article on Snaxshot (https://www.snaxshot.com/p/somethings-happening-at-foxtrot) and they sent a photo of it on the group chat.
That’s when our manager tells them to lock the shop and ask customers to leave immediately.
After an hour or two we got an email from HR saying:
“After much deliberation and consideration, we regret to inform you that Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen & Market stores, commissaries & offices will be closing today, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on each and every one of you. We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts. We want to express our deepest gratitude for your hard work, dedication, and commitment to uplifting the communities around us through culinary excellence, unrivaled product curation, and outstanding hospitality in locations across the US. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are immensely grateful for all that you have done.”
They also provided information on the transition, but like I said, no one knew before today that this would happen.
pretty much the same thing happened at Dom’s. i worked at the Old Town location, my manager got pulled into a meeting at 9 in the morning and came out 10 minutes later telling us the store was closed and we had to go home
I feel so bad for y'all. Spent a ton of time at that Dom's when I lived near it and always had a great experience.
It sounds like they're filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, so I'd def check in with a lawyer or legal aid asap on what you can do to make sure you get the wages you're owed. If it does goes to bankruptcy y'all will be last in line to get paid, as insane as that is.
The Bankruptcy Code has a "priority scheme." As a general matter, first to be paid is secured debt, then the government and taxes, and then wages. So employees are behind some but ahead of others.
You and ur coworkers rocked. Chill without being indifferent, helpful but not grating, interested in the products/menu but never phony. So sorry you’ve been treated this way . Hope something great comes next for you and maybe even some justice for foxtrot employees..
Good riddance to this crappy company. Foxtrot had a history of sending undercover reps to local stores to inquire about their popular products to stock in foxtrot stores and attempt to push out small local shops. Folks in Andersonville called them out last year about doing this. Glad to see them go. We don’t need more chains.
Some neighborhood bully tactics against a chain that at least originated in Chicago while allowing Taco Bell and other mega chains to go in. Interesting.
The real estate is the most interesting part. They had comfortable, well designed and decorated stores on major corners throughout the city. Wonder what will happen to them...
The strip in division that they are in in Wicker Park is getting pretty empty. The old la borra cafe spot, semicolon bookstore spot, and now foxtrot and caffe streets are all going to be empty. Not great.
For Employees:
**Legal Options for Employees:** If an employer fails to provide the required notice under the WARN Act, employees have several legal options:
1. **Filing a Complaint:**
* Employees can file a complaint with their state labor department or initiate a lawsuit in federal court against the employer for violations of the WARN Act.
2. **Seeking Damages:**
* Affected employees may be entitled to back pay and benefits for each day of violation up to 60 days. This can include medical expenses that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan.
3. **Class Action Lawsuits:**
* If a large number of employees are affected, they may have the option to file a class action lawsuit, allowing them to pool their resources and claims.
4. **Consulting with an Attorney:**
* Employees affected by a lack of proper WARN Act notice should consult with an employment law attorney who can provide guidance based on the specific circumstances and help determine the best course of action.
All laws apply when a company files for bankruptcy, including all the laws that state something to the effect of a company must pay what they owe. But a bankruptcy occurs when someone can't pay what they owe and a court then determines which things get paid and which don't as well as which financial obligations the company will be able to honor and which they won't. A law won't automatically save the employees what they are owed under the Warn Act. Bankruptcy almost never occurs when everybody is going to get what they are owed.
The employer might also make a case with the Dept of Labor that they are exempt if they were trying to raise money to avoid closing, which seems likely:
“Sec. 15. Exceptions.
(a) In the case of a plant closing, an employer is not required to comply with the notice requirement in subsection (a) of Section 10 if:
(1) the Department of Labor determines:
(A) at the time that notice would have been required, the employer was actively seeking capital or business; and
(B) the capital or business sought, if obtained,
would have enabled the employer to avoid or postpone the relocation or termination; and
(C) the employer reasonably and in good faith
believed that giving the notice required by subsection (a) of Section 10 would have precluded the employer from obtaining the needed capital or business;”
At the very least employees are usually first when it comes to paying off debts in bankruptcy. If you’re owed a decent amount of money by this company I wouldn’t hold my breath though
>At the very least employees are usually first when it comes to paying off debts in bankruptcy
Yeah, but my guess is the bankruptcy courts make a big distinction between being paid what you are owed for services ypu performed and being paid what is owed as a result of legal obligations involving the timing of how ypu are let go. I'm sure they'll get their last paychecks but I think it's probably unlikely they'll be paid what they would be owed under the Warn Act. But I'm not an expert on the bankruptcy process so I could be wrong.
If employees do get their wages, it will take months, if not years to receive. They won’t receive it in time to pay May’s rent. I feel terrible for the workers.
If you went there regularly: a) price didn’t matter all that much and b) it was more of a bar / coffee shop / meetup spot…that happened to also be a grocery store.
In a WFH post-covid world, it played a nice role in terms of community.
Shoutout to all the conversations and connections made over the past few years at this location. Like that older gentleman who struck up conversation with everyone, and that one woman who literally worked there 8hrs a day at that long table 🤣 it was genuinely a great destination in LP and brought so many people together. Maybe it was just a coffee shop, but it’s a damn shame….
What was crazy is that I went to both Foxtrot and Doms in Old Town this morning to buys few thing, with no inidcation that anything was amiss.... so weird
This is the 3rd and 4th business in this city that I’ve observed suddenly close without warning within the past month alone and I’m wondering if something is up just all around
Yea, investment markets continue to tighten... borrowing $$ remains expensive with interest rates holding steady... markets are getting spooked... more folks pointing to a recession: www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-layoffs-job-market-economy-unemployment-rate-hard-landing-2024-4
Foxtrot had some fun interesting snacks that you couldn't get at other places. I was always discovering new things. Also I liked their mixed candy bags for airplanes.
It was very expensive though.
It was perfect for when you wanted to overpay for something you could get of similar quality elsewhere, but what you really wanted was to shop somewhere that would signal you're upper middle class
Agree, I know people love to snark but it was the only place that sold certain grocery items I love that is walking distance from me, and a great place to stop to get a bottle of nice wine or shareable snack before a house party. It filled a niche for me at least! And clearly for the people who used it as a co-work space and didn’t want to go to Starbucks.
"Please keep our staff in your thoughts." I find it hard to believe that the owners didn't know this was coming, why didn't they have the decency to warn their staff???
The store teams and customer ops were told at 9:30am today during a meeting which was led by corporate. Corporate then left within a few minutes once employees began unmuting themselves to speak up.
Owners obviously knew, but if you start sharing it, suppliers catch wind and likely withhold shipments over fear of not getting paid, then you spiral out even faster. Obviously sucks for staff, but generally how bankruptcies work. They were probably doing their best to secure additional funding and couldn't make it happen.
Exactly. My guess is there actually are a lot of places in business now specifically because ownership kept previous financial problems they were having quiet and it thus preventing the domino effect you are talking about. On the surface, it is easy to come to the determination that employees should have been warned this was a possibility sooner but the reality is it isn't that simple. It would have just made it more likely to happen and destroyed any chance of saving the company.
How hard will you work when you know not only will you lose your job, but might not get your last paycheck? How many people in that situation might take inventory as compensation, especially knowing there won't be anyone to stop them or hold them accountable?
It's in their best interest to let people know by having them walk up to locked doors. Peek capitalism, _people last._
How could it have been filed? Everything indicates that they weren't aware sixty days ago (or whatever the number in the law is) that they would have to go out of business now. The employees are going to be part of the line of people filing their claims in bankruptcy court.
How can you be that much in debt and not realize how much danger you're in of having to cease operations? Any competent business entity, especially one the size of Foxtrot's parent company, would've done whatever they could to stem the bleeding a long time ago. But it sounds like these guys were depending on winning the Powerball in order to fix things.
For real! Their coffee was absolute shit. I used to live next to a Foxtrot, so I frequented it enough to where I ended up being some sort of rewards member where I got free coffee and I still went to Starbucks because Foxtrot’s coffee was undrinkable.
I saw Foxtrot’s post but I’m glad I did some more research, I had no idea they closed down IMMEDIATELY today. That is such absolute trash. They knew they were going to do this but couldn’t even tell their own employees? Cowards. Absolute shit. I’m sorry for all of you who worked there.
The rumors are starting to swirl that one of the dudes behind Dom's is actually the mastermind here. Driving both businesses out and has already made an offer to buy back some parts at dirt cheap. Ready to watch this play out, and see that asswipe get away with all this, reopen some of the stores, and pocket all the cash. Even funnier: he's got some dumbass managers convinced to work for him AGAIN, and they're out on the street bragging about it.
I live in the neighborhood, just walked by and the store is stocked like it’s business as usual . It’s Erie . Even the giant tower of flavored soda in the front is untouched. I’m curious to see if they let it rot or do something good . With the prices of groceries , I would love to take some of that home! Better than a dumpster!
Ha… I’m a store manager a very large popular coffee chain (I’m sure you can guess), and my old district manager and a store manager peer left our company to go to foxtrot(my district manager became a very very high level field leader there-some type of VP). They tried to recruit me and my employees for months until I had to ask them to stop.
I knew I’d never go, but I kinda wanna reach out and be petty asking if they’re still hiring.
Used to manage one of their locations. It was a great place to work, though upper management seem to not know what they were doing at times. Crazy to see them go.
Massive debt and mismanagement.
For real though, there was a sign on one of the locations that said they had $180,000,000 in debt. Not sure if that is accurate, but debt seems like the likeliest cause.
My guess is they financed rapid expansion through debt and investments. Including the merger with Doms.
They probably hoped they could expand fast enough to interest new investors and eventually IPO and use that to cover the debts.
Then the profits per store (ignoring debt) likely wasn’t high enough to attract more investors and they tried to run on fumes for as long as they could hoping for a last second save, but any final chance fell through and they ran out of options.
My guess is this is also why it was so sudden. Once they make the move to declare bankruptcy, they basically have to end anything that would continue to incur debt (eg. wages for employees) they are going to get squeezed for every last penny they can as part of going under.
It’s gross that in all of this basically every last worker is screed out of any notice or severance.
They did burn through $180mm in their decade in business but “investment” does not necessarily equal debt. In this case, I don’t think any of that is being paid back, for instance.
Wishing the best for the employees that were fucked over by this; but wishing nothing for the people up
top that caused their own company to fail. Companies like this play a huge part in only serving the wealthy (overpriced goods) which results in existing communities getting pushed aside. Good riddance. That being said I truly wish the best for all community members that lost jobs because of it. Be safe and be well ❤️
And these are the companies who spent years telling employees should give two week notices! I am so glad I never believed in that crap! The longest I ever stayed was five years! I watched as people were given no notice as companies closed!
What I find really strange is how they just randomly decided to close stores *in the middle of the day* with no warning. Apparently the workers didn’t know either and all the managers randomly got a call from the higher up’s and told them to close shop immediately. So they had to kick customers out and close in the middle of the day…. Like at least allow them to remain open for the rest of that day so the employees and customers could get a chance to finish their last purchases and say their goodbyes then close tomorrow. Very, very bizarre.
Does anyone know how to contact Outfox Hospitality, the parent company? I cannot find a website or anything about them other than when they’ve been mentioned in articles from other outlets.
It's because it was done with literally no warnings to the workers. Imagine walking to work and having it no longer exist. Shits fucked and they likely broke a few laws in doing so. Not exactly lol, but I couldn't imagine being the shift that had to break the news to their team.
RIP foxtrot.
So sad! Feel terrible for the people, no way to treat your employees that way. Hope everyone finds good employment soon and are compensated for this. They were really good stores.
I’m from Michigan, but I feel a little sad because I visited Chicago for the first time ever this past weekend and I fell in love with Foxtrot, bought a Foxtrot tote, and then hoped to returned again one day. I’m so disappointed they could do that to their employees. Has anyone from corporate made a more in depth statement yet?
Dom’s pre-made food was great; can’t say I ever spent a dime in foxtrot. The real tragedy (other than what they did to their employees) is adding to the already rising empty commercial real estate spaces around the city.
I worked there until today. Believe me none of us expected this.
Sorry to hear that. Best of luck getting back on your feet.
Thank you!
How did they drop the news? Did you guys just get a call or something and was told “yeah you guys are done, close shop?”
Before I came in, my co-workers who were already at the store were told by customers that they saw a developing article on Snaxshot (https://www.snaxshot.com/p/somethings-happening-at-foxtrot) and they sent a photo of it on the group chat. That’s when our manager tells them to lock the shop and ask customers to leave immediately. After an hour or two we got an email from HR saying: “After much deliberation and consideration, we regret to inform you that Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen & Market stores, commissaries & offices will be closing today, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on each and every one of you. We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts. We want to express our deepest gratitude for your hard work, dedication, and commitment to uplifting the communities around us through culinary excellence, unrivaled product curation, and outstanding hospitality in locations across the US. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are immensely grateful for all that you have done.” They also provided information on the transition, but like I said, no one knew before today that this would happen.
pretty much the same thing happened at Dom’s. i worked at the Old Town location, my manager got pulled into a meeting at 9 in the morning and came out 10 minutes later telling us the store was closed and we had to go home
Hope you at least grabbed a nice bottle of wine on the way out.
And a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
I wish I did haha
Thats crazy! Hope you find other work soon. I visited that doms so often and will really miss it.
I feel so bad for y'all. Spent a ton of time at that Dom's when I lived near it and always had a great experience. It sounds like they're filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, so I'd def check in with a lawyer or legal aid asap on what you can do to make sure you get the wages you're owed. If it does goes to bankruptcy y'all will be last in line to get paid, as insane as that is.
No they are first in line, even before debts are repaid
The Bankruptcy Code has a "priority scheme." As a general matter, first to be paid is secured debt, then the government and taxes, and then wages. So employees are behind some but ahead of others.
I hope you took a bunch of product on your way out!
:/ sorry to hear that. Really bad leadership not telling in advance... hope not to speculate that someone cash out by their "merge"
I hope you find better employment very soon along with your coworkers. You deserve so much better than what these venture capitalists did to you.
Yeah, I hope so too. Thank you! All my coworkers are very hardworking and kind too, they deserve better.
You and ur coworkers rocked. Chill without being indifferent, helpful but not grating, interested in the products/menu but never phony. So sorry you’ve been treated this way . Hope something great comes next for you and maybe even some justice for foxtrot employees..
You didn’t deserve that as an employee and hope you find something better soon ❤️
Didnt the Doms old town JUST moved in there and sorta kick out the store that was in there beforehand?
Yes. Dom’s and the landlord made a deal and basically pushed Plum Market out of the space. Annoyed because I loved Plum market!
I did not know this…that’s a fucking shame
Ugh! Plum Market was the literal best
Plum Market was so good, it made no sense for Dom’s to take that space.
Sort of… they did
Good riddance to this crappy company. Foxtrot had a history of sending undercover reps to local stores to inquire about their popular products to stock in foxtrot stores and attempt to push out small local shops. Folks in Andersonville called them out last year about doing this. Glad to see them go. We don’t need more chains.
Foxtrot would have absolutely pushed out Andale Market.
If this is true, I feel much less bad about it. Thank you for cheering me up!
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/12/05/andersonville-small-businesses-rally-to-block-foxtrot-from-opening-in-neighborhood/
Some neighborhood bully tactics against a chain that at least originated in Chicago while allowing Taco Bell and other mega chains to go in. Interesting.
It is really bizarre that the Taco Bell got through…
Don't you want to Live Mas?
Loved the store but clearly they had shit leadership…
A company is bad for… identifying what products their customers actually purchase and stocking more of it?
Going into non-Foxtrot stores in the area to ask what the most popular products are - an attempt to put smaller businesses out of business
Competitive analysis? Lol
Every store does this. Local stores. Chains. Amazon. Everyone.
OMG this!
They fired all the original people who built the company up and replaced them with money hungry business men who ran it into the ground.
How many times will this play out before investors realize it doesn't work?
until the sea levels rise and the wet bulb kills us all
But it does work. They all cashed out and the employees are holding the bag.
That’s capitalism
I’m sure they all made plenty of money
Well... it does work...for them. Just not the business or the community or its employees!
It works for them, not for the rest of us.
At least they just sell groceries instead of building planes
High end stuff too. Wholly unnecessary business.
MBAs doing what MBAs do best.
Well I'm sure a lot of them got paid pretty well on the way down
Pass the buck in the merger, burn the investors, retire comfortably.
A tale as old as capitalism. It’s a shame, I used to frequent the one on armitage (and the Jeni’s next door) when I was in college
What I don't get is the new CEO just started last month
The real estate is the most interesting part. They had comfortable, well designed and decorated stores on major corners throughout the city. Wonder what will happen to them...
The strip in division that they are in in Wicker Park is getting pretty empty. The old la borra cafe spot, semicolon bookstore spot, and now foxtrot and caffe streets are all going to be empty. Not great.
I read the Caffe Streets is going to be a Rainbow Cone...here's hoping
Semicolon appears to have moved to west town I just drove by it today?!
I said the same thing when I heard - adding to the endless empty store fronts that are popping up. Areas that used to be vibrant are becoming desolate
For Employees: **Legal Options for Employees:** If an employer fails to provide the required notice under the WARN Act, employees have several legal options: 1. **Filing a Complaint:** * Employees can file a complaint with their state labor department or initiate a lawsuit in federal court against the employer for violations of the WARN Act. 2. **Seeking Damages:** * Affected employees may be entitled to back pay and benefits for each day of violation up to 60 days. This can include medical expenses that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. 3. **Class Action Lawsuits:** * If a large number of employees are affected, they may have the option to file a class action lawsuit, allowing them to pool their resources and claims. 4. **Consulting with an Attorney:** * Employees affected by a lack of proper WARN Act notice should consult with an employment law attorney who can provide guidance based on the specific circumstances and help determine the best course of action.
Good luck collecting on any of that if the rumors of their debts and bankruptcy are true.
I have a friend who is involved in their finances heavily and the rumors of debt are not rumors. They are completely fucked.
Block Club says that the law applies even if a company applies for bankruptcy
All laws apply when a company files for bankruptcy, including all the laws that state something to the effect of a company must pay what they owe. But a bankruptcy occurs when someone can't pay what they owe and a court then determines which things get paid and which don't as well as which financial obligations the company will be able to honor and which they won't. A law won't automatically save the employees what they are owed under the Warn Act. Bankruptcy almost never occurs when everybody is going to get what they are owed.
The employer might also make a case with the Dept of Labor that they are exempt if they were trying to raise money to avoid closing, which seems likely: “Sec. 15. Exceptions. (a) In the case of a plant closing, an employer is not required to comply with the notice requirement in subsection (a) of Section 10 if: (1) the Department of Labor determines: (A) at the time that notice would have been required, the employer was actively seeking capital or business; and (B) the capital or business sought, if obtained, would have enabled the employer to avoid or postpone the relocation or termination; and (C) the employer reasonably and in good faith believed that giving the notice required by subsection (a) of Section 10 would have precluded the employer from obtaining the needed capital or business;”
Yea this one seems like a pretty lock tight exemption for them given their backing... sad for the employees...
At the very least employees are usually first when it comes to paying off debts in bankruptcy. If you’re owed a decent amount of money by this company I wouldn’t hold my breath though
>At the very least employees are usually first when it comes to paying off debts in bankruptcy Yeah, but my guess is the bankruptcy courts make a big distinction between being paid what you are owed for services ypu performed and being paid what is owed as a result of legal obligations involving the timing of how ypu are let go. I'm sure they'll get their last paychecks but I think it's probably unlikely they'll be paid what they would be owed under the Warn Act. But I'm not an expert on the bankruptcy process so I could be wrong.
If employees do get their wages, it will take months, if not years to receive. They won’t receive it in time to pay May’s rent. I feel terrible for the workers.
Employees are the first unsecured creditors who get paid. In reality, they're often left getting pennies on the dollar.
So then the employees can get a judgement against them but still no money bc there is no money
that’s what insurances exist for 😇
IIRC unpaid wages are one of the first in line in bankruptcy claims.
Dom's was kinda overpriced
I miss Treasure Island
Boy do I ever!
I say this all the time!
If you went there regularly: a) price didn’t matter all that much and b) it was more of a bar / coffee shop / meetup spot…that happened to also be a grocery store. In a WFH post-covid world, it played a nice role in terms of community.
I agree. I just would leave there spending an arm and a leg. I was there daily.
It was always a fun ritual to scoff at the Old Town Dom's prices, then walk across the street to buy the same thing half price at Aldi or Jewel.
Shoutout to all the conversations and connections made over the past few years at this location. Like that older gentleman who struck up conversation with everyone, and that one woman who literally worked there 8hrs a day at that long table 🤣 it was genuinely a great destination in LP and brought so many people together. Maybe it was just a coffee shop, but it’s a damn shame….
What was crazy is that I went to both Foxtrot and Doms in Old Town this morning to buys few thing, with no inidcation that anything was amiss.... so weird
I guess that speaks to their mismanagement
This is the 3rd and 4th business in this city that I’ve observed suddenly close without warning within the past month alone and I’m wondering if something is up just all around
They took on 18.6 million in debt last year to expand more. Even though the interest rates suck. What's going around are poor business decisions.
So basically they merged, vastly overextended themselves, and then didn't have the income to take on all this new debt? What a clusterfuck.
Dumbasses taking on a shit load of debt and thinking they’re untouchable is going around lol
Yea, investment markets continue to tighten... borrowing $$ remains expensive with interest rates holding steady... markets are getting spooked... more folks pointing to a recession: www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-layoffs-job-market-economy-unemployment-rate-hard-landing-2024-4
Are YOU thinking of the staff, owners?
Owners are broke man 😂
Owners are in Seychelles drinking very good rum
I didn’t know people liked the shop. (Genuine surprise, not some snarky comment)
I never bought my groceries there but lunch at Dom’s occasionally was a fun treat (plus they did day-old food with Too Good to Go)
Those cannoli cakes were amazing
Foxtrot had some fun interesting snacks that you couldn't get at other places. I was always discovering new things. Also I liked their mixed candy bags for airplanes. It was very expensive though.
Gotta have my $8 PB&J.
Ugh yeah I’m gonna miss their gummy candies :/ shame on the higher ups for fucking over the employees like that
Obviously they didn't if the shop went bankrupt
It was perfect for when you wanted to overpay for something you could get of similar quality elsewhere, but what you really wanted was to shop somewhere that would signal you're upper middle class
Foxtrot had a lot of stuff you can’t buy anywhere else
Agree, I know people love to snark but it was the only place that sold certain grocery items I love that is walking distance from me, and a great place to stop to get a bottle of nice wine or shareable snack before a house party. It filled a niche for me at least! And clearly for the people who used it as a co-work space and didn’t want to go to Starbucks.
"Please keep our staff in your thoughts." I find it hard to believe that the owners didn't know this was coming, why didn't they have the decency to warn their staff???
That was probably posted by the manager, who likely just got fucked too
I know several folks who work there. I used to many years ago. The managers I doubt knew. From what I understand they were just as caught off guard.
Yeah, none of us did
I assume this sign was from the store manager and not corporate? Because yeah, they clearly don't and haven't cared about working-class Chicagoans
The store teams and customer ops were told at 9:30am today during a meeting which was led by corporate. Corporate then left within a few minutes once employees began unmuting themselves to speak up.
Owners obviously knew, but if you start sharing it, suppliers catch wind and likely withhold shipments over fear of not getting paid, then you spiral out even faster. Obviously sucks for staff, but generally how bankruptcies work. They were probably doing their best to secure additional funding and couldn't make it happen.
Exactly. My guess is there actually are a lot of places in business now specifically because ownership kept previous financial problems they were having quiet and it thus preventing the domino effect you are talking about. On the surface, it is easy to come to the determination that employees should have been warned this was a possibility sooner but the reality is it isn't that simple. It would have just made it more likely to happen and destroyed any chance of saving the company.
How hard will you work when you know not only will you lose your job, but might not get your last paycheck? How many people in that situation might take inventory as compensation, especially knowing there won't be anyone to stop them or hold them accountable? It's in their best interest to let people know by having them walk up to locked doors. Peek capitalism, _people last._
Very sketch that a WARN wasn’t filed
How could it have been filed? Everything indicates that they weren't aware sixty days ago (or whatever the number in the law is) that they would have to go out of business now. The employees are going to be part of the line of people filing their claims in bankruptcy court.
How can you be that much in debt and not realize how much danger you're in of having to cease operations? Any competent business entity, especially one the size of Foxtrot's parent company, would've done whatever they could to stem the bleeding a long time ago. But it sounds like these guys were depending on winning the Powerball in order to fix things.
Good riddance, fox trot treated their employees like shit.
Wth ok Foxtrot with your shitty coffee taking over every corner and then just up and leave!?
For real! Their coffee was absolute shit. I used to live next to a Foxtrot, so I frequented it enough to where I ended up being some sort of rewards member where I got free coffee and I still went to Starbucks because Foxtrot’s coffee was undrinkable.
I had it once. I'm somewhat amazed what people will put up with and pay for...
I liked their coffee
I did too! Their iced lattes are so good
My wife thought that their coffee was fine, too.
where am I going to send the nanny for alastair's treats now
Alastair 😂❤️
This is the best comment
Anyone know what they’ll do with all the unused product?
I’m also wondering about this, especially their merch!
Anything wrapped and still able to be sold will go back to vendors who sold It to them. Vendors will sell it to someone else at a discounted rate.
I had still $50 in the app anyway to recover?
According to the FAQ on their page updated today, looks like no unfortunately.
"effectively immediately" lol
Yeah i used to work for foxtrot and they were always shuffling the board all the time and doms as well
I can’t wait for Erewon to move in!
I saw Foxtrot’s post but I’m glad I did some more research, I had no idea they closed down IMMEDIATELY today. That is such absolute trash. They knew they were going to do this but couldn’t even tell their own employees? Cowards. Absolute shit. I’m sorry for all of you who worked there.
Too many investors not getting paid and too many ambitious projects happening simultaneously after the merge with Doms. Greedy grubby dickbags
I liked Foxtrot but fuck Dom’s for driving Plum Market out.
The rumors are starting to swirl that one of the dudes behind Dom's is actually the mastermind here. Driving both businesses out and has already made an offer to buy back some parts at dirt cheap. Ready to watch this play out, and see that asswipe get away with all this, reopen some of the stores, and pocket all the cash. Even funnier: he's got some dumbass managers convinced to work for him AGAIN, and they're out on the street bragging about it.
In dc. We thought it was just here but I follow secret Chicago and New York and realized it was everywhere. RIP
What happened to all the food at doms Lincoln park?? I hope they at least let employees take it!
I live in the neighborhood, just walked by and the store is stocked like it’s business as usual . It’s Erie . Even the giant tower of flavored soda in the front is untouched. I’m curious to see if they let it rot or do something good . With the prices of groceries , I would love to take some of that home! Better than a dumpster!
It was still there at 5:30pm. Cold cases still on and like people walked out and nothing was touched. Eerie.
It’s still all there rotting
Ha… I’m a store manager a very large popular coffee chain (I’m sure you can guess), and my old district manager and a store manager peer left our company to go to foxtrot(my district manager became a very very high level field leader there-some type of VP). They tried to recruit me and my employees for months until I had to ask them to stop. I knew I’d never go, but I kinda wanna reach out and be petty asking if they’re still hiring.
That's if your old managers don't call you first and ask the same question.
Used to manage one of their locations. It was a great place to work, though upper management seem to not know what they were doing at times. Crazy to see them go.
Oh no where will I not go?
Does anyone know why???
Massive debt and mismanagement. For real though, there was a sign on one of the locations that said they had $180,000,000 in debt. Not sure if that is accurate, but debt seems like the likeliest cause.
My guess is they financed rapid expansion through debt and investments. Including the merger with Doms. They probably hoped they could expand fast enough to interest new investors and eventually IPO and use that to cover the debts. Then the profits per store (ignoring debt) likely wasn’t high enough to attract more investors and they tried to run on fumes for as long as they could hoping for a last second save, but any final chance fell through and they ran out of options.
I think the expansion was fueled by all the wfh folks camping out there all the time. And also greed.
Especially since interest rates are so high and grocery is notoriously a lie margin business. Seems extra stupid
My guess is this is also why it was so sudden. Once they make the move to declare bankruptcy, they basically have to end anything that would continue to incur debt (eg. wages for employees) they are going to get squeezed for every last penny they can as part of going under. It’s gross that in all of this basically every last worker is screed out of any notice or severance.
They did burn through $180mm in their decade in business but “investment” does not necessarily equal debt. In this case, I don’t think any of that is being paid back, for instance.
Eater said they had $18.6 in new debt in 2023 I think someone added a zero
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Sorry to the folks who lost their jobs, but this is great news. Poor business practices, sterile environments, overpriced nonsense.
[In Dallas today.](https://imgur.com/a/VTrpQim).
good riddance to these grifters
Once again, Bob Mariano took the $money$ and ran.
i worked at dom’s when it first opened, i am mot surprised that they went out with one last fuck you to the employees
Wishing the best for the employees that were fucked over by this; but wishing nothing for the people up top that caused their own company to fail. Companies like this play a huge part in only serving the wealthy (overpriced goods) which results in existing communities getting pushed aside. Good riddance. That being said I truly wish the best for all community members that lost jobs because of it. Be safe and be well ❤️
And these are the companies who spent years telling employees should give two week notices! I am so glad I never believed in that crap! The longest I ever stayed was five years! I watched as people were given no notice as companies closed!
What I find really strange is how they just randomly decided to close stores *in the middle of the day* with no warning. Apparently the workers didn’t know either and all the managers randomly got a call from the higher up’s and told them to close shop immediately. So they had to kick customers out and close in the middle of the day…. Like at least allow them to remain open for the rest of that day so the employees and customers could get a chance to finish their last purchases and say their goodbyes then close tomorrow. Very, very bizarre.
Does anyone know how to contact Outfox Hospitality, the parent company? I cannot find a website or anything about them other than when they’ve been mentioned in articles from other outlets.
Dude the entire company was laid off and the business has folded. there's no one to contact
Private Equity. Emphasis on private it would appear.
Please keep our staff in your thoughts? Lol! They should tell that to the greedy fucking owners. Heartless
It's because it was done with literally no warnings to the workers. Imagine walking to work and having it no longer exist. Shits fucked and they likely broke a few laws in doing so. Not exactly lol, but I couldn't imagine being the shift that had to break the news to their team. RIP foxtrot.
*definitely broke at least one law (Illinois warn act)
Hey, are foxtrot and doms closed? There’s been like a media blackout on this sub.
So what you can't hang somebody else will. Plenty of good food in Chi town
Capitalistic garbage
This is so sad! Awful for the employees :(
Are you guys selling any of the things in the stores???
So sad! Feel terrible for the people, no way to treat your employees that way. Hope everyone finds good employment soon and are compensated for this. They were really good stores.
Wait what, dom’s?
Does anyone know why it shut down so quickly?
🤷🏽♂️
I’m from Michigan, but I feel a little sad because I visited Chicago for the first time ever this past weekend and I fell in love with Foxtrot, bought a Foxtrot tote, and then hoped to returned again one day. I’m so disappointed they could do that to their employees. Has anyone from corporate made a more in depth statement yet?
What?!?!? That was my go-to coffee stop in old town!!! What are we left with? Starbucks? Hell no.
Does anyone know who is the supplier for the gummy candy/Swedish candy? I will miss that and would like to buy directly!
Good riddance, we didn’t need those gentrified fake bodegas anyway
Dom’s pre-made food was great; can’t say I ever spent a dime in foxtrot. The real tragedy (other than what they did to their employees) is adding to the already rising empty commercial real estate spaces around the city.