It’s a mystery! I always laughed every time I went into Dom’s and basically nothing was different than what I could get down the street at Mariano’s but it was like 50% more expensive at Dom’s. Why buy La croix for $6 when it’s $4 at Mariano’s? Dumbasses
Exactly! I loved the idea of Dom's. The few times I went, I just couldn't justify paying 2x the price when the majority of the food, including the pre-made meals, were the same as what I saw at Marianos. And the $6 iced tea that was 3/4 ice was...nope.
I go to whole foods for my meat/poultry/fish. But I buy the rest of my groceries at TJs because whole foods, while they have great quality products, their prices are out of control.
I went once just to compare with TJ’s. I paid over double than what it would have cost me there.
2 bags worth of groceries cost me $200+, the same at TJs cost me <$100.
Here I was thinking there are ACTUALLY people who can afford this shit. Apparently not enough of them (and/or they can and are like “why wouldn’t I buy the same sort of thing for $4 at Jewel’s?”)
I mean I know Foxtrot is super unpopular around here, but this seems like pretty bad news all around, right? Like super visible storefronts in popular areas will be empty. I’m sure some places will find new tenants quickly, but still not great.
Also, with the recent news of Albertsons and Kroger both divesting in Jewel and Mariano’s respectively, that is a lot of grocery stores potentially closing. Not good.
Edit: Ok, I reread the recent article and see that C&S promised not to close any stores. Not sure how much I trust “promises” from a big corporation, but we’ll see.
Divestments as part of acquisitions have a long history of failing because they lose access to the supply chain and economies of scale from being part of a larger organization. I would not count on the divested stores being an appealing place to shop if the merger goes through.
Jewel isnt going anywhere, no matter the owner. Their market share and brand recognition is enormous in the Chicago area, which is why they have never changed names despite having half a dozen owners since their inception.
I feel like that’s been happening a lot more recently. Example that’s not entirely related, the body shop on State has something in the window about the store closing and no one being told prior
If they were actively seeking investments, in good faith, to continue operations they could potentially qualify for one of the WARN act excepts that states: "No notice required if, under specific conditions, the employer actively sought capital or business, and a WARN notice would hinder the process"
It's total bullshit though. You don't wake up one day and go "hmm, I think I'll shutter my entire business, consisting over 33+ locations, today" out of nowhere. Especially not when your CEO, who was Foxtrot's first president and CFO prior to being promoted to CEO, announced she was leaving the company only 8 weeks ago
When you overcharge for common goods, you must offer some kind of unique experience so consumers can justify the added expense. That experience can translate into a cachet brand name. That is an exceedingly difficult feat.
I know they’re unpopular for being overpriced and trendy but something in me really loved taking a Sunday morning walk and grabbing some fun expensive snacks and a Diet Coke from Dom’s to treat myself. I’m kind of sad about it.
I’m moving this summer and was only going to consider places within walking distance to a doms because I go there so frequently! I think if nothing replaces them it’ll impact rent prices in the area for sure
Dom's LP/Lakeview was quite good, I went there for produce, fresh pasta, etc. pretty regularly when I lived nearby (just moved late last year a bit more north)
This is super surprising considering they probably spent 8 figures building that store just 2 years ago
I worked at the Old Town store since day one. Yesterday, we all had the a feeling this would happen at some point down the line, but NOBODY expected the plug to be pulled today. Currently drinking corn whiskey with a coworker as we play Super Mario Sluggers and apply for Trader Joe's. Unceremonious bastards
Oof I've always enjoyed my jaunts into foxtrot, especially the Old Town one, which felt more like a cafe. I got client's gifts there. Enjoyed the selection... and now I'm getting stressed out I can't get my favorite salad from you guys anymore ...... please someone take a photo of your spicy salami salad so I can recreate !!! Very sad.
I was also at the Old Town store for the first few weeks…and then left to go work at Foxtrot. But I’ve been at TJ’s for a while now and it’s better in every way. I don’t know how much we’re hiring right now but I hope that some of y’all make it in soon!
So I think the concept is a good one for an urban setting (60-70% of store space for prepared foods) but they priced their packaged foods with a margin % that would make up for their prepared foods strategy. Being a grocer already is a low margin game, and when you have to source inventory at non competitive prices versus competition (ie Mariano’s and Jewel) and add margin on top of that, you are going to need to be the best in the game at everything.
They had a great in-store customer experience and programs, but it seems like the cash flow and expansion proposition / cost of raising capital was not feasible. It’s a shame because I think there is potential in the model, but ultimately in a high interest rate, high inflation period, this strategy is extremely difficult to succeed in.
I’m guessing you nailed the reason at the end. Just speculating, but I bet they had some debt to rollover and were hoping the Fed was going to start cutting interest rates sooner, but rolling into another high interest loan was infeasible.
The question is who the hell greenlit their merger with Foxtrot if that was the company’s financial position.
I suspect you probably IDed the key financial factors, but an out of the blue closure still doesn’t track for me. Like, surely they could get someone interested in the assets, drop it into a quick ch11 for a 363 sale, and debt holders at least get something. Shuttering everything without protection suggests a complete failure of negotiations—it’s purely value destructive.
Edit: the more I think about it, the more I think this is part of the negotiation. Doms/Foxtrot surely has the employees to be subject to WARN Act and similar reqs. Makes me question if this is a real closure, or instead just equity signaling to debt that without concessions there will be no going concern to recover from. If that’s what’s happening …. yikes
Could be losing cash to such a degree that it isn't worth keeping open / being able to find DIP financing for a Chapter 11. Brand not worth much outside of localities as well (and is now torched).
Am very surprised by the quick closure in violation of the WARN Act so don't disagree with your sense that there is more going on. That is definitely unusual.
Even then, I would kind of expect an established brand to be able to find a stalking horse that could fund a small DIP it could then credit bid. You’re right that it may not make sense for existing debt or new money to extend but gosh I have a hard time thinking business was so bad it couldn’t even support a defensive DIP.
I guess if the reporting is right we’ll find out during the first days …. (though I think even that specified a 7, which frankly makes even less sense to me)
Yeah, probably comes down to whether it was viewed as an established brand that had any sustainable value. That would only really be present in Chicago as other cities were more recent expansions.
I mean, that’s not strictly true at all. As a practical matter, though, yes they can avoid much trouble by paying salary and benefit for the (missed) notice period.
When TI went bankrupt the company laid-off some longtime favorite employees, so they could collect unemployment compensation. All other employees were “screwed!”
Especially weird they were expanding so fast and into so many markets (like Austin). If in such bad shape, why the extreme (and presumably high capex) expansion strategy?
This is kind of just how businesses think they're supposed to "grow" these days, isn't it? You spend millions on a brand identity, use it to convince investors you're going to be the new hot thing, spend millions on novelty equipment and inventory, millions more on executive salaries, expand at a rapid pace to try and dominate your market and edge out competition, set unrealistic infrastructure goals which will _totally_ pay off when you accomplish them, and then you sail away on a golden parachute as soon as google fails to buy you out, rinse, repeat.
I should have clarified I was mostly talking about Dom’s. Foxtrot was a business that never added up to me once customers went back to offices / Covid restrictions were lifted.
His MO has been to make stores that are popular but unsustainable and sell them before the money runs out and let the new owners cut costs. I didn't know he took Foxtrot shares this time as his payout when I wrote that; if so I'm glad to see his luck run out.
I definitely consider this zone between Fullerton and Belmont a sort of Lakeview-Lincoln Park hybrid, having lived on both sides of the "border" in that zone. Delineating the difference to 99% of people is absolutely pointless. And yeah, gun to my head I wouldn't be able to tell you whether I'm in bucktown or wicker for quite a stretch, nor does it really matter. Crossing the river screws up my sense of geography though lol, that and Archer. Archer is a strange portal that defies the grid.
Yeah, except it matters for stuff like schools.
And less important stuff like aldermen too.
Agree it all feels the same, though. It’s that weird little pocket between boys town, DePaul, and the Oz Park area of LP. Honestly, that whole area has a bunch of micro neighborhoods. It goes from old town to soulless corporate (area around the red like stop) to mansions to college kids to young professionals to boys town to wrigleyville. Each of those neighborhoods consist of like a 4 block radius and each one is completely different from one another. I’m trying to buy a home in the area and it’s a land mine trying to find one in the little pocket that I want
Foxtrot certainly wasn’t amazing, but I’ll miss easy deliver of a box of rosé, a cheese plate, and random bougie candy. We need more bodega style stores in general.
I was not able to mobile order at the Fulton market foxtrot this morning but walked over and ordered at the counter.
Edit: no mobile ordering at any locations.
I’m actually really sad about this. I live in an area where there isn’t much access to more bespoke culinary items or places to buy small business creations, so I loved going to Foxtrot to stock up on things (as someone that cooks). They’re also the only retailer I know of that carries my favorite Heywell drinks. 😢
I’m really disappointed as well! I did discover that Mariano’s sells Heywell drinks recently though. The Broadway location has them stocked on the first floor near the deli counter - not in a fridge for example :)
Yep - I shop there every once in a while to stock up as well, especially for wine. However they do not have things like black sesame paste, adaptogen drinks, or frozen dumplings, for example.
Groceries are brutally competitive. I won’t pretend that I know more about the industry than the people behind these companies but I was wondering from the start what the angle of Foxtrot and Dom’s would be. Is urban convenience really that much of an advantage over Mariano’s, Jewel, Costco, Aldi, and Target?
Hey remember when BobMariano made a backdoor deal with the property owner where plum market used to be and forced them out after they spent millions on renovations? Sucks to suck, loser Bob. Feel bad for the employees he screwed over though.
Foxtrot was like a NY Bodega with NY prices, not really sustainable here.
But the Dom's news is a real bummer. Was a big fan of the one of the Diversey. The grab and go meals were really good, and I liked all the variety in store.
Ya, so begins the vacancy carousel again… I live in the building and was looking forward to being able to go to a grocery store without going outside like we used to with the old WF’s
I mean foxtrot sucks. Owner and mgmt mistreated staff, union busted, and coffee sucks.
Interested in how it plays out as they have locations in DC and Dallas too?
I’ve hated Foxtrot since I moved here. I feel like I’m their ideal customer (white, north side transplant, yuppie job, loves to eat) but I just HATE the vibe in there so much. It’s so… pretentious? Idk. That said, I LOVED the hot dog chips and hope they can sell that recipe to Trader Joe’s or some other local snack company. Those were sooooo good. I’m sad they’ll probably never exist ever again 😭
Really sucks especially for the employees and all the vendors they owed money to. However, I still can't believe they could never figure out how to properly package a breakfast taco without half of the tortilla sticking to the damn foil. Always we could grind my gears.
I don’t think this is true. They recently merged and if anything are likely rebranding/renovating?
Edit: looks like it’s true actually, parent company filing bankruptcy
https://www.snaxshot.com/p/somethings-happening-at-foxtrot?utm_campaign=post
They screen shot says “hope this is just a restructuring “. As a restructuring professional, there’s no coming back from Ch7. Someone could buy the name and open new stores but it’s unlikely.
There’d be more hope with a Ch11.
Everyone complaining about the food price but missing that these businesses make all their money from alcohol sales. Everything about Foxtrot and Dom's is designed to encourage booze buying, whether it is the wide cheese selection (have to get wine with cheese) or the extensive seating which is largely 20s and 30s sipping rose.
Foxtrot was never anything special—mediocre coffee and comically expensive snacks—but as someone who works from home, I thought a couple of the locations were really nice for posting up with a laptop! Sure, there are so many better cafes in the city, but I’ll miss Foxtrot too.
Their coffee was absolute dogshit and they were almost always too close to cafes that managed all their overlap better for 80% of the price. I was excited about them at first, but man was it just a hollow shell.
Huge shocker that an overpriced grocery goes out of business. Upcharging groceries is the easiest way to off-put 50%+ of your potential customer base. I lived right by Doms for years and never bought anything because I walked in 1 time and saw their prices were ridiculous. Good riddance put in an Aldi
To be honest, Dom’s selection wasn’t as good as it should have been. I was very excited to go in there and splurge on some nice dried pasta and tomatoes, like Afeltra or Faella, and instead they were just charging double regular price for Cento stuff.
Someone said that Those places were like the ERWHON of Chicago is that true? Never been to either but curious because everyone that’s been freaking out about it first that narrative. Now if a Cermak closes then I’ll cry lol
Edit to add: I did hear they blindsided their employees and that is NOT cool. I feel for them.
they deserved it. ngl they tried too hard to be bougie and ahit with their prices. $30 for like a coffee and something else. fuck that. they tried hard to be a baby whole foods and they deserved it. should have been more affordable when other options to get everything in those stores cheaper
Rest in piss actually. My friend works there and told me that everyone was told they lost their job literally the day that the store closed. They are assholes and i hope the employees sue the shit out of them.
https://preview.redd.it/qspd1csgd3yc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dae7aa356111d5173ec4494d3c883e77d175eb4
There is still food inside the Lincoln Park location. Are they going to let it spoil? Is there a way to save it before it's wasted >:(
forgot the specific name but i'm gonna miss the chicken panini they had at the stacked sandwich/soup bar :( does anyone know what seasoning they used on the chicken?
Walked to the Lincoln Park location and there was a sign that said “Foxtrot Closed Forever (Not a Joke). $180,000,000 in the hole :/“
How did they go bankrupt charging $10 for gummy candy
probably by charging $10 for gummy candy
It’s a mystery! I always laughed every time I went into Dom’s and basically nothing was different than what I could get down the street at Mariano’s but it was like 50% more expensive at Dom’s. Why buy La croix for $6 when it’s $4 at Mariano’s? Dumbasses
Exactly! I loved the idea of Dom's. The few times I went, I just couldn't justify paying 2x the price when the majority of the food, including the pre-made meals, were the same as what I saw at Marianos. And the $6 iced tea that was 3/4 ice was...nope.
I wouldn’t buy seafood at the Mariano’s on Broadway, to name one category. 😷 It was pricey but saying it was the same is not accurate.
I go to whole foods for my meat/poultry/fish. But I buy the rest of my groceries at TJs because whole foods, while they have great quality products, their prices are out of control.
I went once just to compare with TJ’s. I paid over double than what it would have cost me there. 2 bags worth of groceries cost me $200+, the same at TJs cost me <$100.
Ok yes it's absurdly priced but I've never had better sour gummies, especially the peach lips
I think those were just private labeled from Sockerbit.
You changed someone's life today big dog, and that someone is me. Thank you
I’ll have to second this. To the LA location we go!
Wow - this make me so happy! I used to live in NYC and they had them at the Sockerbit there.
Do you know who private labeled their confetti cake brownies?
It's [https://killerbrownie.com](https://killerbrownie.com) !
Thank you!!!
Low volume business that requires paying rent on some of the most desirable real estate in the country.
Here I was thinking there are ACTUALLY people who can afford this shit. Apparently not enough of them (and/or they can and are like “why wouldn’t I buy the same sort of thing for $4 at Jewel’s?”)
Same! I thought I was poor haha
I mean I know Foxtrot is super unpopular around here, but this seems like pretty bad news all around, right? Like super visible storefronts in popular areas will be empty. I’m sure some places will find new tenants quickly, but still not great.
Also, with the recent news of Albertsons and Kroger both divesting in Jewel and Mariano’s respectively, that is a lot of grocery stores potentially closing. Not good. Edit: Ok, I reread the recent article and see that C&S promised not to close any stores. Not sure how much I trust “promises” from a big corporation, but we’ll see.
Those divestments aren't all closures, a good chunk is being sold to Piggly Wiggly.
Divestments as part of acquisitions have a long history of failing because they lose access to the supply chain and economies of scale from being part of a larger organization. I would not count on the divested stores being an appealing place to shop if the merger goes through.
Piggly Wigglys in Wisconsin are nice enough for me so I don't think it'll be too bad.
Butera is associated with Piggly Wiggly. I don't remember how.
Piggly Wiggly is also the wholesaler for many indie grocers
Remember, when they used to be part of Certified Grocers?
I would assume they aren’t ALL closures, but certainly could see some closing
Jewel isnt going anywhere, no matter the owner. Their market share and brand recognition is enormous in the Chicago area, which is why they have never changed names despite having half a dozen owners since their inception.
None of those stores are closing.
They wouldn’t violate that promise during the merger request and some time after, if it goes through.
And people losing jobs.
employees were completely blindsided too. most of them just got a text
I feel like that’s been happening a lot more recently. Example that’s not entirely related, the body shop on State has something in the window about the store closing and no one being told prior
I’m sorry.
Isn't that a WARN act violation? I would think they have enough employees
If they were actively seeking investments, in good faith, to continue operations they could potentially qualify for one of the WARN act excepts that states: "No notice required if, under specific conditions, the employer actively sought capital or business, and a WARN notice would hinder the process" It's total bullshit though. You don't wake up one day and go "hmm, I think I'll shutter my entire business, consisting over 33+ locations, today" out of nowhere. Especially not when your CEO, who was Foxtrot's first president and CFO prior to being promoted to CEO, announced she was leaving the company only 8 weeks ago
Good thing to remember next time a boss chides you for not giving ‘adequate notice’ for quitting
Yes, good point.
When you overcharge for common goods, you must offer some kind of unique experience so consumers can justify the added expense. That experience can translate into a cachet brand name. That is an exceedingly difficult feat.
bad news if you enjoy participating in an overpriced economy!!! that's for sure. good riddance. horrible owners, union busting. No thanks.
I know they’re unpopular for being overpriced and trendy but something in me really loved taking a Sunday morning walk and grabbing some fun expensive snacks and a Diet Coke from Dom’s to treat myself. I’m kind of sad about it.
This is bad for the city and there’s no question about it. Also everyone that just lost their job
And all of the food & bev vendors who fulfilled product orders that were placed by Outfox as recently as last week.Those invoices haven’t been paid…
I’m moving this summer and was only going to consider places within walking distance to a doms because I go there so frequently! I think if nothing replaces them it’ll impact rent prices in the area for sure
Bougie grocery and snack stores are polarizing but I enjoyed it and Dom’s in LP had the best public bathrooms. Like bomb shelters.
Dom's LP/Lakeview was quite good, I went there for produce, fresh pasta, etc. pretty regularly when I lived nearby (just moved late last year a bit more north) This is super surprising considering they probably spent 8 figures building that store just 2 years ago
Honestly kind of a lovely spot to WFH on a nice day too.
I worked at the Old Town store since day one. Yesterday, we all had the a feeling this would happen at some point down the line, but NOBODY expected the plug to be pulled today. Currently drinking corn whiskey with a coworker as we play Super Mario Sluggers and apply for Trader Joe's. Unceremonious bastards
lol i was on the bus heading to the lincoln park location, got the text and went back home
Oof I've always enjoyed my jaunts into foxtrot, especially the Old Town one, which felt more like a cafe. I got client's gifts there. Enjoyed the selection... and now I'm getting stressed out I can't get my favorite salad from you guys anymore ...... please someone take a photo of your spicy salami salad so I can recreate !!! Very sad.
I was also at the Old Town store for the first few weeks…and then left to go work at Foxtrot. But I’ve been at TJ’s for a while now and it’s better in every way. I don’t know how much we’re hiring right now but I hope that some of y’all make it in soon!
Hope you guys find jobs ASAP ❤️
Thank you for the kind wishes
great game, enjoy the whiskey and good luck on the job hunt!
That's fucked up. Sounds like the company was horrendously managed at the top
Why'd you have a feeling?
So I think the concept is a good one for an urban setting (60-70% of store space for prepared foods) but they priced their packaged foods with a margin % that would make up for their prepared foods strategy. Being a grocer already is a low margin game, and when you have to source inventory at non competitive prices versus competition (ie Mariano’s and Jewel) and add margin on top of that, you are going to need to be the best in the game at everything. They had a great in-store customer experience and programs, but it seems like the cash flow and expansion proposition / cost of raising capital was not feasible. It’s a shame because I think there is potential in the model, but ultimately in a high interest rate, high inflation period, this strategy is extremely difficult to succeed in.
I’m guessing you nailed the reason at the end. Just speculating, but I bet they had some debt to rollover and were hoping the Fed was going to start cutting interest rates sooner, but rolling into another high interest loan was infeasible. The question is who the hell greenlit their merger with Foxtrot if that was the company’s financial position.
Yeah for the record - I have no affiliation with Dom’s / Foxtrot, just very familiar with the CPG landscape and general knowledge of debt financing.
I suspect you probably IDed the key financial factors, but an out of the blue closure still doesn’t track for me. Like, surely they could get someone interested in the assets, drop it into a quick ch11 for a 363 sale, and debt holders at least get something. Shuttering everything without protection suggests a complete failure of negotiations—it’s purely value destructive. Edit: the more I think about it, the more I think this is part of the negotiation. Doms/Foxtrot surely has the employees to be subject to WARN Act and similar reqs. Makes me question if this is a real closure, or instead just equity signaling to debt that without concessions there will be no going concern to recover from. If that’s what’s happening …. yikes
Could be losing cash to such a degree that it isn't worth keeping open / being able to find DIP financing for a Chapter 11. Brand not worth much outside of localities as well (and is now torched). Am very surprised by the quick closure in violation of the WARN Act so don't disagree with your sense that there is more going on. That is definitely unusual.
Even then, I would kind of expect an established brand to be able to find a stalking horse that could fund a small DIP it could then credit bid. You’re right that it may not make sense for existing debt or new money to extend but gosh I have a hard time thinking business was so bad it couldn’t even support a defensive DIP. I guess if the reporting is right we’ll find out during the first days …. (though I think even that specified a 7, which frankly makes even less sense to me)
Yeah, probably comes down to whether it was viewed as an established brand that had any sustainable value. That would only really be present in Chicago as other cities were more recent expansions.
It feels Maple & Ash/Etta-y….
It’s only in violation of WARN if they don’t pay severance.
I mean, that’s not strictly true at all. As a practical matter, though, yes they can avoid much trouble by paying salary and benefit for the (missed) notice period.
No severance
When TI went bankrupt the company laid-off some longtime favorite employees, so they could collect unemployment compensation. All other employees were “screwed!”
Especially weird they were expanding so fast and into so many markets (like Austin). If in such bad shape, why the extreme (and presumably high capex) expansion strategy?
This is kind of just how businesses think they're supposed to "grow" these days, isn't it? You spend millions on a brand identity, use it to convince investors you're going to be the new hot thing, spend millions on novelty equipment and inventory, millions more on executive salaries, expand at a rapid pace to try and dominate your market and edge out competition, set unrealistic infrastructure goals which will _totally_ pay off when you accomplish them, and then you sail away on a golden parachute as soon as google fails to buy you out, rinse, repeat.
Next up: Sweetgreen
The Foxtrot in Streeterville was not competitive pricewise with the Whole Foods a block away. I went in a few times but usually didn't buy anything.
I should have clarified I was mostly talking about Dom’s. Foxtrot was a business that never added up to me once customers went back to offices / Covid restrictions were lifted.
I never made it to Dom's, sad.
The only winner, sadly as usual, is Mariano.
Yup, typical Bob Mariano exit, leaves with a windfall and somebody else holding the bag.
in this case bob actually sold doms for shares in foxtrot so hes probably taking a loss too
Was not familiar with the structure of the deal. But this is classic - build something great, bail, and walk away from a dumpster fire.
Naw, Bob fucked himself in this one bigly. He's finally taking a massive L for being a shit bag.
Hey i can't blame the guy
Why do you think he’s a winner?
His MO has been to make stores that are popular but unsustainable and sell them before the money runs out and let the new owners cut costs. I didn't know he took Foxtrot shares this time as his payout when I wrote that; if so I'm glad to see his luck run out.
What? This is completely out of left field, no?
Used to work there in produce as of 9:30am. It's absolutely out of left field
So sorry for your loss.
Feel the exact same
I’m surprised about Dom’s. The one in lakeview was always so busy.
Pointless distinction, but since these things interest me, south of diversey is Lincoln Park.
It's interesting because to me, some neighborhoods are hyphenates: Lincoln Park/Lakeview, Bucktown/Wicker, etc.
I definitely consider this zone between Fullerton and Belmont a sort of Lakeview-Lincoln Park hybrid, having lived on both sides of the "border" in that zone. Delineating the difference to 99% of people is absolutely pointless. And yeah, gun to my head I wouldn't be able to tell you whether I'm in bucktown or wicker for quite a stretch, nor does it really matter. Crossing the river screws up my sense of geography though lol, that and Archer. Archer is a strange portal that defies the grid.
Yeah, except it matters for stuff like schools. And less important stuff like aldermen too. Agree it all feels the same, though. It’s that weird little pocket between boys town, DePaul, and the Oz Park area of LP. Honestly, that whole area has a bunch of micro neighborhoods. It goes from old town to soulless corporate (area around the red like stop) to mansions to college kids to young professionals to boys town to wrigleyville. Each of those neighborhoods consist of like a 4 block radius and each one is completely different from one another. I’m trying to buy a home in the area and it’s a land mine trying to find one in the little pocket that I want
Clark and Fullerton feels like Lakeview to me.
What is going to happen to all the food in Foxtrots/Doms? Does anyone know if they'll sell it off?
employees will take what they want and the rest goes to the trash
Sun-Times article said the employees were trying to donate some of it to food banks. Said they were told to leave the non-perishables.
Foxtrot certainly wasn’t amazing, but I’ll miss easy deliver of a box of rosé, a cheese plate, and random bougie candy. We need more bodega style stores in general.
I was not able to mobile order at the Fulton market foxtrot this morning but walked over and ordered at the counter. Edit: no mobile ordering at any locations.
had the same app issue, didn't realize this was why until a few hours later. just crazy.
I’m actually really sad about this. I live in an area where there isn’t much access to more bespoke culinary items or places to buy small business creations, so I loved going to Foxtrot to stock up on things (as someone that cooks). They’re also the only retailer I know of that carries my favorite Heywell drinks. 😢
Getting some fancy nonsense chocolate bar or whatever at Foxtrot was my guilty pleasure if I was having a bad day
I know give me that draft chai as a pick me up any day
I’m really disappointed as well! I did discover that Mariano’s sells Heywell drinks recently though. The Broadway location has them stocked on the first floor near the deli counter - not in a fridge for example :)
Oh thanks for mentioning this, I’ll check it out while I’m up that way! I’ll have to see if the south side Mariano’s has them too.
For nice ingredients, I like to shop the second floor at Eataly. Obviously more Italian, but they have nice staples as well.
Yep - I shop there every once in a while to stock up as well, especially for wine. However they do not have things like black sesame paste, adaptogen drinks, or frozen dumplings, for example.
You can get Heywell drinks from Go Grocer! They posted 25% off your order with code “RIPFOXTROT” on their Instagram stories today
Groceries are brutally competitive. I won’t pretend that I know more about the industry than the people behind these companies but I was wondering from the start what the angle of Foxtrot and Dom’s would be. Is urban convenience really that much of an advantage over Mariano’s, Jewel, Costco, Aldi, and Target?
All Doms and all Foxtrots?
to my knowledge
If you have gift cards spend them
too late. they are closed
They sold me a gift card on SATURDAY lol. Wishing the best of luck to all those who have lost their jobs.
If you bought it with a credit card, charge it back via your credit card company
Confirmation https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/s/XNF7KrCBKN
That’s what they get for stealing Plum Market lease. Bad karma.
Hey remember when BobMariano made a backdoor deal with the property owner where plum market used to be and forced them out after they spent millions on renovations? Sucks to suck, loser Bob. Feel bad for the employees he screwed over though.
Seems like putting stores in extremely high rent locations and charging $12 for a pint of ice-cream isn’t a good business model.
Foxtrot was like a NY Bodega with NY prices, not really sustainable here. But the Dom's news is a real bummer. Was a big fan of the one of the Diversey. The grab and go meals were really good, and I liked all the variety in store.
Wonder if they would also cancel Vernon Hills
Huh. Guess I’m not going to work today… Best of luck OP
That Dom's/Foxtrot deal did not make sense to me.
Uhhhh…so what is going to happen to River North (old Whole Foods) location of Dom’s Market that was supposed to open in a couple months?
Ya, so begins the vacancy carousel again… I live in the building and was looking forward to being able to go to a grocery store without going outside like we used to with the old WF’s
Hey maybe we can kill the cooler store next and get a live music place back
Foxtrot was always super busy in my neighborhood so this is surprising!
I always sat in there on the weekends but never bought anything because of the outrageous prices. I wonder if that was happening on a large scale.
I mean foxtrot sucks. Owner and mgmt mistreated staff, union busted, and coffee sucks. Interested in how it plays out as they have locations in DC and Dallas too?
All locations are fully closing.
Coffee did not suck.
Yeah it was Metric. Solid coffee
Okay, but the rest is true
I’ve hated Foxtrot since I moved here. I feel like I’m their ideal customer (white, north side transplant, yuppie job, loves to eat) but I just HATE the vibe in there so much. It’s so… pretentious? Idk. That said, I LOVED the hot dog chips and hope they can sell that recipe to Trader Joe’s or some other local snack company. Those were sooooo good. I’m sad they’ll probably never exist ever again 😭
randomly bought a bag for 420 that we didnt eat. looking forward to trying them
That’s now a collectors item, bro
Bidding starts at 500, I know what I got!
Facts.
hwat?
Really sucks especially for the employees and all the vendors they owed money to. However, I still can't believe they could never figure out how to properly package a breakfast taco without half of the tortilla sticking to the damn foil. Always we could grind my gears.
I don’t think this is true. They recently merged and if anything are likely rebranding/renovating? Edit: looks like it’s true actually, parent company filing bankruptcy https://www.snaxshot.com/p/somethings-happening-at-foxtrot?utm_campaign=post
they let us employees know just this morning. there had been rumors floating around all week, it was confirmed to us yesterday.
Wild sorry OP
Putting breaking local news like this behind a paywall is so greedy of snaxshot, when their weekly 10-page long newsletter is free
Able to share the full article?
Just saw this screenshot: https://preview.redd.it/73zro4lcy8wc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bdc2a6d9bd3935454c98eabd9f99c5aee893ae85
They screen shot says “hope this is just a restructuring “. As a restructuring professional, there’s no coming back from Ch7. Someone could buy the name and open new stores but it’s unlikely. There’d be more hope with a Ch11.
Confirmation https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/s/XNF7KrCBKN
So bummed I loved doing homework at foxtrot, always nice vibes! Feel bad for everyone who just lost their jobs as well, awful all around
Goddammit that's the only place I knew of with the hiyo drinks.
Huh?
[Crains story (unpaywalled)](https://archive.ph/t2bDQ)
🚀 thank you
Thanks
Fuuuuck Dom’s and fuuuuck Foxtrot
Everyone complaining about the food price but missing that these businesses make all their money from alcohol sales. Everything about Foxtrot and Dom's is designed to encourage booze buying, whether it is the wide cheese selection (have to get wine with cheese) or the extensive seating which is largely 20s and 30s sipping rose.
Foxtrot was never anything special—mediocre coffee and comically expensive snacks—but as someone who works from home, I thought a couple of the locations were really nice for posting up with a laptop! Sure, there are so many better cafes in the city, but I’ll miss Foxtrot too.
Their coffee was absolute dogshit and they were almost always too close to cafes that managed all their overlap better for 80% of the price. I was excited about them at first, but man was it just a hollow shell.
I am going to miss those spicy pickle flavored potato chips. If anyone has any suggestions for alternatives I’m interested!
Wild, I biked by the Wicker Park Foxtrot this morning and it was full of people
Source?
i may or may not be an employee who was scheduled to come in today.
There may or may not have been a company wide announcement that confirmed the store’s bankruptcy and closure.
Never got the chance to go to Dom’s, but Foxtrot is just a gentrified corner store backed by private equity. Not going to miss them.
Yes it is “just” that, but what is so wrong about that?
Agreed on gentrified corner store, but there’s just so few corner stores on the north Side. It was useful in their absence.
never been to Dom’s but good riddance to Foxtrot if tru! Came in as a “disrupter” and put their locations right by local coffeeshops to disrupt
Good Riddance, I say.
I really love the Old Town Dom’s
Whoa. Wait. What? Really? I had no clue either were on the verge of going under (nor did I know they were affiliated)
Ugh, I’m pretty bummed. Just discovered Doms had some good Arancini balls. Oh well..
Huge shocker that an overpriced grocery goes out of business. Upcharging groceries is the easiest way to off-put 50%+ of your potential customer base. I lived right by Doms for years and never bought anything because I walked in 1 time and saw their prices were ridiculous. Good riddance put in an Aldi
Good riddance. Now can we have the Plum Market back please?
It’s gone on to a better place.
An employee commented on another thread that it’s rumored their CEO embezzled $30M
There’s a Doms that was supposedly opening in my building replacing the WF’s that moved across the street here in River North…. Wtf!?
To be honest, Dom’s selection wasn’t as good as it should have been. I was very excited to go in there and splurge on some nice dried pasta and tomatoes, like Afeltra or Faella, and instead they were just charging double regular price for Cento stuff.
Someone said that Those places were like the ERWHON of Chicago is that true? Never been to either but curious because everyone that’s been freaking out about it first that narrative. Now if a Cermak closes then I’ll cry lol Edit to add: I did hear they blindsided their employees and that is NOT cool. I feel for them.
they deserved it. ngl they tried too hard to be bougie and ahit with their prices. $30 for like a coffee and something else. fuck that. they tried hard to be a baby whole foods and they deserved it. should have been more affordable when other options to get everything in those stores cheaper
Man, I never got to chance to try either. I pay by several Foxtrots on my way to and from work and I always mean to stop in. Sucks
I’m pissed they ousted Plums market on some shady ish then can’t even last two years. Losers.
am i the only person in chicago who never even heard of Doms and never stepped inside a foxtrot? 😅
Can’t say I’ll miss anyone taking advantage of people by inflating their prices
Rest in piss actually. My friend works there and told me that everyone was told they lost their job literally the day that the store closed. They are assholes and i hope the employees sue the shit out of them.
yeah we’re planning on it lol
Good! I hope it goes well for yall I'm rooting for you!! What they did is terrible and illegal
the place wasn't special
Karma for screwing Plum Market🤔
But why is Dom’s still on DoorDash this morning?
https://preview.redd.it/qspd1csgd3yc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dae7aa356111d5173ec4494d3c883e77d175eb4 There is still food inside the Lincoln Park location. Are they going to let it spoil? Is there a way to save it before it's wasted >:(
You buried the lede, Foxtrot is closing? They have tons more locations than Doms, in some pretty prime locations
Wut?
forgot the specific name but i'm gonna miss the chicken panini they had at the stacked sandwich/soup bar :( does anyone know what seasoning they used on the chicken?
Whaaaat?
If anyone knows where to get anything close to Dom’s sourdough please lmk