Foxtrot's curated convenience bet: $160M raised, 33 stores, then an abrupt 2024 shutdown

Upscale neighborhood convenience store and coffee shop: curated local goods, wine, and ready-to-eat meals, with a self-operated app and delivery team, focused on Chicago, Dallas, and Washington DC.

Bet premium convenience store plus coffee and 30-minute delivery could make urban youth pay more, and rapid expansion could build a national chain.

Cumulative approximately $160M (2022 Series C $100M).

In 2013, LaVitola and Taylor Bloom founded Foxtrot in Chicago, starting with online alcohol and food delivery and then opening physical stores; about half of revenue came from e-commerce, and delivery used its own app and riders.

In January 2022, it completed a $100M Series C (cumulative approximately $160M), planning to open 50 stores over two years and enter Boston, Austin, New York, Nashville, and Miami; in 2023-11, it merged with Dom's Kitchen & Market into Outfox Hospitality, and in 2024-02, it replaced the CEO.

On 2024-04-23, it suddenly closed all 33 Foxtrot stores and 2 Dom's stores, then filed for Chapter 7 liquidation; about 1,000 employees lost their jobs, and the brand was later bought back by a new ownership team involving LaVitola and partially reopened.

Rapid store openings depended on capital; rent, inventory, and labor costs were heavy, and even after 2022 Series C, cash flow wasn't independent of new financing.

The 2023-11 merger with Dom's aimed to stop losses, but stores closed five months later, showing merger couldn't solve funding.

The 2024-02 CEO change failed; management couldn't save a chain with broken cash flow.

Unannounced closure harmed employees and suppliers, brand trust reset to zero, revival depended on founder buying back brand and suppliers' goodwill.

Rapid store openings with heavy costs left no buffer when capital stopped; merger and CEO change couldn't replace cash flow. Revival came only at smaller scale via founder and suppliers.

As of 2026-09-01: Outfox Hospitality had entered Chapter 7 liquidation, and the original company no longer existed; brand assets were bought back by a new ownership team involving LaVitola, and CBS reported in 2024-11 that 4 Chicago stores had already reopened and plans were in place to continue reopening in Chicago and Dallas; the federal lawsuit by former employees against the parent company was still proceeding. The original company ended in closure, while the brand revived at a much smaller scale.