Danielle (Romano) Rowan’s Post

Remember Foxtrot? The upscale corner store with a unique selection of products? Well, if you haven’t heard, they recently closed all of their stores and it was pretty abrupt. So what does that mean for the Foxtrot employees, featured brands, and investments? Head over to my blog to hear my thoughts on Foxtrot closing. https://buff.ly/4caj9bx Did you have a chance to shop in Foxtrot before their closure? Let me know in the comments. #foxtrotmarket #favoritedaughterfavoritethings #favoritedaughter

from CSP and ModernRetail, we're seeing some terrific reporting and analysis on the sudden downfall of a once high-flying Foxtrot. #modernretail #cspdailynews #foxtrot

The news of Foxtrot's closure last week was devastating and my deepest empathy goes out to all those affected—to the employees, the brands, and all who partnered in bringing the retail concept to life, many of whom are my customers, peers, and friends. For me, personally, this has been the loss of a fellow pioneer. Since starting Pop Up Grocer in 2019, barely a day has gone by without the retailer coming up in conversation. Foxtrot was by our side in supporting emerging brands—often times, like us, serving as their very first shelf. Larger retailers have extremely high barriers to entry and independent stores have limited reach—these brands need somewhere of meaningful impact to go, quickly. And while their failure, for many, will simply help draw the conclusion that “small format”, “premium convenience,” and “emerging brand-first” doesn’t work. Or, as I’ve seen commentary here, “a lack of product/market fit,” I respectfully and sorely disagree. One must look closer. For us, I won’t pretend to be without challenges—the market has significantly changed since our start five years ago and this has impacted our brand partners as well as our own costs of doing business. But, we believe very much in the opportunity to serve these emerging brands and to provide a much-desired and unique experience for our customers—now, more than ever. If you are a brand looking for a shelf with high visibility, I hope you will reach out. And if you are interested in joining us in this pursuit—as an investor or other strategic partner—I would love to connect. 

A sad day for lovers of new & delicious things. Food and beverage startups have been mourning the death of Foxtrot since Snaxshot broke the news of its closure last week. The Chicago-based grocer was a launchpad for innovative food and beverage products—a stepping stone on the path to scale. Food and bev is still heavily dominated by big, global players. Despite the internet's promise to democratize everything, the food and bev gatekeepers—ie, Big Grocery—continue to thrive. So Foxtrot’s demise isn’t just a blow to the suppliers left with unpaid invoices (and evidently there are many; this is utterly shameful). It’s a blow to all of us trying to slay Goliath; to build businesses from the ground up; and to help people imagine a more diverse, delicious and interesting world. All the more reason to support businesses like Pop Up Grocer, and independent grocers everywhere, which serve as vital showcases for new ideas. RIP, Foxtrot.

Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market collectively operated less than 40 stores in just a few markets. The former was just a decade old, while the latter’s first location hadn’t even celebrated three years in business. But when the news hit last week that both retailers, which merged last fall under newly formed parent company Outfoxed Hospitality, had ceased operations, the outpouring of shock, grief and frustration across the industry was enormous. It’s not clear what led to the demise of Foxtrot and Dom's — two retailers that that had seemed so promising. What is clear, however, is that Foxtrot and Dom’s were operating during a tough time for upscale, innovative retailers. Their downfall comes as both consumers and retailers are feeling more pressure than ever to cut costs, pare down and focus on the essentials. Indeed, we’ve entered a period where creative new retail ideas will struggle to flourish against the raw power of large players and the grinding need for efficiency — and it’ll likely only get tougher from here.

If you are from Chicago, you may have heard about the recent developments at Foxtrot. After unexpectedly closing down all their stores and filing for bankruptcy, the company has now reopened with its founder back in charge. Last month, Foxtrot resumed operations in Chicago's Gold Coast and Old Town neighborhoods, and they are set to open a third location on Division Street in Wicker Park. However, the reopening raises questions about trust and integrity. Many employees lost their jobs without severance or notice when Foxtrot closed, leaving local vendors with unpaid orders and inventory. With these concerns in mind, it's understandable to question whether businesses should trust selling their products through Foxtrot stores moving forward. Given the circumstances surrounding Foxtrot's closure and subsequent revival, it's crucial for businesses to carefully consider the implications of partnering with them. Transparency and accountability will be key factors in rebuilding trust and credibility within the community. The reopening of Foxtrot prompts reflection on ethical business practices and the importance of upholding commitments to employees and partners. As the company seeks to regain trust, stakeholders must assess whether Foxtrot's actions align with their values and standards. #ChicagoBusiness #EthicalPractices #Transparency #CommunityTrust #retail #localvendors #localbusinesses

Grounds for closure: Where did Foxtrot's growth strategy fail? Foxtrot, a Chicago-based coffee shop and retail chain, announced the closure of all 33 nationwide locations, including four in Dallas, as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. This decision follows the integration of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market by Outfox Hospitality, which filed for bankruptcy five months prior. Accumulating $18.6 million in debt in 2023 due to expansion efforts across multiple cities, including Chicago, Austin, Dallas, and Washington D.C., Foxtrot explored various strategies to sustain operations unsuccessfully. Was their expansion too rapid, outpacing their business model's readiness? Initially renowned for its dedication to local brands, with 40% of its shelf space allocated to emerging brands as of 2022, Foxtrot underwent a transition towards national brands as part of its expansion strategy, consequently relegating local and emerging brands to a lower priority. For example, it recently substituted local coffee roasters with La Colombe, in line with the prevailing trend of collaborating with larger suppliers for essentials such as produce and meats. Delivery, once a significant revenue stream, saw changes as Foxtrot outsourced delivery contracts to third-party platforms in 2023, departing from its previous in-house courier model. Initially proceeding with caution regarding expansion, Foxtrot's ambitions soared nationally following a $100 million Series C funding round in 2022. This led to plans for opening 25 new stores, expanding the tech team, and making significant investments to expedite online order fulfillment. What factors do you think contributed to Foxtrot reaching this critical point? 👉 Click link for details: https://lnkd.in/gQxvDhAK #NNN #retail #realestate #investment #investing #commercialrealestate #property #passiveincome #cre #investor #realestateinvesting #commercialproperty #netlease #retailrealestate #foxtrot #bankruptcy

Jonathan Lazarow, co-chair of AML’s Corporate Group, is quoted in an article in the Chicago Sun-Times titled “Foxtrot Founder Says Some Chicago Stores Could Reopen This Summer.” The article, published June 5, discusses the planned reopening of about a dozen of the specialty grocery stores and cafés. On April 23, Foxtrot abruptly closed all 33 locations in Chicago, Austin, Dallas and Washington, D.C. For its revival, Foxtrot’s founder, Mike LaVitola, wants to only focus on Chicago and Texas.   Lazarow tells the Sun Times that being smart about locations will be key to Foxtrot’s return to market. He says that a merger like Foxtrot’s is expensive — and that’s on top of operating in high-rent neighborhoods where profit margins tend to be tight.   “I think what (LaVitola) was able to do is to hope that by reopening the business, by getting back to the market, he could refine his vision and understand what he did wrong, and then focus on the core competencies that he thought made it special. Foxtrot was an outlet where emerging and new brands could actually get into the door.”   Lazarow adds that with a lot of investors and money on the sidelines in retail right now, he thinks Foxtrot 2.0 needs to focus on its story, whether it is the reason for the brand or the unique business model, to be more successful than its predecessor.   “They’re going to need to think about what the messaging is and being attractive growth opportunity-wise to [investors]. I think Foxtrot has an opportunity — they have some great stories to tell. I think they can earn back trust with the consumer.”   The full article can be read at: https://lnkd.in/gcRC7JMF   #FoxtrotMarket #DomsKitchen #Grocer #Retail #Merger #Corporate

What does a year with deeproots partners look like? Ask Airfield Supply Company. In 2023, we got Airfield a 327% YOY increase in local visibility for the word dispensary (the most important word in cannabis retail.) This is how we did that: 1) Focused on low-hanging fruit such as foundational content and technical improvements (page titles, meta descriptions, headers, schema, etc.). 2) Continually published helpful, original blog content. 3) Published unique product descriptions for 2,000+ SKUs. 4) Influenced off-site signals (backlinks and citations). 5) Managed their website migration and changed e-commerce providers. These amazing results from Airfield tell the whole story. If you’d like results like these, it’s pretty simple. All you need to do are two things. 1/. Hire us.  2/. Stay with us for a year.

Operating urban C-Stores without fuel can be incredibly difficult. High cost structure, external challenges, and many times higher shrink just to name a few. I remember reading this article 2-years ago and being surprised that Foxtrot achieved 100M in PE funding so early on in the concept, especially considering where their NOI was at the time. While the details of why Foxtrot failed will come out in time, I think this is a core reminder to us all that while we elevate our brands, we can’t forget how important delivering value is, the evolving “behind the counter” category, and the importance of marketing to wide enough of a segment of customers so EBITDA doesn’t miss the mark when unpredictable factors affect categories or locations. Our industry is thriving, and I have no doubt many of our brands will get to recruit some amazingly talented people who unfortunately lost their jobs at Foxtrot. #conveniencestores Convenience and Energy Advisors