In this episode of “At Your Convenience,” CSP Editor Rachel Gignac talks to Mike LaVitola, the original founder of Chicago-based Foxtrot, about his decision to return to the company to reopen certain locations of the convenience-store chain. LaVitola talked about how the reopenings are going, what the team is focused on and aspects of operations that have changed.
Since Foxtrot’s parent company, Outfox Hospitality, closed all of its stores in April, the chain sold its assets to Further Point Enterprises. Days later, Foxtrot filed for bankruptcy. Then, Further Point invited LaVitola to return and help lead a revival.
Since September, Foxtrot has reopened five locations in Chicago in the Gold Coast, Old Town, Wicker Park, Fulton Market and River North neighborhoods. It is continuing its path of reopening about one of its previous locations every month, with a total of 10 of its original 33—mostly in Chicago and a couple in Dallas.
- For a full timeline on Foxtrot’s operations, click here.
Foxtrot was founded in 2014 as a delivery company selling snacks, beer and wine, and grew into a corner store-restaurant hybrid that featured high-end package goods, prepared foods, coffee bars and wine bars. The chain, once billed as the “convenience store of the future,” raised more than $160 million to fuel its growth over its lifetime.
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