Popular bankrupt restaurant chain reopens first store

According to The Street, After facing bankruptcy, a five-month shutdown, and a major lawsuit, a beloved café chain is making a comeback by reopening its first store. The restaurant chain, which had locations in urban centers across Chicago, Texas, and Washington D.C., offered a menu of sandwiches, baked goods, snacks, and its renowned coffee bar.

While the reopening is welcome news to some of its loyal fans, others, who felt betrayed by the company, are not as thrilled.

A Merger That Went South

In late 2023, Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market merged to create Outfox Hospitality, with the goal of expanding their presence in key U.S. cities. The merger was intended to blend convenience store offerings with café foods, giving them a trendy, urban feel that would appeal to busy customers.

However, just five months after the merger, on April 23, Outfox Hospitality was forced to close all of its locations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, seeking to clear its growing debts quickly.

Fallout from Foxtrot’s Collapse: Thousands Lose Jobs

The sudden bankruptcy sparked a wave of criticism from both customers and employees. Outfox’s staff, unfortunately, learned of the closures the same day the public did, with no prior warning. As a result, about 100 corporate employees and 1,000 service workers lost their jobs overnight.

This blindsiding led to a class-action lawsuit against the company, with former employees accusing Outfox of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The WARN Act requires businesses to provide a 60-day notice before mass layoffs or closures. Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that the company failed to pay unemployment benefits to those affected.

Foxtrot’s Return to the Scene

Despite the controversy, Foxtrot has made its return, now rebranded as Foxtrot Café & Market. The company chose Chicago and Dallas as the first cities for its revival, with its Chicago Gold Coast location reopening on September 5.

The new Foxtrot features an updated concept aimed at catering to modern urban lifestyles. Along with a revamped all-day menu that includes new and classic offerings, the chain is also focusing on showcasing products from small, local makers, from snacks to coffee.

While the company plans to gradually reopen more locations, it has refrained from specifying how many. It previously announced intentions to reopen 15 stores but is no longer committed to that number.

Lingering Backlash

Although the reopening is exciting for some, Foxtrot continues to face backlash from many. The company wiped its Instagram page clean, replacing previous content with teasers for the relaunch. However, the comment section is filled with complaints rather than praise, as users express their frustrations over the company’s past mistakes.

One commenter wrote, “Former vendor here – Still waiting for my payment from March.” Another added, “Have you paid all your ex-employees and small businesses you left in the dust?” A vendor also shared, “We got charged 25K by our distributor that you made us sign up for because there was product you ordered sitting in the warehouse when you closed.”

Despite its attempts to make a fresh start, Foxtrot Café & Market still has some unfinished business to address with its former employees and vendors as it moves forward with its relaunch.