After bankruptcy, a five-month hiatus, and a problematic lawsuit, a popular restaurant chain has risen from the dead, reopening its first store.
The café chain had multiple stores in urban areas of Chicago, Texas, and Washington D.C., where its customers could enjoy an array of sandwiches, baked goods, snacks, and its famous coffee bar.
Related: Walmart embraces beloved fast-food chain you've never heard of
Although the store's reopening is exciting news for some loyal customers of the once-banished establishment, others who felt betrayed by the company find the announcement appalling.
A merger gone wrong
Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen & Market joined forces in late 2023 to form Outfox Hospitality, aiming to expand their footprint across major U.S. cities.
This company merger was formed to combine regular convenience stores with café foods and give them a distinct, trendy urban twist that was convenient for customers on the go.
However, on April 23, only five months after forming this partnership, the newly formed company was forced to shut down all its locations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to quickly clear its mounting debts.
Foxtrot backlash as thousands left unemployed
This sudden filing sparked some serious backlash among Outfox's customers and employees.
Related: Popular fast-food burger chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Unfortunately, the company's employees at the time were not informed of the mass store closure plans until the day of the announcement, leading them to find out their fate at the same time as regular customers.
Approximately 100 corporate employees, along with 1,000 service employees, lost their jobs with no prior warning.
Due to this blind-siding, Outfox's former employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit claimed that the company had violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), which requires companies to give employees 60 days' notice before any planned closures or mass layoffs.
Additionally, it alleged that the company failed to pay its former employees any unemployment benefits.
Related: Popular bankrupt retailer is reopening after abruptly closing stores
Foxtrot comes back to life
After a five-month break, the now-renamed Foxtrot Café & Market is reopening its doors to customers and chose Chicago and Dallas as the first cities to become part of the chain's reopening execution.
The first Foxtrot location reopened its doors on Sept. 5 in Chicago's Gold Coast, with an entirely new concept designed to better suit the modern urban lifestyle.
The company has revamped its café experience by introducing an extensive all-day menu with new and returning items.
To set itself apart from the rest, Foxtrot will also showcase products crafted by small, local makers in all its locations, ranging from snacks to coffee.
More Foxtrot:
- Popular restaurant chain filing for bankruptcy, closing all locations
- Popular bankrupt retailer is reopening after abruptly closing stores
Although the company plans to open more locations, it is in no rush to do so and said it will open them incrementally as it sees fit.
The company previously announced it planned to reopen 15 stores, but it no longer specifies that number.
Backlash returns to haunt Foxtrot
Although the store's reopening might excite some loyal Foxtrot fans, others are not very happy with the news.
On Foxtrot's Instagram page, all images before the rebranding were removed and replaced with teasers of the upcoming store reopening.
However, the comments underneath the posts are extensive and do not include much praise for Foxtrot; rather, users are incredibly vocal about the company's past mistakes.
One Instagram user commented: "Former vendor here - Still waiting for my payment from March."
Another user stated: "Have you paid all your ex-employees and small businesses you left in the dust?"
A vendor commented, "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."
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
