Foxtrot Won’t Reopen Locations on Armitage and Southport

Two key North Side Foxtrot locations will not be part of the comeback plan led by the chain’s founder. CoStar reports that Hotel Chocolat, a company founded in the U.K. — and recently purchased by Mars — has leased the spaces at 900 W. Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park and 3334 N. Southport Avenue in Lakeview.

Mars, which manufactures Twix and M&Ms from its Goose Island campus, paid about $662 million for the premium chocolate maker with 126 locations in the U.K., Japan, Ireland, St. Lucia, and Gibraltar. According to its website, the company began in 1994 and opened its first shop in 2004. They sell drinking chocolates, gift boxes, and more while “challenging the status quo for cacao farming.” A New York location opened in 2018 but has since closed.

The Lincoln Park Foxtrot shared space with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Coincidentally, a Jeni’s remains open a few doors from the Southport location in Lakeview. Foxtrot was an upscale corner store that sold trendy snacks and stocked some items made by those within Chicago’s restaurant community. That includes Pretty Cool Ice Cream, the brand created by Dana Salls Cree, the former pastry chef at the Publican.

Foxtrot founder Mike LaVitola has been busy reestablishing vendor relationships since the chain suddenly closed in April. LaVitola was not in charge of Outfox Hospitality when it ceased operations, and the newly formed venture is separate from Foxtrot’s former parent which also included the two Dom’s Kitchen & Market stores in Old Town and Lincoln Park. LaVitola has attempted to distance himself from Outfox’s failures in convincing former vendors to work with his new company.

The sudden closure extinguished goodwill with vendors who haven’t been paid for their orders. Workers have filed lawsuits alleging the company didn’t properly inform them of the closures while demanding backpay.

Last week, liquor applications began to pop up in city records showing plans to reopen stores in Old Town, Fulton Market, Wicker Park, and Gold Coast. Earlier this summer, LaVitola said he planned on reopening 15 stores in Chicago and Austin, Texas. The majority would be in Chicago. LaVitola founded Foxtrot in 2015 and is chairman of the new entity set to revive the chain. It’s backed by Further Point Enterprises, an investment fund. At a May auction, it paid $2.2 million for Foxtrot’s assets.

In Texas, customers remain waiting for word on which locations will reopen.