Foxtrot Baristas Forced to Kick Out Customers as Chain Abruptly Closes Stores

Chicago-based Foxtrot Market, which quickly grew from one location to half a dozen in the D.C. area in less than three years, abruptly closed all of its stores Tuesday. The chain shuttered all its stores in the D.C. area, Chicago, and Dallas leaving vendors and employees stranded. In some locations, Baristas have had to kick customers out of cafes as they were informed of the closure which took immediate effect on April 22. In a viral TikTok video, a Barista documented the process and even the last latte they poured.

Foxtrot Closure Leads to Barista’s Kicking Out Customers

In the video which now has over 2.8 million views, barista Giulia (@sadkiwigirl) filmed how her fellow workers processed the news. Starting the video, she says, they just found out that the entire chain was closing down and they were out of jobs. She then shows the store full of customers asking “What do we tell them?”

The worker then shows herself mournfully pouring the last latte at the store. She even messes up a bit and writes it wasn’t her best. In the next cut, she pans the camera to show the empty store while the overlay text reads “kicked out all the customers”.

At the end of the video, the two baristas toast their 'last day' with two purple-colored drinks and the worker shows a ‘closed for good’ sign put up on the store’s entrance. She even shows a customer who walked up after the closure writing “Girl We’re Close” and her fellows sitting around in the empty store looking like they are figuring out what to do next.

Foxtrot’s closure comes after a dramatic merger with Outfox Hospitality. Many viewers were shocked to hear the news as they always found Foxtrot to be quite busy. One viewer (@_nicki_p_) said the entire drama of Foxtrot merging and then closing down its stores needs to be covered in a Chi grocery store documentary.

Meanwhile, several users had recommendations for the worker who had recently lost her job. Several viewers recommended her to pick up whatever wasn’t bolted down. However, one viewer, @lacoopa485 gave her the sound advice of getting an attorney to make sure that she received her severance pay under the WARN Act. The creator also responded to the commentor saying she would look into it.

Foxtrot’s Abrupt Closure Sends Shockwaves

The Chicago-based operator of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market announced the closure and plans to file for bankruptcy on the same day. The closure includes Dom's stores and 33 Foxtrot locations across the Chicago, Dallas, and D.C. areas. The closure was first reported by Snaxshot’s industry expert Andrea Hernández and it shocked the vendors, employees, and customers of the chain.

Foxtrot which recently merged with Outfox Hospitality group, had raised $194 million to date, according to Pitchbook. So far the company has not elaborated on the reasons behind shutting down, apart from releasing statements around the closure.

Meanwhile, Outfox Hospitality stated, “After much consideration and evaluation, we regret to announce that Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market will be closing. We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option, despite good faith and exhaustive efforts,” in its official release. 

Thus, with the sudden closure everyone including the employees like Giulia are left with more questions than answers.

For more vlogs, lifestyle, and entertainment content follow Giulia (@sadkiwigirl) on TikTok.