A “Southport Foxtrot” charge on a receipt or statement points to the Foxtrot Market that operated at 3334 N. Southport Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. That store was one of 33 Foxtrot locations shut down without warning on April 23, 2024, when parent company Outfox Hospitality closed all 35 of its Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market stores across Chicago, Dallas, Austin, and Washington, D.C., and moved into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The shutdown fired roughly 1,000 employees the same day and set off a federal class action, a state labor investigation, and a bankruptcy case that is still working through the wreckage.
What Happened on April 23, 2024
Every Foxtrot and Dom’s location ceased operations on the same day. Employees said they learned they had lost their jobs mid-shift, with some receiving as little as two hours’ notice. An email from CEO Rob Twyman went out to staff at 11:00 p.m. that night, after the stores had already gone dark, telling them their positions had been eliminated.1Eater Chicago. Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen and Market Closures The company said it had “explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts.”2TODAY. Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen and Market Closed
The Southport Avenue Store
The Southport Foxtrot had operated since 2018 in a 3,800-square-foot space in Lakeview. It went dark with the rest of the chain on April 23, 2024.3Eater Chicago. Foxtrot and Dom’s Closing Liquidation FAQ Unlike several other former Foxtrot sites, the Southport location was not slated to reopen under the brand’s new ownership. Building owner Harris Properties reported strong interest in the space, and UK-based chocolatier Hotel Chocolat, recently acquired by Mars, took the location to prepare one of its first American storefronts.4Block Club Chicago. Closed Foxtrot Locations to Become Home to Hotel Chocolat So if a Southport Foxtrot charge appears on your account, it dates from on or before April 23, 2024. Any dispute over an old purchase now runs through your card issuer, not the store.
The WARN Act Class Action
The day after the closures, former Foxtrot employee Jamil Ladell Moore filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Moore v. Foxtrot Retail, Inc. et al., No. 1:24-cv-03272, named Foxtrot Retail, Inc., Dom’s Market LLC, and Outfox Hospitality LLC as defendants and alleged they operated as a single joint employer.5ClassAction.org. Moore v. Foxtrot Retail, Inc. et al., Complaint
The complaint alleged violations of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and the Illinois WARN Act. The federal statute applies to employers with 100 or more workers and requires 60 days’ written notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. The Illinois version sets the threshold at 75 full-time employees and carries a civil penalty of up to $500 per day of noncompliance.6Illinois Department of Labor. Illinois WARN Act The lawsuit sought unpaid wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued benefits, and 401(k) contributions for the full 60-day notice period. It estimated roughly 1,000 workers could be eligible to join.7Chicago Sun-Times. Dom’s Kitchen, Foxtrot Class Action Lawsuit, WARN Act Layoffs Plaintiff’s counsel Syed Hussain said the case also covered former employees in the Washington, D.C. area under its federal WARN Act claims and called the no-notice termination “abhorrent.”8The Georgetowner. Foxtrot’s Abrupt Closure May Be Illegal
The bankruptcy filing froze the case. On July 15, 2024, a federal judge administratively closed Moore v. Foxtrot Retail under the automatic stay, with the parties keeping the right to move to reopen it.9CourtListener. Moore v. Foxtrot Retail, Inc., Docket After more than a year on hold, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case on November 7, 2025.10Bloomberg Law. Former Foxtrot Worker Drops Class Suit Over Sudden Layoffs
Bankruptcy and the Auction
Outfox Hospitality’s board approved a Chapter 7 filing the day the stores closed, and the petition was formally filed on May 14, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Case No. 24-11014. Assets and liabilities were each estimated between $10 million and $50 million, with 5,000 to 10,000 creditors.11CBS News Chicago. Foxtrot Market and Dom’s Kitchen File for Bankruptcy The court classified it as a “no asset” case and ordered joint administration with related entities under Outfox Hospitality as the lead case.12Inforuptcy. Bankruptcy Case, Foxtrot Retail Incorporated
Before the petition was filed, secured creditor JPMorgan Chase ran a foreclosure sale of Outfox’s non-real-estate assets. A virtual auction on May 10, 2024, lasted about 20 minutes and sold Foxtrot’s inventory, intellectual property, furniture, fixtures, and equipment to Further Point Enterprises for $2.2 million. Dom’s Kitchen & Market assets were not included.13C-Store Dive. Foxtrot Assets Auction Sale14Restaurant Dive. Foxtrot Outfox Bankruptcy At the time of the shutdown, Outfox owed nearly $25 million to creditors, a figure well above the $2.2 million paid for its assets.
Illinois Department of Labor Claims
While the private class action stalled, the Illinois Department of Labor pursued its own enforcement. IDOL investigated the closures under the state WARN Act and tried to collect payroll records; when the companies refused, citing bankruptcy, the department changed course. On October 30, 2024, IDOL, acting through the Illinois Attorney General, filed three federal bankruptcy claims against Outfox Hospitality, Foxtrot Market, and Dom’s Kitchen and Market, seeking more than $3.8 million in back wages and benefits on behalf of over 350 displaced workers.15Illinois Governor’s Office. IDOL Works to Compensate Hundreds of Laid-Off Workers As of December 2024 reporting, those claims remained pending as priority wage claims within the bankruptcy, a category that typically ranks above general unsecured debts in a distribution.16WIFR. Department of Labor Fights for Foxtrot, Outfox, Dom’s Employees Whether former employees will recover any of the wages and benefits they were denied is still tied to the bankruptcy estate’s limited assets.
Foxtrot’s Return Under New Ownership
Further Point Enterprises, the buyer at the May 2024 auction, partnered with Foxtrot co-founder Mike LaVitola to relaunch the brand, with LaVitola taking the role of executive chairman.17C-Store Dive. Foxtrot Founder Mike LaVitola on the Brand’s Revival The first revived stores opened in September 2024 in Chicago’s Gold Coast, Old Town, and Wicker Park, followed by Fulton Market and River North locations and two stores in Dallas. In May 2025, the company opened its first fully new store at 935 W. Webster Avenue in Lincoln Park.18CBS News Chicago. Foxtrot Market Opens First Brand-New Store Since Shutdown As of mid-2026, Foxtrot operates 10 locations: eight in Chicago and two in Dallas.19Foxtrot. Foxtrot Locations The Southport store is not among them.
The new Foxtrot entity acquired Outfox’s non-real-estate assets, and there is no public indication it assumed legal liabilities for WARN Act claims or employee back wages from the prior company.20C-Store Dive. Foxtrot C-Stores Leased by Further Point Enterprises Legal observers have said that if the new company is found to be too similar to the old one, sharing executive leadership, locations, and branding, it could potentially face liability for the original company’s debts, though no court has made that finding.21Mother Jones. Foxtrot, Venture Capital, and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy