CHICAGO (CBS) — Two Chicago-based grocery chains, Dom's Kitchen & Market and Foxtrot Market, abruptly closed their stores Tuesday.
This came six months after the chains announced a merger.
“It is with heavy hearts that we must inform you of a difficult decision we have had to make. After much consideration and evaluation, we regret to announce that Foxtrot and Dom's Kitchen & Market will be closing their doors effective April 23, 2024 ,” Dom's Kitchen & Market wrote in a message on their website. “We explored many options to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts.”
In November, Dom's – a pair of high-end convenience stores – and Foxtrot – a high-end convenience store chain – announced that they were merging under the new entity Outfox Hospitality.
Every single Dom's and Foxtrot store closed Tuesday. Delivery was halted, mobile apps went dark, and store credit cards were cut off.
All Foxtrot and Dom's account credits and membership benefits were canceled as of Tuesday.
The closing affects both Dom's locations in Chicago and all 33 Foxtrot stores in Chicago; Austin and Dallas, Texas; and the Washington DC area.
“This decision has not been made lightly and we understand the impact it will have on you, our loyal customers as well as our dedicated team members. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your support and patronage over the years. It has been our highest honor to elevate the everyday and create a remarkable shopping experience for people who love food as much as we do, it's been a privilege to serve you and be a part of your everyday life,” the companies said in a statement.
Employees, customers shocked by sudden shutdown
With the closures, hundreds are out of work.
Monica Perez worked at Lincoln Park Dom's at 2730 N. Halsted St. A few years ago, an entire strip mall that had most recently housed a combination Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins, a Massage Envy and a Performance Bicycle store was completely renovated. to make way for the new Dom's.
Now the store that had occupied the new building is suddenly out of business – and Perez is out of a job.
“We just got here and apparently everything is closing,” Monica Perez said, “so many people — everyone here — are out of work now.”
Perez and her colleagues reminisced outside the Dom's store in Lincoln Park Tuesday afternoon. The shop had regularly been filled with people buying expensive goods – a signal to the employees of a strong future.
Instead, all the employees were blinded before work.
“I didn't even get a call from a manager,” Perez said. “I showed up like an ordinary day.”
Customers who see the workers daily were shaken by the sudden news.
“This is like family,” Amy Tanner said. “So it's very sad. We're really sorry for the employees.”
Amy and Matt Tanner's nightly shopping routines have also changed.
“Shocked and really sad,” Amy Tanner said. “You know, we literally just come down here to decide what to have for dinner every night.”
There were no signs at all of the impending closures, the employees said. There were just signs on the door – each shop with its own.
On a sign at a Foxtrot store at 1019 W. Lake St. it said: “From today we will be closed for the last time. Thank you for the time we had together.” A hand-drawn sign next to it showed a headstone that read “RIP Foxtrot.”
The Tanners were perplexed by the abrupt closure. Posts on social media indicated that Dom's in Lincoln Park was even open for business for part of the day Tuesday before all the stores closed.
In a TikTok video Tuesday afternoon, two young women who appeared to work at an East Lakeview Foxtrot reported finding out they lost their jobs just hours into their shift — and while customers were still inside. They said customers were all told to leave and the store immediately went out of business — with a handwritten sign reading “Closed Forever.”
Meanwhile, at the River North Foxtrot, store goods were pulled from the wagon loads and stuffed away in the trunks of vehicles. Kevin O'Brien also found out he was out of a job because of a sign on the window at the Foxtrot location.
“I think they definitely could have given us a little more notice,” O'Brien said. “Now I'm just sad and unemployed.”
“We'll see what happens if this is a reorganization or if it's just something going on financially, but it's kind of weird that they would throw everybody out and shut things down,” Matt Tanner said. “It's kind of weird.”
Meanwhile, Perez and other now-out-of-work employees wondered what was next for them as their paychecks soon ended.
“I don't have any work now,” Perez said. “Now I have to go back and look for a job.”
Suppliers were also surprised
The announcement also came as a surprise to local businesses that had supplied Foxtrot and Dom's with food.
“We were delivering as late as yesterday,” said Michael Ciapciak, owner of Big Bang Pie, which also has its own retail store in Logan Square.
Ciapciak said Foxtrot and Dom's also gave him no notice. They were one of his biggest customers.
“It's disappointing, you know. We're doing fine,” Ciapciak said. “We are lucky to have this store.”
Representatives of a number of local businesses that supply goods to Foxtrot and Dom's said they will now have to try to collect the money owed to them for the recent orders.
Lawyer says closure may have violated labor law
Questions have also begun to bubble up among some employees about whether the company notified them properly. Under Illinois state law, employers must notify the state when they plan to lay off workers as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
“So these employees, it looks like they didn't even get a minute's notice,” said Laura Feldman, employment and labor law attorney at The Prinz Law Firm.
Under the Illinois WARN Act, employers with 75 or more employees must give 60 days' written notice of any closing or mass layoff. Apparently that didn't happen.
“What jumps out at me is a potential violation of the WARN Act,” Feldman said.
Feldman said federal and state laws protect workers in such scenarios. In fact last month, a judge assigned to Signature Room staff on top of the former John Hancock Center more than $1.5 million in back pay — after the iconic restaurant and lounge abruptly closed in September 2023 without proper notice to the workers.
Dom's launched in Chicago in June 2021 in Lincoln Park as a new concept from Bob Mariano, founder of the Mariano's grocery store chain in Chicago. Their second location opened in Old Town in November 2022.
Described as the “latest next-generation local grocery store,” Dom's was a small grocery store focused on specialty items, prepared foods, and locally sourced produce. The stores also offered wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, coffee bars, and wine and beer for customers to drink while they shopped.
