Foxtrot and Dom’s parent company Outfox Hospitality filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, weeks after the companies abruptly shuttered all stores.
Outfox, the parent of both companies since they merged nearly six months ago, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in Delaware. In court documents, Outfox estimated no funds would be available to pay unsecured creditors after administrative costs were paid. The company estimated its assets at between $10 million and $50 million, and estimated its liabilities to be worth the same.
Foxtrot had 33 stores, about half of which were located in Chicago, while Dom’s had two locations, one in Lincoln Park and one in Old Town. All the stores closed suddenly April 23; some employees told the Tribune they learned they were out of jobs in the middle of their shifts that day.
Three lawsuits were swiftly filed against the company in federal court in Chicago alleging violations of the federal and/or state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Acts, both of which require 60 days’ notice for mass layoffs by certain large employers. The Illinois Department of Labor said it had received a complaint about the closures and had opened an investigation into whether the company had violated the state WARN Act.
FAQs provided to workers said they would only be paid through the date the stores closed. The lawsuits filed against the company seek backpay for laid off staff.
The company is also facing a lawsuit from suppliers Anthony Marano Company and Market Cuts LLC, which allege Dom’s failed to pay them for $208,000 worth of products.
Former Foxtrot and Dom’s executives have not responded to the Tribune’s requests for comment since the closures. A source familiar with the company’s prior expansion plans, however, previously told the Tribune that Outfox had been meeting with investors, landlords and bankers in the weeks leading up to the closures in hopes of staying afloat.
