Foxtrot Closing All DC Stores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

You spend $300 a month at Starbucks? You go every day and buy nearly $10 worth of coffee????

Right? I feel like I live in a different universe than some of these people. I make my coffee at home for pretty cheap.

It's not even just that, it's that she said it so smugly like, Now you know why they're out of business haha and it's like...I can see how someone could spend $100 on pre-made meals and wine. But $300 on Starbucks???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

Nothing local at all about Safeway and Starbucks. If you direct your money to local businesses, your money will stay in the community and come back to you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I popped into the Dupont store from time to time, hope the staff can find other jobs quickly.

There are so many stores in DC, wonder how long the spaces will be vacant? Lots of vacant retail already in Dupont.

Seems like the merger and rapid expansion was ill advised. Wonder if the Adams Morgan shop will be slow to get a new business?

As long as the landlord wants. Commercial landlords in DC often let desirable properties lay fallow for decades as tax write offs. The Council needs to disincentive this practice. It harms commercial sectors and the neighborhoods that rely on them.

Uh . . .: https://mytaxdc.wordpress.com/2023/11/03/understanding-dc-real-property-tax-classification/

There are lots of loopholes for landlords to arbitrage the "vacant" or "blighted" real property designation. As long as the landlord pulls a permit to do work or puts the property up for lease or sale (at an absurd price), they can weasel out of the "vacant" designation. A property literally has to become a nuisance crack den or burned out shell before the city will deem it "blighted."

This. What DC should do is allow a commercial landlord to set whatever rent they want for a reasonable time, but every month after six months if they do not fill the space there should be an increased vacancy tax or penalty or whatnot. Idk, someone smart with economics could address it his so that it did not force landlords to rent but also disincentives "holding out". Too many vacant properties and absurd rents charged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

Nothing local at all about Safeway and Starbucks. If you direct your money to local businesses, your money will stay in the community and come back to you

Fully agree. Safeway and Starbucks ships in workers from out of state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

You spend $300 a month at Starbucks? You go every day and buy nearly $10 worth of coffee????

Right? I feel like I live in a different universe than some of these people. I make my coffee at home for pretty cheap.

It's not even just that, it's that she said it so smugly like, Now you know why they're out of business haha and it's like...I can see how someone could spend $100 on pre-made meals and wine. But $300 on Starbucks???

I keep forgetting this board is anti union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

You spend $300 a month at Starbucks? You go every day and buy nearly $10 worth of coffee????

Right? I feel like I live in a different universe than some of these people. I make my coffee at home for pretty cheap.

It's not even just that, it's that she said it so smugly like, Now you know why they're out of business haha and it's like...I can see how someone could spend $100 on pre-made meals and wine. But $300 on Starbucks???

East to spend $15/ a go with a pricey drink plus breakfast item. That does get to $300/month easy.

[Anonymous]

Blue Bottle recently reopened its Midtown Center location and Tattes, Compass Coffees, etc are popping up all over left and right. I can definitely see the closed Foxtrots repurposed by the competing cafe chains. Maybe the newly emboldened Firehook Bakery will swoop in with a new trend-setting concept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Completely. It’s so abrupt; none of their employees had any insight or warning. Some came into work just to find out it was shutting down. Outrageous

Not that different from being let go from any other job. So many reasons why it is ill-advised to give advance warning in that situation.

Except that it’s illegal in this case. Given how many people were impacted, the law says they should’ve provided 60 days notice. There’s already a class action lawsuit.

They must have really been up sh*t’s creek to skip this step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

You spend $300 a month at Starbucks? You go every day and buy nearly $10 worth of coffee????

Right? I feel like I live in a different universe than some of these people. I make my coffee at home for pretty cheap.

It's not even just that, it's that she said it so smugly like, Now you know why they're out of business haha and it's like...I can see how someone could spend $100 on pre-made meals and wine. But $300 on Starbucks???

I keep forgetting this board is anti union.

What about the above is anti-union?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that first and foremost I am sad for the employees who were let go on a dime. Btdt, I only hope they get severance pay.

However, as a customer...

I loved Foxtrot and their delivery was great. I hit membership+ every month ($100 worth of goods, which, when you add up coffee throughout the month plus two or three nights a month where I would grab a bottle of wine and a pre-made meal, was pretty easy to hit). I am a little irked I just hit membership+ for May. Literally Monday night I didn't feel like cooking and was like, oh, you know what, I should order from Foxtrot to make sure I hit my total for the month.

Again, nothing in the grand scheme of things but as a customer I feel kind of annoyed. Also I am sad because I googled to see if my favorite wines from Foxtrot were available anywhere else and it turns out all my favorites were in-house. Womp.

I spent $300/month at the Starbucks in my local Safeway. Now, you know why Foxtrot is out of business.

You spend $300 a month at Starbucks? You go every day and buy nearly $10 worth of coffee????

Right? I feel like I live in a different universe than some of these people. I make my coffee at home for pretty cheap.

It's not even just that, it's that she said it so smugly like, Now you know why they're out of business haha and it's like...I can see how someone could spend $100 on pre-made meals and wine. But $300 on Starbucks???

I keep forgetting this board is anti union.

What about the above is anti-union?

It was sarcasm. Safeway's Starbuck employees are union members. The store stays in business because I go there regularly. The employees get paid.

[Anonymous]

Why is this in Local Politics? Shouldn't it be in restaurants?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh, I never understood what the place was beyond looking overpriced. Was this just fancy corner stores?

100% yes. The plan seemed to be: take the mom and pop corner store, turn it into a corporate chain geared at younger office workers, profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh, I never understood what the place was beyond looking overpriced. Was this just fancy corner stores?

100% yes. The plan seemed to be: take the mom and pop corner store, turn it into a corporate chain geared at younger office workers, profit.

I am pretty sure the business plan was to lease prime real estate during middle of pandemic at low cost and then profit when people return to work. They even accounted for working from home by having seating to encourage people to work there. I am sure their slide deck said something about “third places” or nonsense like that. Essentially, their niche was to provide a well stocked kitchen to work from remotely or to drop in and grab a bite if you were in the office - like you were used to doing when you worked at home.

[Anonymous]

The baked goods at Foxtrot were abhorrent and coffee drinks mediocre at best, not to mention overpriced. Tatte has it right, so does Firehook. Foxtrot tried to be a high end 7-11 and it still sucked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never really understood the Foxtrot concept but will be sad to see all those stores in prominent locations vacant.

+1. The one in Old Town is at the main intersection of King St and Washington St. Such a prominent location and yet such turnover.

Not really - le pain quotidian was there for years