LINCOLN PARK — A Chicago startup that delivers an assortment of hand-selected goods such as liquor, food and even ice cream has opened a Lincoln Park storefront and headquarters.
Foxtrot, which launched online in the fall as a mobile app, promises to deliver its curated goods within an hour.
Items include everything from Revolution Brewing 6-packs (Anti-Hero $11) and Jeppson's Malort ($20) to the raunchy (and sometimes brilliant) Cards Against Humanity ($28).
The company says its service offers a chance for customers to purchase an "experience," rather that just a bottle of booze.
"If you are going to be watching the game, you are going to get chips, dip and some good beer," said Taylor Bloom, Foxtrot's 26-year-old chief technology officer. "If you are having a Netflix night in, you are going to get some Jeni's Ice Cream and a bottle of wine."
Paul Biasco says plans are already in the works for a second location:
The company launched its online marketplace in the fall and had been using Plum Market as its supplier, but the founders decided they would be better off with their own shop.
That storefront opened Wednesday at 2229 N. Clybourn Ave.
Most items are at "Whole Foods" prices, according to Bloom.
Deliveries come with a $5 set fee that covers the tip as well.
The shop is not only the warehouse for Foxtrot's items, but shoppers can come in and purchase items off the shelves.
"When we decided to move over into our own store, we already had a year's worth of data and we knew what sold and what didn't," Bloom said.
That data has proven, among other things, that the Sunday Scaries are real.
"Sunday night is hilarious because most of the rest of the week it's a pretty balanced menu, but Sunday night is all sweets," Bloom said. "It's something about people being scared about going back to work."
Foxtrot was started by Mike LaVitola, a 28-year-old River North resident who was studying at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
LaVitola added co-founder Bloom to head up the technology side of the business.
The two had met in Austin, Texas years earlier, where LaVitola was an investment banker and Bloom was getting his undergrad.
"The idea behind the company is to develop a really great curated menu," LaVitola said. "We never set out to be a booze delivery service. We always thought it was more interesting and more valuable pairing beer with a bag of chips and dip or pairing wine with an interesting cheese."
The company currently delivers to Lincoln Park, Old Town, River North, Streeterville, Wicker Park and the Loop.
That could change soon, as Foxtrot is already in the process of opening a second storefront location and in the preliminary stages of opening in another city.
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