If you've ever found yourself on the verge of a mental breakdown in Trader Joe's just hours before hosting a get-together, you might want to download Foxtrot.
The app launched last year (foxtrotco.com) and offers users a curated selection of hyper-local and national brands, including booze, sandwiches, ice cream, condoms and candles. As an added bonus, orders are delivered in less than an hour.
On Thursday, the tech startup will open its first brick-and-mortar location in Lincoln Park to complement its online presence.
Co-founder and CEO Mike LaVitola, 28, said the storefront will double as a delivery hub and retail location. With their heaviest concentration of clientele in Lincoln Park, he and co-founder Taylor Bloom zeroed in on Vanille Patisserie's old Clybourn Avenue location (2229 N. Clybourn Ave. 773-904-7122).
"Once we got the app up and running, we were able to see what people liked and didn't like," LaVitola said. "But to get it to where we wanted it to be, which meant controlling the product and working with the people we wanted to, we had to get our own inventory-and that meant opening our own store."
LaVitola said expanding their Chicago footprint also will give Foxtrot a chance to branch out. He's setting his sights on a more robust selection of entrees (think salads, sandwiches and local chef collaborations) and building out the app's "Live" section, which offers home goods, beauty supplies and small gifts.
"We always want to experiment with fun, new things," he said. "We recently added Cards Against Humanity, which customers really seemed to like. We're always looking for things that accent our menu."
LaVitola's delivery-service vision was conceived while he was earning his MBA at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. And although the app highlights local brands, he said there's room to expand.
"Our main focus right now is getting all of Chicago up and running, and then we're looking at opening in hopefully a couple of new cities this year," LaVitola said.
Of course, the biggest perk of owning your own delivery service is taste-testing the goods.
"I'm partial to the Graeter's ice cream, the black raspberry-[chocolate] chip flavor," LaVitola said. "My typical order is bourbon and that ice cream."
>>WE TRIED IT
I went home on a Friday with earnest intentions of using Foxtrot for a unique date-night dinner. We spent about 15 minutes checking out the app's inventory and trying to piece together a meal. Champagne? Check. Dessert? Check. Main course? No dice.
The app's "Quick Meals" section offered only deli sandwiches, frozen entrees, soups and a random selection of meats. Frozen pizza wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Hangry and tired, we resorted to grabbing bar seats at a neighborhood restaurant.
I thought Foxtrot would be more like GrubHub, which was my first and last mistake.
I gave the app another try for my weekly "The Bachelor" binge night and ended up with much better results. For just less than $50 (including delivery and tip), I ordered a bottle of prosecco, wedge of brie, baguette, salami and two cake balls from West Town Bakery.
After checking out, the app kept me updated on the status of my order. The drivers aren't tracked by GPS like I'm used to seeing on Uber, but I was alerted when the goods are out for delivery. My order arrived 33 minutes later, furnished by a super-friendly delivery guy.
The bubbly was chilled, the baguette was soft and the cake balls were safely packaged in a plastic container-and all was right in the world. The spread made the next two hours of "The Bachelor" drama quite enjoyable on my end.
Make no mistake about it, Foxtrot isn't a takeout app-you can't order sushi or burgers (at least, not yet). But if it's boutique-y local brands such as Koval Distillery, Goose Island Beer Company and Vosges Haut Chocolat you seek, it's worth a shot.
Morgan Olsen is a RedEye special contributor.