Foxtrot, Plated Partner On New, High-End Food Service

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two upstart online delivery services on Monday announced a new partnership to expand their offerings in Chicago.

Plated (www.plated.com) and Foxtrot (www.foxtrotco.com) reached a deal to bring Plated's chef-designed recipes and premium ingredients offline to Foxtrot's Chicago retail location, The Market By Foxtrot.

Foxtrot will offer select Plated meals for purchase in store, as well as through its mobile app for on-demand delivery.

Foxtrot curates a quality selection of beer, wine, spirits, fresh eats, and everyday essentials, and delivers it all within an hour.

After operating its online delivery service for a year with third-party inventory and delivery partners, the company took all operations in-house and opened its first physical retail location in December 2014.

Plated makes it simple to cook chef-designed meals at home by sending fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and recipes directly to customers' doors.

"Just because something starts online doesn't mean you're only restricted to that arena. We're thrilled with the opportunity to partner with Plated to combine our online and offline forces, and be the first to offer these fresh, high-quality meals to walk-in customers in their neighborhood store," said Michael LaVitola, Foxtrot co-founder and CEO.

"We're big fans of Foxtrot," said Plated Director of Business Development Rachel Horowitz. "Given the high overlap in our target demographics and our similar positioning, we're highly confident that this partnership will help create a strong physical presence that both takes the Plated experience to the next level and grows our customer base in the Chicago market."

A curated selection of Plated meals will be available at Foxtrot's store, located at 2229 N Clybourn Ave., beginning March 16, and can also be ordered via the Foxtrot app.

For starters, Foxtrot will offer:

Shepherd's Pie with Ground Beef and Vegetables
Braised Chicken with Gnocchi and Artichoke
Tortelloni in Brodo with Mustard Greens
Orecchiette and Spicy Sausage with Brown Butter and Sage

The Shepherd's Pie, Braised Chicken, and Tortelloni were created by Elana Karp, vice president of Culinary at Plated.

The Orecchiette is by Los Angeles chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, owners of Animal, Son of a Gun, Trois Mec and Petit Trois.

The Plated meals will serve two and cost $25 The meals will come in reusable Plated totes.

Foxtrot operates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Delivery is available in Lincoln Park, Old Town, Gold Coast, River North, Streeterville, the Loop and Wicker Park.