Dive Brief:

• Foxtrot will open four new locations in the Washington, D.C., area before the end of the year, doubling its presence in and around the capital city, the upscale convenience store chain announced Tuesday.
• The expansion includes a store in Bethesda, Maryland — the retailer's first location in that state — and a downsized store in downtown Washington that will focus on grab-and-go items.
• Foxtrot is tapping $100 million in investment capital raised in recent months as it pursues plans to significantly broaden its footprint and develop its technological capabilities.

Dive Insight:

Foxtrot's decision to deepen its roots in the Washington region follow the retailer's announcement in January that it intends to add 50 new stores to its fleet in 2022 and 2023.

In addition to the store it intends to open in a pedestrian-friendly part of Bethesda, a densely populated suburb that borders the District of Columbia, Foxtrot is developing two more locations in downtown Washington. The retailer is also bringing a store to The Highlands, a mixed-use real estate project in Rosslyn, Virginia, directly across the Potomac River from the city.

Foxtrot opened its first Washington store last March in the Georgetown neighborhood and has since started operations in two additional locations in the city's downtown core. The retailer also has a store in the Old Town section of Alexandria, Virginia, a short distance from Washington.

In addition to its four existing Washington-area locations, Foxtrot currently runs 14 stores in Chicago and Dallas. The company plans to debut in Austin, Texas, later this year, and is looking to open stores in New York, Miami and Nashville, as well.

Foxtrot, which launched as an online retailer in 2013 ahead of opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Chicago, will offer 30-minute delivery to customers within range of the new Washington-area stores, as it does as all of its existing stores, the company noted in the announcement.

The expansion builds on Foxtrot's strategy of placing locations in areas with a critical mass of local shoppers likely to gravitate to its curated assortment of foods, coffee and other goods. The company, which focuses heavily on working with local suppliers, said it plans to include design elements in each of the newly announced stores that reflect their location. 

Foxtrot is looking to benefit from people returning to downtown offices. One of the new Washington stores, slated for a spot a few blocks from the White House, will be smaller than the other new location and offer a mix of products intended to appeal to time-pressed workers. Foxtrot did not specify the size of the location, but for comparison, the Georgetown store occupies about 2,500 square feet.