Matt Carr is a published writer and restaurateur living in Long Beach, California. Along with his wife Jena, he founded & operated Little Red Fox — a beloved neighborhood café & bakery—and Sugar Fox—its next-door ice cream & cake shop — in Washington, DC for nearly 10 years. Before foodservice, he worked as a freelance journalist and ran a vinyl record label.
He’s currently writing and drawing a cookbook about his experiences operating a mom-and-pop foodservice business.
Little Red Fox in summer 2019
Little Red Fox
Founder and operator of Little Red Fox, a market and café that operated from 2013 to 2022. The neighborhood gathering spot was best known for its friendly customer service, specialty coffee, sandwiches, prepared foods, and inclusive menu options. Little Red Fox's bakery, which made everything from pie and croissants to quiches and "ooey gooey" cookies, was nominated as one of the cities “best” by the City Paper and Washington Post on seven different occasions during its nine-plus year run. Almost everything at Little Red Fox was made from scratch, including the popular smoked hot sauce that accompanied every breakfast burrito. The hot sauce was sold in retail shops and used in restaurant menus across the city.
Sugar Fox at night in 2019
Sugar Fox
A two-doors-down extension to Little Red Fox, Sugar Fox opened in 2019 to house the business’s growing bakery program in the back and a quaint ice cream & cake shop in the front. Sugar Fox served custom cakes, cupcakes, scoops of scratch made ice cream & made-to-order milkshakes, while simultaneously functioning as a wholesale bakery and office space for Little Red Fox staff.
Inside Fox Loves Taco in 2018
Fox Loves Taco
A combo breakfast taco & specialty coffee shop that operated inside of a bike shop in the Brookland neighborhood of DC (2017-19). Local artists helped create a fun, vibrant space filled with custom furniture and wallpaper that paired with inventive tacos for vegans, vegetarians and carnivores alike.
2012 label sampler
Blog & Record Label
Founded music blog Everybody Taste & companion label Analog Edition (2009-13), producing limited run vinyl records alongside personalized marketing campaigns (like this music video). Label artists—Breakfast In Fur, Lands & Peoples, Teen Mom, Shark Week and Blake Mills—have been featured on Pitchfork, MTV, Spin and Rolling Stone. Of particular note, Blake Mills went on to tour with Fiona Apple, win a Grammy, and produce records for the Alabama Shakes and Perfume Genius.
Covering The Flaming Lips in 2009
Journalism
Written articles for American Banker, Washingtonian Magazine, Smithsonian and Malibu Magazine (2007-13) with a particular focus on music journalism. Interviewed and profiled a wide array of artists, including Santigold, Haim, Kurt Vile, Thee Oh Sees, Ted Leo, Mary Timony and The Walkmen (years later, both Timony and The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser became customers at Little Red Fox!).