The Foxes Boxes and IRL Communications
Randy and Rachel Fox have spent nearly 30 years building a life together around the core belief that people need connection.
Today, that belief lives through both IRL Communications and the return of The Foxes Boxes, the community-focused food business they first launched in 2016.
Though the couple closed their brick-and-mortar restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are bringing The Foxes Boxes back in a new way through a mobile food trailer paired with workforce development and community engagement efforts.
For Randy and Rachel, it is less about reopening a restaurant and more about continuing the mission that inspired it in the first place.
“We focus on the human connection piece in real life,” Rachel said. “Using real-life scenarios we’ve experienced in our 30-plus years working in professional settings.”
A Seventh-Grade Promise
That connection started long before the business.
Rachel met Randy when they were 11 and 12 years old. In seventh grade, Rachel wrote out a handwritten “contract” between the two of them that she still keeps today.
“I, Randolph Fox and Rachel Bodkin, promise to not talk about, put down, or any way damage your ego,” the penciled agreement read.
The two dated in high school before eventually reconnecting in their early 20s and getting married. Now, nearly three decades later, their personal and professional lives remain deeply intertwined.
Finding Purpose Through Leadership
While Randy built a career in the restaurant industry, Rachel focused on raising their three children while working from home as a telephone triage nurse. Randy spent more than 20 years managing restaurants, including leadership roles with Darden Restaurants, where he oversaw large teams and mentored employees into management positions.
“What I loved most was developing leaders,” Randy said.
At the same time, Rachel’s interests increasingly centered around advocacy and community development. After moving to Wilmington, she became involved with The ONE Campaign, an anti-poverty organization co-founded by Bono, eventually traveling to Kenya as part of the organization’s work supporting vulnerable communities.
The experience pushed Rachel toward graduate school, where she earned a master’s degree in public administration from UNCW. During that time, she began thinking about how she and Randy could combine their strengths into something meaningful.
A Family Business With a Personal Story
“After a year and a half working on the business plan, we wanted to create a model that provided on-the-job workforce development training for people with barriers to employment,” Rachel said.
The business quickly became a family effort. As the couple worked through ideas with their children, one of them suggested the name “The Foxes Boxes.”
The couple opened The Foxes Boxes in 2016 in Wilmington’s Northside neighborhood. The restaurant quickly became known in the Cape Fear region for its fresh food and its focus on community, storytelling, and opportunity.
“Our goal was to create a fresh food menu that a family of five could eat at under $50 and inspire people to share stories,” Rachel said.
Even the menu reflected their own story. Each of the restaurant’s nine menu items connected back to a memory or moment from their lives together. The restaurant also became known for its workforce development efforts.
“How do we show people there’s an opportunity here?” Randy said. “How do we get people on an upward trajectory with insurance, benefits, and sustainable pay?”
Support From CFCC’s Small Business Center
As first-time business owners, the Foxes also found support through the Small Business Center at Cape Fear Community College and director Jerry Coleman. Rachel said Coleman became an important mentor during the early days of the business.
“When you think you can’t do it, he shows you you can,” Rachel said. “He shows you how.”
She said Coleman consistently connected them with resources, funding opportunities, and people who could help them continue growing.
“He becomes like a mentor therapist,” she said with a laugh.
That relationship has continued through the launch of IRL Communications, with Coleman continuing to refer individuals and organizations to the Foxes as they expand their work.
My Story Plus Your Story Equals Our Story
Like many small businesses, The Foxes Boxes faced major challenges during the pandemic, and the couple made the difficult decision to close the restaurant’s physical location.
Still, the mission behind The Foxes Boxes never disappeared.
Years later, their daughter briefly changed the old Foxes Boxes Facebook logo back to its original image. Almost immediately, community members began commenting, asking whether the restaurant would be reopening.
“That kind of planted the seed,” Rachel said.
Now, through IRL Communications and a new mobile trailer model, the Foxes are bringing The Foxes Boxes back into the community in a more flexible way. The trailer allows them to serve events, partner with organizations, and continue mentoring and workforce development efforts without the demands of a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“It allows us to come to you instead of sending your people to us,” Rachel said. “We can bring the training to you.”
For the Foxes, their philosophy remains the same as it was when they first opened nearly a decade ago.
“My story plus your story equals our story.”
Small Business Center
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