7x7 Shutting Down Print Magazine, Switching Focus to Digital

Just a little more than a year after purchasing 7x7 from McEvoy Media, editor-in-chief Chloe Harris and her team at Metropolitan Media have decided to cease publication of the monthly print magazine, in order to focus more intently on their online operations. The March 2015 issue will be 7x7's last, and from there on out, they'll be "re-focusing our efforts and making the necessary financial investments in our digital assets, including an immediate update and redesign of 7x7.com and its mobile platform," according to a statement. Their goals include doubling their annual unique visitors from 600,000 to 1.2 million in the coming year, and reaching out to the larger communities of travelers and potential new residents.

Though several members of the magazine's staff were laid off today, Schuyler Bailey, who heads the magazine's food and drink coverage, will remain on board for the new incarnation. Reached by phone, Harris said that 7x7's food and drink efforts will be "exactly the same" in the digital transition, and that they'll continue to focus on their popular Big Eat list of best dishes, including a reprise of the Big Eat Live event they held last year and "more in-depth coverage" of the chefs and dishes involved. Nonetheless, it's another major blow to the shrinking print-media landscape for food in SF, which was already rocked by the closure of the SF Bay Guardian just a few months back and the folding and incorporation of the Chronicle's food section into the paper's wider home coverage.