After Swadley's debacle, Oklahoma Tourism is seeking new state park restaurant operators

After a failed attempt to solicit bids for a new operator shortly after terminating its contract with Swadley's Bar-B-Q in April, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation is once again soliciting requests from interested parties for control and operation of restaurants at six state parks.

The department announced Friday that it would begin a three-week-long request for information period. During that time, the department will gather "responses from all parties or suppliers interested in providing restaurant services" at state parks.

The department also will host open houses at all six state parks. These events will allow the public and any interested potential operators to tour the facilities and ask questions.

Following the request for information (RFI) period, which will end at 4 p.m. Feb. 10, the tourism agency plans to review the information provided and then release an official request for proposals (RFP), to which any interested party will be allowed to make a bid, according to a department release.

"In order to make sure we are looking at all potential ideas and service options for our state park restaurants, we decided to use the RFI format," said Shelley Zumwalt, tourism agency executive director. "This allows us to gather ideas and questions from the public to understand how the state can best serve the communities that support the parks and offer full transparency to potential vendors so they can submit an informed bid on the RFP once the RFI closes.”

Swadley's Bar-B-Q and the Oklahoma Tourism Department: What we know about the deal

Why does the tourism department need a new restaurant operator?

The state park restaurants were previously being operated by Swadley's Bar-B-Q under the name Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen, but a whistleblower came forward alleging misuse of funds.

Investigations by legislative committees, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, former Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and state Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd led to allegations of a number of improprieties and Swadley's was forced to terminate operations at all six locations.

The state tourism agency also filed a breach of contract suit against Swadley's, which countered with its own lawsuits, most recently alleging the state had underpaid it by more nearly $6 million.

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How is this process different from what happened with Swadley's?

Zumwalt said in the release that she is seeking "a new partner or partners to restore our parks’ restaurant services,” perhaps indicating that the park restaurants could return to the earlier model of being operated individually rather than by one entity.

Tourism officials confirmed in a call Friday that no one has been operating the restaurants since the Swadley’s contract was terminated, but that the space have been available for individuals to rent for private event use.

The tourism department also pointed out that "no contract will result from any response," to the request for information, and it is not a promise of future business with the state. Interested parties also are not required to participate in order to bid on a future request for proposal, according to the state website.

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Questions arose during investigations regarding the timing and following of protocol surrounding the bidding of the contract with Swadley's for operation of the restaurants, with the former operator of the Beavers Bend restaurant alleging her lease was terminated without an option to renew or bid to continue providing services.

Former tourism Director Jerry Winchester said the request for quotes was sent to 25 companies and the only bid the state got back came in early 2020, from Swadley's, which was awarded the deal to run concessions and contract capital improvements with virtually no financial risk.

Additional concerns followed about relationships between Winchester and Swadley's Bar-B-Q owner Brent Swadley, and land purchased by another former tourism official near sites selected for state sponsored improvements.

Zumwalt said earlier this week she is working to help her agency right a "toxic environment," as she continues to push for more transparency and success department wide.

A 'culture of silence and secrecy,' New Oklahoma tourism director says of troubled agency

When will the tourism department host its open houses?

The open houses for each park will be at 6 p.m. at the following dates and locations:

• Jan. 26: Robbers Cave State Park, 4654 NW 1027th Ave., Wilburton

• Jan. 30: Quartz Mountain State Park, 14722 OK-44A, Lone Wolf

• Jan. 31: Sequoyah State Park, 19808 Park 10, Hulbert

• Feb. 1: Lake Murray State Park, 3323 Lodge Road, Ardmore

• Feb. 2: Roman Nose State Park, 3236 S OK-8A, Watonga

• Feb. 6: Beavers Bend State Park, 4350 OK-259A, Broken Bow

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Tourism begins hunt for new state park restaurant operators