OKLAHOMA CITY – A request for proposals is now open to find a restaurateur that can replace Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen at state parks.
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who has taken on additional duties at the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department since former Executive Director Jerry Winchester resigned April 29, announced the RFP will remain open for two weeks.
The new operator will be able to make use of the facilities renovated by Swadley’s over the last two years, which remain property of the state. Swadley’s personnel were instructed to leave everything in place and turn over their keys to park managers when the state canceled its contract with the company on April 25.
“The transition is underway at Tourism and we’re committed to protecting the taxpayers at every turn,” Pinnell said in a statement issued by Tourism.
The state canceled its contract with Swadley’s and filed a lawsuit against the company a month after a legislative committee revealed millions of dollars had been improperly spent using “questionable accounting practices” under terms of the restaurant’s unusually generous contract with state.
Over the next weeks, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation launched a criminal investigation into the matter, as news outlets uncovered a string of whistleblower revelations and questionable expenditures owner Brent Swadley repeatedly claimed would be approved by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater requested the investigation,...
ANKARA — US President Donald Trump made a series of “false” and “uncorroborated” claims about the Iran conflict and his foreign policy record during a recent press conference, according to a fact ...