The state of Oklahoma last week filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Swadley’s Bar-B-Q, and Oklahoma Tourism chief Jerry Winchester resigned after he and the small restaurant chain were implicated over allegations of fraud and overspending with concessions at six state parks.
The contract is being investigated by state police and is undergoing an audit by state officials, and an Oklahoma House special committee also is due to hold hearings on it later this month.
A whistleblower who once worked in the restaurant and several reports by The Oklahoman and other media outlets indicate the state overpaid the restaurant chain by several million dollars.
Swadley’s Bar-B-Q started along Route 66 about two decades ago in Bethany, Oklahoma, and it also has a restaurant on Route 66 in El Reno, Oklahoma.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, while announcing Winchester’s resignation and the lawsuit on Friday during a short news conference, praised the state’s former tourism chief for increasing state-park visitor numbers during his tenure. But he also said this:
“I welcome the Legislature’s involvement. We are committed to get to the bottom of this. There are a lot of different investigations going on right now, and I think we can all agree the most important things are protecting the taxpayers and shining a light on any corruption or any bad actors.”
Stitt also said Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who has been a strong Route 66 advocate since taking office, would take on a larger role in running the tourism agency.
The Oklahoman had details about Winchester’s resignation letter:
Winchester wrote in his letter to the governor: “I regret that in the best interest of the department, I feel it necessary to resign as executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism & Recreation Department effective immediately. I don’t want my continued involvement to overshadow the great accomplishments that have been achieved these past three years.”
Winchester expressed confidence ongoing audits will show the department “has been acting in the best interests of the state.”
Swadley’s issued a statement after the governor’s news conference:
“Swadley’s is proud of the work it has done in Oklahoma’s beautiful state parks. As part of an effort to modernize those parks, Swadley’s entered into a contract with the Oklahoma State Tourism Department in March of 2020 to redesign, rebuild, and revitalize six restaurants on state park properties. Despite the logistical complexities presented by the location of these restaurant sites, Swadley’s completed its work on the six restaurants in less than two years.
“From the beginning, Swadley’s acknowledged and accepted that this project would be a difficult undertaking, but the extent of the decay and neglect at the various restaurants made it more difficult than either party initially anticipated. […]
“Swadley’s leadership team is disappointed by the recent decision to terminate its contract, and heartbroken for the hundreds of employees whose livelihoods are directly impacted.”
NonDoc Media also filed this good story last week about Swadley’s owner Brent Swadley.
(Image of a Swadley’s Bar-B-Q restaurant via its Facebook page)
Let’s see what those audits will show . . .