I don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch and hit the roaster, but our state may finally be taking a sane approach to finding a new operator – or possibly operators – of our state park lodge restaurants.
In case you missed it, the agency that brought us Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen and Lookout Kitchen issued an RFP seeking new operators for the scattered set of eateries.
This time around, as opposed to ambitiously trying to find one singular operator to take on the semi-impossible task of running a profitable chain of seven full-service remote eateries in low-density state parks all at once – they’re turning down the ambition meter, being honest about the situation, and coming up with a more feasible and practical solution.
Via KOKH Fox 25:
OTRD has changed its request for proposal structure to try to help future restaurants succeed.
Changes to the RFP include:
– individual park restaurants can be bid on separately
– no requirement for the restaurant to operate in a full-service capacity year-round
– all restaurant types are welcome to bid
– flexibility on the revenue share model
See what I mean? That actually makes… rational sense. You know, like the tourism folks sat down and put together the best plan available to make sure the project succeeds, as opposed to trying to pigeonhole through a bad idea whipped up by a stoogy mortgage banker.
Here’s what Stitt’s new tourism czar Amy Blackburn had to say:
“I am well aware of the challenges this agency has faced surrounding the operations of state parks restaurants,” said OTRD Executive Director Amy Blackburn. “This new RFP structure is designed to be mutually beneficial to the restaurant operator and our state parks.”
“We’ve invested in creating a welcoming atmosphere at our lodges, and guests should expect a positive restaurant experience when they visit,” said Blackburn. “We have a responsibility to Oklahoma taxpayers to get this right.”
Ugh. Back when Stitt hired Amy Blackburn to lead the tourism department, I was worried she was going to have some practical solutions to our state park restaurant problem, and quickly put a halt to all the cheap pageviews the Foggy Bottom Swindle and Lookout Houdini act delivered to the local media.
I guess crap like this is what happens when a Lost Ogle show guest gets put in charge of things.
All that being said, let’s not name a cheeseburger after Amy Blackburn quite yet.
I think working with local operators to fit the needs of each state park has a much higher chance of sustained success than working with Stitt’s GOP grifter buddies, but food and hospitality is a notoriously difficult industry — even when everything goes right. Despite state assistance and local community support, a good chunk of these places will still likely fail.
Plus, we still have the Stitt factor to consider.
Although working with several operators as opposed to one has advantages, it now means that instead of having to worry about one GOP grifter like Brent Swadley or JP Wilson trying to get their greasy hands on taxpayer money, we have to watch out for six or seven smaller operators doing the same thing!
Seriously, as much as I want this new approach to work, what’s going to stop Stitt from handing each of his seven most loyal YPO yes-men a restaurant to grift from before his term is up? You have to admit, that’s a much more likely scenario than putting in locals who know what they’re doing.
Anyway, I guess that’s why I warned we don’t want to count those chickens before they hatch, because with Stitt still ultimately in charge, there’s a good chance he and his buddies will be having omelets, and taxpayers will be cleaning up the mess.
Stay with The Lost Ogle — we’ll keep you advised.
