It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of Bernadine's and Hunky Dory. Our last service will be Wednesday, May 24th. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our amazing and hardworking staff and to you, our guests. We are grateful for your patronage over the last year. It has been a pleasure to serve you.
The closures are shocking, but not completely unexpected. It was announced earlier this week that Bernadine's and Hunky Dory chef Graham Laborde is joining the Killen's team. And the Houston Press' own Craig Malisow reported that the bankruptcy proceedings for Bernadine's and Hunky Dory (which lost chef Richard Knight in January) included roughly $702,000 in outstanding federal taxes, almost $100K in back rent, a $1.73 million claim from Integrity Bank, which controls the cash flow of Treadsack's main entity Mothership Ventures and more outstanding debts right down to local purveyors including Amaya Coffee Roasting and Fat Cat Creamery.
The group's holdings Down House, Johnny's Gold Brick, and D&T Drive Inn remain open at this time, but in early April, Malisow reported that Down House had sought bankruptcy protection and not two weeks later was rocked by a visit from Texas Comptroller state agents who demanded money on the spot with threats of "if you don't pay, we will shut you down." The restaurant shuttered its critically acclaimed eatery Foreign Correspondents and bar Canard in December 2016, in which Malisow also revealed that the restaurant group was facing a $1.1 million lien from the IRS.
