Graham Laborde Departs Treadsack Group for Killen's Empire

Gwendolyn Knapp May 15, 2017 10:45AM

Photo by Chuck Cook Photography

Graham Laborde brings his seafood savvy to Klllen's

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Pretty big chef news today, with Killen's announcing that Bernadine's chef Graham Laborde is stepping in as operations chef for its restaurant group. According to a press release, this is a newly created role that will allow Laborde to assist Killen as he expands his empire to Austin and inside the loop with more steakhouse and barbecue restaurants. Immediately, Laborde will begin overseeing the group's seafood program at Killen's Steakhouse and Killen's STQ.

Laborde leaves the troubled Treadsack Group after recently taking over chef duties at Hunky Dory— the sister restaurant adjacent to his own Gulf Coast-inspired eatery Bernadine's— which chef Richard Knight left in February following the unexpected closures of Foreign Correspondents and Canard, and amid various ongoing reports of bankruptcy, lawsuits, liens and unpaid debts as investigated by the Houston Press' own Craig Malisow.

Laborde, a Louisiana native who graduated from Johnson and Wales school in Rhode Island and honed his chops at NOLA powerhouses Commander's Palace, Stella, and Boucherie, also joins new hire and steak pro Steve Haug, most recently of Del Frisco steakhouse group, at Killen's.

"Having both Graham and Steve on our team is going to benefit all of us," says Killen.