KRMG In-Depth: What’s (finally) cooking at several Oklahoma state parks

After a hard reset involving allegations of fraud, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation has begun opening a half dozen brand new restaurants at parks across the state.

The original vendor, Swadley’s Foggy Bottom, ran into trouble after reporters began looking into invoices paid by the state which may have been exorbitantly high, or in some cases, even fraudulent.

[Hear the KRMG In-Depth Report on the new restaurants at state parks HERE]

The agency settled on a new vendor this spring, and opened the first of six new “Lookout Kitchen” locations (The Lookout at Murray Lake State Park) Wednesday evening.

The restaurants will be operated by La Ratatouille LLC based in Oklahoma City, which operates several brands as well as catering services.

The Lookout Kitchen menus feature American fare, with price points for breakfast ranging from roughly $5 to $15.

The lunch/dinner menu has entrées beginning at about $11 for a burger, and running as much as $45 for a steak.

The six locations will be:

BEAVERS BEND | LAKE MURRAY | ROBBERS CAVE | ROMAN NOSE | QUARTZ MOUNTAIN | SEQUOYAH

Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, who also serves as Secretary of Tourism and Branding for the state, tells KRMG the goal was to have all six locations open for the Memorial Day weekend.

It appears the Quartz Mountain location, however, won’t be ready until July.

The plan is to have a Lookout Kitchen food truck in place for the holiday.