The Lookout Kitchen, which closed its operations Sunday at Oklahoma State Parks including Roman Nose State Park in Watonga, posted a farewell letter on social media.
That letter read in part that the company wished to thank its employees and customers, noting that some 40 percent had worked in the operation since its inception, two and a half years ago. The letter continued that the company had notified the employees before the closures were made public.
The company wrote it will continue its catering as Falcones Catering and that the restaurant closure will not effect any planned catered events.
The restaurants were closed briefly in July following a contract dispute with the state, then reopened a week later.
This is unrelated to the 2022 contract cancellation with Swadley’ s Foggy Bottom Kitchen. That dispute is headed to court Nov. 3, according to court records.
On the state park side of the equation, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department said it will provide grab-and-go food choices and local option lists to ensure food remains available for park visitors and event guests. The department will request proposals for a restaurant vendor in the coming weeks and plans to reopen the restaurants as soon as possible.