Kd’s closes, promises to reopen after Labor Day with new theme
Kevin Durant’s Bricktown restaurant closed Sunday, just three weeks after Durant announced plans to leave Oklahoma City for the Golden State Warriors.
However, Kd’s Restaurant, operated by Norman-based Hal Smith restaurant group, vows to reopen with a new theme after Labor Day.
“The concept will offer an updated atmosphere with a similar menu to what has been available at that location in the past,” the restaurant group said in its announcement.
The restaurant group declined to make a representative for the company available for an interview on Monday.
Records obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show Hal Smith Restaurant Group has filed applications to trademark at least three new names in the past few weeks.
Most recently, HD Investments LLC, a company with the same mailing address as Hal Smith Restaurant Group, filed a trademark application for the name Legacy Grill on July 12.
The same company filed applications to trademark the names The Henry Bar and The Buzz Breakfast Club on June 21, records show.
Durant partnered with Hal Smith Restaurant Group to open the Kd’s Restaurant in 2013.
“It has been an honor — and a lot of fun — to partner with Kevin Durant at Kd’s these last few years,” Hal Smith, founder and CEO of the Oklahoma-based restaurant group said in a statement. “We wish him the very best as he takes a new direction in his career.”
Although the restaurant has remained popular since Durant announced his relocation to another state, it has always been part of Smith’s plan to be flexible and offer a new concept in that space should circumstances change over time, the company said.
Durant said he was a 25 percent owner in Kd’s when the eatery was first announced in 2012, but it is unclear if he will maintain any ownership stake in the new restaurant.
Smith closed the restaurant Sunday, and his team is already working to make updates and improvements to the space before reopening under a new name, the company said.
The new name and details of the concept will be announced in August, the restaurant group said.
“Our restaurant has become a tradition for many in our community for an evening out or to celebrate a special occasion, which is an honor we don’t take lightly. We know our guests, we listen to them and we think they’ll be really pleased with this transition,” Smith said. “We plan to maintain the majority of our current menu, and there’s no doubt our famous fried chicken and other favorites will be back.”
Smith said employees are being offered the opportunity to maintain their positions during this transition with pay.
The restaurant is at 224 Johnny Bench Drive in Bricktown.
Durant has not spoken publicly about the restaurant’s future.
On Monday, he tweeted about leaving Oklahoma City for the San Francisco Bay Area and expressed excitement about shopping at a Nike SNKRS store there.
“Wheels up to the Bay. Heard they have a SNKRS box out there,” Durant tweeted.