HUNKY DORY AND BERNADINE’S ARE NOT DEAD YET 
In a statement posted simultaneously yesterday to the Bernadine’s and Hunky Dory Tavern Facebook pages, Treadsack’s management team says the twin restaurants at 1801 N. Shepherd (along with the company’s remaining establishments: Down House, D&T Tavern, and Johnny’s Gold Brick) remain open — and that it’s hoping customers will support the decision by continuing to eat there: “We’ve filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Hunky Dory and Bernadine’s so we can restructure our debt and continue to operate. This was a very difficult decision, and not one we came to lightly, but the chance to save the businesses that all of our employees have worked so hard to build and so many of you, our guests, have supported, made it a risk worth taking. We love these restaurants and will continue to fight for them.” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Hunky Dory
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Proof #12,427 that restaurant business is a terrible business.
Treadsack … just “let it go, let it go”
Ridiculous that all trendy restauarants must be packed in the same area. Move out of the loop and dominate. Spring Branch north of i-10 for example has heightsy demographics but the restautant dollars go elsewhere for the most part. Take a risk like some are already doing and venture out. The old hollister grill location is getting a trendy new restauarant and one of the bartenders from anvil (i think it is) is opening up shop on long point road. Karbachs already has a new restaurant on karbach street in spring branch. Sheesh people. Move outward!
After reading some previous articles about the shenanigans being played by management, I will take my business elsewhere. I would only return to one of these establishments if management was changed. There are simply too many other options in Houston and the free market should punish these acts beyond a simple restructuring of the debt. I would imagine that whatever investors are involved will have their day in court and it is my hope that they are able to assume ownership in the projects they invested in (or a forced sale to recover their prorata portion of the equity capital, assuming there is equity). Management’s actions appear to have been extremely unethical, if not criminal.
Proof that Hunky Dory was a bad idea. It’s an homage to British food, which is just a horrible idea if you know anything about British food. So bland that if it wasn’t for the chewing I wouldn’t have known I was eating.
I have not been since the chef left, but Hunky Dory was one of the best restaurants in Houston. The steaks and pork chops on the open hearth grill were unreal. I never had a dish that was dull or poorly cooked. The real tragedy of the Treadsack affair is losing the chef at Hunky Dory.
I will continue to go to Treadsack restaurants. They actually came to the Heights with Down House and D&T long before the Heights was the preferred destination for new restaurants and bars in Houston.
Let me get this straight: high-flying chef(s) expand too quickly, choke on their cash flow, bounce checks to employees, founder buys a Tesla, stiffs State of Texas and IRS for taxes, then wants customers to keep coming so they can straighten things out?
.
As a customer, I can’t really feel any twinge of duty to eat there for THIS reason. Food: yes. Bailing out the chef’s business bungling: no. Of course, there are plenty of great meals to be had in this town so there isn’t that much of a competitive advantage of the Treadsack empire.
Fret not, Just like the latest boy band, another star chef will be along soon enough and all the civil war beards will flock to him/her for $15 Yukon bison burgers with free range artichoke fries until said chef overextends just as the next one is coming up…
I really liked the food at Hunky Dory and have both lunch and dinner there several times. It was a great take on British food that wasn’t bland at all. However myself and two friends ate there last night (3/31) and it was an awful experience. The food was dull, lacked meaningful choices and the service was at best, disinterested. I asked our server when the menu changed and was told that it changed a few weeks ago when the chef left. I asked the server how long they had been working there and the answer was told that they had been there since the beginning. Morale was as bad as the food.
And to think they shut down a perfectly good and profitable carros usado lot for this. Aye caramba. Stop the insanity people. Keep the shady in Shady Acres.
I guess Zelko saw it coming! Nice chess move chef, bravo!
Of course very missed in the Heights, these same vultures
as I recall were drooling for her spot too. People get too greedy & take on more than they should. Oh well, moving on to bigger & better demographics was a great business decision for them. Does anyone know where Chef Zelko has landed? I miss her food…