Kona Grill

Kona Grill, Inc. is an upscale casual restaurant company based in Denver, Colorado serving American cuisine, sushi, and cocktails.[4] The company owns and operates around 40 restaurants[5] in 23 U.S. states, as well as three international locations operating under franchise agreements.[6] In 2019, STK Parent company, One Hospitality Group purchased Kona Grill for $25 million.[7]

History

Kona Grill first opened its doors on September 18, 1998, at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. The restaurant's predecessor was a sushi concept called Sushi on Shea that opened in Scottsdale in 1994. Restaurant founder, Michael McDermott, decided to create Kona Grill with more American-themed menu items. The new restaurant was made to have a modern ambiance. McDermott sold Sushi on Shea in 2002 to focus on expanding Kona Grill.[8]

Kona Grill went public on August 16, 2005, with an initial public offering of $11 per share on the NASDAQ. The company raised $28.8 million and grew its restaurant base to 9 locations by December 31, 2005.[9][10]

By 2014, Kona Grill had grown to 26 restaurants in 17 states. In 2014, it saw same-store sales growth in 14 out of its past 15 quarters with an increase of 6.2%, ranking the concept in the top quartile of the casual dining segment and marking it as one of the fastest growing restaurants that year.[11][12]

In August 2017, Kona opened its first international franchise location at Fashion Drive in Monterrey, Mexico. It opened a location at Al Seef in Dubai, UAE that November, and a location in Vaughan, Canada in December 2017.[13][14][15][16][17]

On March 4, 2019, Kona Grill hired Piper Jaffray to seek a merger or the sale of Kona Grill[2]

On April 30, 2019, Kona Grill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Locations across the country including in Arizona, Texas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virginia closed the spring of 2019.[18]

Corporate

On March 21, 2019, Shawn Hassel took a seat on the Board of Directors as Chair of the company's Strategic Alternatives Committee.[19] On March 27, 2019, Kona Grill's Executive Chairman Berke Bakay resigned.[19] A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of 24 Kona Grill polished-causal restaurants for $20.3 million to Williston Holding, reported by Restaurant Business on July 26, 2019.

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