The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Okay, I admit that I am upset about Kilkenny's closing.  I've become something of a regular, and usually went in once a week.  I showed up last week for my standing Thurs. happy hour, and there's a sign on the door that they are closed but hopefully not for long...  :'(
We had no clue what had happened, but I read today that apparently the owners couldn't or wouldn't pay their taxes (for the second time), and have been closed down because of it.  My message to the owners:  Hire accountants to take care of your books, and get back to running a great non-chain resturant!

I'm craving some Chips 'n Cheddar and a cold pint of Smithwick's.  I really hope they get the tax stuff worked out and reopen soon!

If it is the second time they have been shut down by the IRS, sadly I would not expect them to be reopening anytime soon.  The IRS usually does not give a company more than two shots.

What happened is that Kilkenny's hasn't paid their sales taxes since 2002.  And then fought every effort to get them to actually pay them tooth and nail since then.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=274&articleid=20090812_39_D1_Plates170828

I really loved eating there, but it's kind of hard to sympathize with them.

That's not what the story says, specifically.  It says they started missing payments in 2002.  The story says they are indebted to the tax commission to the tune of about $143K which would be about 8.6% of $1.6mm in sales.  $1.6mm over seven years is about $19,000 a month in sales.  They would have closed up long before now if that's all they were doing in sales.  A place like that would be doing at least $1mm a year in sales, or roughly $3000 per day I'd think.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I bet they were very bad at keeping the books and just short changed them the $143K over time.  I used to have a small business and it is a pain to do the sales tax in OK.  Maybe they had a bad accountant too.  Whatever the reason it sucks for Kilkenny's fans like me.  I hope it re-opens as a pub again soon.

I wonder if they had an issue with alcohol sales tax?  As I understand it, alcohol is supposed to be taxed differently than regular food items.  Perhaps they messed up the accounting on that portion?

/not idea really, just a thought.

i went the day it opened, twice...
i went weekly (at least twice) since then...
it was my local...

it had a great atmosphere, food and drink...
the food was hands down better than other pub fare in town...

it is a damn shame, but you could see it comin from a mile away...

i'm pissed.

+1 on the food, though White Lion is pretty good

I don't think that space would sit fallow for long if these guys can't get their smile together. 

White Lion is a great place with great PUB food - about the only place I go in South Tulsa without whining too much.  Kilkenny's had great food by any standard and seasonal items that you could trust would be great.

Yeah I could see someone reviving the concept in that location, Elliot Nelson perhaps?

Oh and the White Lion is fantastic, one of my favorite places in Tulsa.

Kilkenny's reopens today at 4.

I'll try to be there by 3:59

See if you can get your tax reduced to 6.5% since that is all they pay anyway.

That's funny