Scottsdale’s Kona Grill chain sale for $25M approved in bankruptcy court

PHOENIX – A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of Scottsdale-based Kona Grill for $25 million to a steakhouse chain, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal reported the new owners planned to keep the chain’s remaining 24 restaurants in 16 states open. There are two left in the Valley – Scottsdale and Gilbert.

A judge in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the sale Tuesday. One Group Hospitality will pay cash and assume $11 million in Kona’s liabilities.

Kona filed for bankruptcy in late April, listing at least $74 million of debt.

The buyers, who run STK Steakhouses, had agreed to the sale price in early September.

“Kona Grill is an excellent brand that has maintained a strong position in the remaining 24 restaurants,” Emanuel Hilario, president of One Group, said in a statement at the time of that announcement.

Hilario went on to say the remaining restaurants “reflected a strong base of high-performing restaurants in attractive markets.”

A previous deal for the sushi chain, led by former CEO Marcus Jundt, fell through. The court had OK’d a sale for $20.3 million in July, just before the Scottsdale Quarter restaurant was shut down.

Before that closure, the site in Chandler had gone dark in April.

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