Developer pays tax debt on seized restaurant properties, faces new lawsuits
Delinquent taxes on four properties owned by Derby developer Brant Dumford — including three restaurants — have been paid in full after being seized by the Kansas Department of Revenue in April.
And, Dumford says, he’s secured $10 million in bridge loans that will help him pay off the remainder of his debt — including the debt outlined in two new lawsuits filed at the end of April. One is $4.7 million breach of contract lawsuit filed against his Brody Holdings by Simmons Bank of Arkansas seeking foreclosure on mortgages for three properties near Nelson Drive and Greenway Boulevard in Derby.
The other, which seeks to foreclosure on a mortgage on 104 N. Baltimore, was filed by Wichita businessman Rodney Horton. It says that Dumford defaulted on a $200,000 loan Horton provided in August and asks for $240,000 plus interest and additional costs.
The new bridge loans, which Dumford described as short-term loans with higher interest rates, will allow him to pay off all his creditors, including KS State Bank, which sued him for $1.8 million, and Equity Bank, which sued him for more than $644,000.
“This takes care of everything,” Dumford said, adding that after he receives the loan money, he will pay the debts and then will “move on to greener pastures.”
Aubrey Challquist with the Kansas Department of Revenue confirmed that the tax debt on Dumford Coffee Co. was paid in full as of April 29.
“At that point, Brant Dumford began work with the auction company to pay any fees due to them in order to get back the property that was seized,” she said.
He has plans for the previously foreclosed-upon restaurant properties, too: Layali at 236 W. Greenway, The Coop cafe at 104 N. Baltimore in Derby, and The Coop cafe at 2812 E. Douglas in Wichita.
Dumford said that he plans to lease the two locations of The Coop to another business and that he already has an interested party. Since his financial troubles came to light, he has sold both Layali and the previously announced Hen House restaurants in Derby to his partner and chef, Roni Attari. Hen House should be ready to go at 120 N. Baltimore within two to three weeks, Dumford said.
He also said he’s scrapped plans for the shipping container mall he’d planned for Market and K-15 in Derby. But the three businesses that would have anchored it are still opening, he said, including Hen House, an ice cream shop called The Creamery at 113 E. Market and a cocktail bar called The Social at 130 N. Baltimore
He doesn’t have a timeline for opening the creamery or the cocktail bar, he said.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” Dumford said. “We’re not going to make the same mistake we did last time. . . . We opened way too many businesses and didn’t have the middle management to be able to make sure that they worked and the cash flow and that they did everything that they needed to do as businesses.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 11:24 AM.
.jpg)