Trump Organization settles restaurant suits with chefs sparked by Trump’s statements about Mexican immigrants
Keith Alexander of the Washington Post reports that the Trump Organization has settled a legal dispute with two chefs who backed out of a deal to open a restaurant in President Trump’s hotel in downtown Washington. An agreement between Trump and famed chef Geoffrey Zakarian announced yesterday came three days after the Trump Organization settled a similar breach-of-contract lawsuit he filed against celebrity chef José Andrés.
The legal battles began when both chefs backed out of deals to open restaurants in Trump’s luxury hotel complex in the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue. Zakarian, like Andrés, cited Trump’s derogatory public comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Both chefs said those remarks made it impossible for them to run a successful dining establishment in the Trump property.
Trump originally sued Zakarian, a Food Network star, in D.C. Superior Court for $10 million, basing that figure on expected losses after Zakarian’s decision to back out. In recent court filings, Trump’s representatives raised the estimated loss to about $14 million.
Trump also filed a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit against Andrés. The chef countersued for $8 million, with his company arguing that Trump’s campaign rhetoric made it next to impossible to hire Hispanic staff or to attract Hispanic patrons.
KJ