Trump delivers on promise to sue chef Jose Andres

The Trump Organization followed through on its threat of legal action against chef José Andrés for dropping out of Donald Trump’s planned Washington hotel, filing a $10 million lawsuit against the restaurateur on Friday.

The Trump Organization filed the suit against Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking damages linked to Andrés’ July 8 departure from the Trump International Hotel project, a $200 million luxury property set to open next year in the revamped Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue.


When the two initially announced their deal in January, they exchanged mutually laudatory statements. But things turned sour after Trump’s presidential run got underway and he made several inflammatory remarks about undocumented Mexican immigrants, with Andrés moving to pull the plug in early July.

“Donald Trump’s recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for my company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish restaurant in Trump International’s upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.,” said Andrés in a July 8 statement, adding he believes every human being “deserves respect.”

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., retaliated, telling The Washington Post that Andrés had “no right” to terminate the signed 10-year lease with the Trump Organization, and that the company would take legal action to recoup losses, as well as damages incurred by Andrés’ backing out of the deal.

Trump’s team, meanwhile, says the candidate’s political statements aren’t relevant to the business arrangement with Andrés.

“He’s basically walking away from the restaurant. We have to basically go and find a replacement tenant. And he has to pay rent for the next 10 years — and we’re entitled to that rent. You don’t get to sign agreement that you’re going to pay rent for the next 10 years and just walk away,” Alan Garten, a spokesperson for Trump’s organization told POLITICO on Friday.

Garten added that “comments that Mr. Trump may have made unrelated to this project, unrelated to Mr. Andrés, unrelated to this post office, have nothing to do with anything.”

On Saturday, ThinkFoodGroup responded in a statement: “This lawsuit is both unsurprising and without merit. Simply put, Mr. Trump’s comments made ThinkFoodGroup’s participation in this project impossible and constituted a breach which the landlord, Trump Old Post Office LLC, refused to remedy. And despite our attempts to negotiate an amicable resolution, we were ultimately forced to terminate the lease.”

The lawsuit claims the Trump Organization has suffered and “will continue to suffer” millions of dollars in damages.

Andrés wasn’t the only celebrity chef that pulled out of the hotel. Geoffrey Zakarian also decided to ditch the project and in the process is losing his $500,000 deposit. Trump’s side had a response to Zakarian’s decision as well.

“We know Geoffrey Zakarian very well, and this decision has absolutely nothing to do with his ‘core values.’ Zakarian is using the distortions by the media of Mr. Trump’s comments in an opportunistic attempt to renege on clear and unequivocal obligations under his lease,” a statement from The Trump Organization said.

“Zakarian’s foolish decision will be his loss and will have no effect on the completion and success of this project.”