There’s a new restaurant at the location where Trump Burger used to be open along Chimney Rock in the Galleria area.
HOUSTON — A west Houston burger joint that had been at the center of some recent legal battles has been replaced.
Trump Burger, which was open along Chimney Rock Road just north of the Southwest Freeway for about five months, has been replaced by Empire Pizza. New signage was spotted on the structure on Monday. It’s unclear if the pizza restaurant is open to the public.
Editor’s note: The video in this article is from a previous report.
Last month, KHOU 11 News reported that Trump Burger had closed, and the Houston Business Journal said it made multiple phone calls to the restaurant’s listed phone number that went unanswered.
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Trump Burger gained some notoriety due to its theme. It paid homage to President Donald Trump with memorabilia on the walls and doors, plus “Trump” stamped on the burgers themselves.
Earlier this year, news broke that the restaurant owner, Roland Beainy, was facing deportation. Brainy, a 28-year-old Lebanese immigrant, was supposed to leave the country in February 2024. According to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, he initially entered the U.S. in 2019, but he overstayed his visa. ICE officials said Beainy didn’t have any immigration benefits that would prevent him from being arrested or removed from the country.
On May 16, he was arrested and put into immigration proceedings. On June 13, an immigration judge granted his request for bond while he waited for the proceedings to unfold.
In July, Beainy was sued by the landlord who owns the property where his Kemah Trump Burger is located.
Archie Patterson’s lawsuit said his company terminated Trump Burger Kemah’s lease because the restaurant breached its lease agreement and still owed him at least $39,164, which included two months’ worth of beverage-tax payments, repairs, utilities and payroll.
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