Celebrity chef Jose Andres backed out of plans to open a flagship restaurant in Donald Trump’s new hotel under construction in Washington amid ongoing fallout from Trump’s political statements.
Andres, a Spanish immigrant, called Trump’s statements ?disparaging immigrants? in his decision to cancel plans to open a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel.
Real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate Trump said in a speech June 16 that some Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the US, and some are rapists. Various organisations are severing relationships with Trump.
Andres said Trump’s statements ?make it impossible for my company and I to move forward.? More than half of his team is Hispanic, as are many of his restaurant guests, the chef said.
The 270-room Trump International Hotel is being built in the historic Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. It is slated to open in 2016 after a US$200 million redevelopment.
Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s son and a Trump Organization executive, issued a statement threatening legal action and noted that Andres has a 10-year lease. The Trump Organization would seek to recover any unpaid rent for the full 10-year term, he said.
?Our relationship with Jose Andres has always been a good one, but simply put, Jose has no right to terminate or otherwise abandon his obligations under the lease,? Donald Trump Jr. said. ?We will also enforce the exclusivity provisions preventing Mr Andres from opening a competing restaurant anywhere in the D.C area.?
Celebrity chef snubs Donald Trump
