Trump Burger, the Texas fast-food chain known for its unabashedly pro-Trump branding, seems to have closed its Houston location following months of legal battles and immigration controversies involving its owner, Roland Beainy.
Reporters from the Houston Chronicle found the restaurant at 3410 Chimney Rock Road dark and locked Oct. 10, with an orange “closed” sign taped to the door. The space appeared to be in disarray with wires hanging and flour scattered on Oct. 8, but by Oct. 10, the location had been cleaned out. The restaurant’s Google listing has shown it as “temporarily closed” since early in the week. Beainy declined to comment when contacted by the outlet by phone.
Where’s The Beef
The Houston outpost, which opened in May and featured a drive-thru, was the fourth in the Trump Burger chain. There are other Texas locations in Bellville, Flatonia, and Kemah. But its closure marks the latest setback for the politically themed franchise, once billed as a “patriotic haven for burger lovers.”
The trouble began when Beainy became entangled in multiple lawsuits. He has been in a legal dispute with Trump Burger founders Iyad Abuelhawa and Suad Hamedah, a married couple who originally launched the concept as Trump Café in 2016 before rebranding it. They accused Beainy of taking control of their business without proper credit or compensation.
Beainy has also filed dueling lawsuits with his former landlord, Archie Patterson, in Kemah. Beainy alleged Patterson forced him off the property illegally, while Patterson claimed Beainy failed to maintain the restaurant and pay fees. Beainy later accused Patterson of trademark infringement after Patterson opened “MAGA Burger USA” in the same location.
Adding to the drama, Beainy’s immigration status came into question earlier this year. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Beainy, a 28-year-old Lebanese national, entered the U.S. in 2019 on a visitor visa and failed to leave when it expired in February 2024. He was detained in May and released on bond a month later, pending a November hearing.
Meanwhile, Abuelhawa was arrested by ICE on June 2, and is accused of remaining in the country illegally since a deportation order was issued against him in 2009. ICE also alleges he has a criminal history, including a 2007 conviction for health care fraud and drug misbranding involving fake flu vaccines, as well as prior convictions for assault and intimidation, according to The Daily Beast. He remains in ICE detention.
