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Trump Burger had four Texas restaurants. They've all changed their names
By Aviva Bechky, Staff WriterNov 20, 2025
Trump impersonator Michael “MJ Trump” Falato poses for a photograph at
Trump Burger’s first Houston proper location in Houston, Friday, May 9,
2025. The location has since closed and is rebranding as Empire Pizza.

Trump impersonator Michael “MJ Trump” Falato poses for a photograph at
Trump Burger’s first Houston proper location in Houston, Friday, May 9,
2025. The location has since closed and is rebranding as Empire Pizza.
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

As Texas-born mini-chain Trump Burger expanded, it made headlines for its unabashed pro-Trump branding and walls covered in merchandise celebrating
the president.

Now, none of its four locations are going by the name Trump Burger.

The Bellville outpost has become President Burger. The one in Flatonia
bears signage reading MAGA Burger. The Kemah spot rebranded first as MAGA Burger USA, and then as Freedom Burgers & Beer Garden. The central Houston restaurant closed; it now appears to be in the process of reopening as
Empire Pizza.

The Houston Chronicle confirmed all of these name changes by visiting the stores in person this week.

READ THE BACKSTORY: The untold origin story of Trump Burger: A $250K murder-for-hire plot, ICE arrest and vaccine scam
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Roland Beainy, the public face of Trump Burger, declined to comment for
this article, and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, couple Suad Hamedah and Iyad Abuelhawa — who founded the
original iteration of this concept, Trump Cafe, in 2016 before bringing
Beainy on board then falling out with him — have accused Beainy of stealing the brand from them. They said they’re determined to get it back, and Abuelhawa told the Chronicle he plans to open a Trump Burger in Tomball
next month.

“I’m taking the restaurants back from him, because they’re mine,” Abuelhawa said. “Everything is mine.”

The name Trump Burger, however, has raised trademark concerns. Trademark experts Vicky Smolyar and Feras Mousilli of Houston law firm Lloyd &
Mousilli told the Chronicle in September that they did not think the restaurant name could be trademarked, because President Trump already owns
the rights to use his name for restaurant branding.

The Fayette County Record reported that the Trump Organization had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump Burger in February about its use of the
Trump name. The Chronicle has not been able to independently confirm this
with the Trump Organization. Hamedah told the Chronicle in July that she’d received a cease-and-desist letter from the Trump Organization.

OUR CRITIC'S PERSPECTIVE: Review: Houston’s new Trump Burger serves up
plenty of politics. How’s the food?

Trump Burger is mired in several other legal problems, including disputes between Abuelhawa and Beainy and between Beainy and a former landlord, as
well as problems with immigration enforcement.

ICE arrested both Beainy and Abuelhawa this year. Beainy was released on
bond in June, pending future proceedings, according to an ICE spokesperson. Beainy declined to comment on the current status of his case.

In October, a judge ordered Abuelhawa to be freed from ICE custody, citing severe medical problems he suffered in custody as well as the U.S. government’s failures to deport Abuelhawa, who is Palestinian. The order showed he has diabetes and was "in danger of losing his whole foot."

Other lawsuits are still pending. Here’s the status of the four restaurants formerly known as Trump Burger, and the problems they’re each embroiled in. Houston

3410 Chimney Rock Rd.

The Houston location of Trump Burger has closed and appears to be reopening
as Empire Pizza.
The Houston location of Trump Burger has closed and appears to be reopening
as Empire Pizza.
Aviva Bechky/Houston Chronicle

The Houston Trump Burger opened with fanfare and a Trump impersonator in
May — only to close last month. It had a closed sign posted on the door in early October, and by the beginning of November, it had begun to transform into an Empire Pizza, though the red-white-and-blue color scheme of Trump Burger still remains intact.

Empire Pizza has two other locations around Houston: one in Sugar Land and
one on Westheimer. The third, replacing Trump Burger, does not yet appear
to be open.

Its ownership is unclear, but has involved several of Trump Burger’s key players. Per the Texas comptroller’s database, Beainy registered a company under the name Empire Pizza & Pasta LLC in February 2023, and Abuelhawa registered one as Empire Pizza NY Style LLC in July 2023.

A person named Gulam Sahriar also registered similarly-named companies, and
in his initial filings on the Texas Secretary of State website, he listed Beainy as a managing member. In amendments this year, Sahriar removed
Beainy as managing member.

Abuelhawa said he used to own Empire Pizza and that Beainy “stole it from
me.” Beainy declined to comment; his lawyer did not respond to questions
about the ownership of the pizza chain.
Kemah

409 Bradford Ave., Kemah
Trump Burger in Kemah is now Freedom Burgers & Beer Garden.
Trump Burger in Kemah is now Freedom Burgers & Beer Garden.
Jody Schmal/Staff

Since opening in March, the Kemah restaurant has rebranded twice: first to MAGA Burger USA and then, just last week, to Freedom Burgers & Beer Garden.

“We wanted a clean break from the previous names and any confusion around
it,” the restaurant stated on Instagram. “Freedom Burgers is a better fit
for what we’re building.”

A worker onsite told the Chronicle that the restaurant is currently
adjusting its hours and expanding the beer garden.

This location has spawned multiple lawsuits in its short lifespan.

In June, Trump Burger Kemah LLC sued landlord Archie Patterson and his companies, alleging that they had breached the lease and forced the
restaurant off the premises without proper notice of breach. Patterson then took over the restaurant, the lawsuit alleged.

Patterson pushed back with a lawsuit in July, accusing Trump Burger Kemah, Beainy and two of his partners of having failed to pay back fees or
properly maintain the property. He told the Chronicle in July that a new tenant had taken the property over and begun running the restaurant as MAGA Burger USA.

Per Galveston County court records, a trial is scheduled for May 2026.

At the end of September, Patterson told the Chronicle that a new name
change was in the works, as Beainy sued yet again — this time for trademark infringement. Patterson called it a “frivolous” lawsuit at the time, and trademark experts said they thought the claim was unlikely to succeed,
seeing as President Trump, not Beainy, has the rights to the Trump name for use with restaurants. The case is ongoing in Texas Southern District Court.

Following the announcement of the Freedom Burgers name on social media, Patterson told the Chronicle, “We just leased our stuff out to someone
else.” He declined to comment further on the restaurant.
Bellville

233 S. Front St., Bellville
Bellville's Trump Burger has rebranded as President Burger.
Bellville's Trump Burger has rebranded as President Burger.
Aviva Bechky/Houston Chronicle

The Trump Burger concept got its start in Bellville, when Abuelhawa and Hamedah rebranded their restaurant the Bellville Cafe as Trump Cafe shortly before the 2016 election. But the restaurant there no longer bears the
Trump Burger name, either.

Luis Pita, who said he bought the location from Abuelhawa last fall,
rebranded it to President Burger at the beginning of the year. Once Trump
won re-election, Pita said he wanted to “respect the president” through the new name.

The Bellville store is “totally independent” from the other locations now, Pita said.

The rebrand hasn’t affected the look of the store, though. Images of Trump giving a thumbs-up paper the outside, and some of the signage on the side still bears the name Trump Burger. The Trump Burger remains the first item
on the menu, and Trump flags hang from the windows.
Flatonia

110 W. North Main St., Flatonia
The Trump Burger location in Flatonia now displays the name MAGA Burger.


The lettering on the exterior of the Flatonia location now declares it to
be MAGA Burger, though a banner directly below still reads “Trump Burger
MAGA 2024.”

An employee at the restaurant, who would not share his name, declined to
say more about the name or ownership of the Flatonia restaurant.

This location, too, is caught up in a legal dispute.

Beainy sued Abuelhawa in 155th District Court, seeking damages between $100,000 and $200,000. In the lawsuit, he claimed that he purchased 50% ownership in Trump Burger from Abuelhawa in January this year. After that, Beainy alleged, Abuelhawa continued to demand more compensation and made threats to Beainy as well as to his own spouse and the manager of the restaurant.

The presiding judge granted a temporary injunction banning Abuelhawa from contacting Beainy or approaching the Flatonia property.

In his response, Abuelhawa’s lawyer denied every allegation in Beainy’s
suit, said Beainy had not shown proof of a contract regarding ownership and sought damages of more than $1 million in return. The response argued that Beainy’s suit was designed “to defraud Iyad Abuelhawa of his ownership interest in Trump Burger, LLC.”

The lawsuit is expected to go to a jury trial in March 2026.
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