This Steakhouse Company Went From Feeding Presidents To Bankruptcy

A unique aspect of Washington, D.C., restaurants is that at any given time, the President could come in for dinner on a night out from the White House. U.S. presidents have their favorite foods and drinks, but steak is always a popular choice for both regular Americans and the leader of the Free World. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump (in his first term) both dined at BLT Restaurant Group's D.C. steakhouses, Obama at BLT Steak and Trump at BLT Prime. However, the business declared bankruptcy just a few years later, a steep fall from its presidential heights.

The company began in 2004 with BLT Steak in New York City. Its name was an abbreviation of Bistro Laurent Tourondel, after its French chef founder. Tourondel opened another Manhattan steakhouse, BLT Prime, the following year, and other locations eventually opened in other cities and countries. (Tourondel separated from business partner Jimmy Haber in 2012 under a settlement that allowed Haber's company to keep using the names.)

Obama's visits to D.C.'s BLT Steak included a 48th birthday dinner in 2012 for his wife Michelle, where they were served special off-menu steak and seafood courses by the restaurant (per News4 Washington). Trump was a regular at BLT Prime, which opened at his Trump International Hotel two months before the 2016 election. His standard order was shrimp cocktail, a well-done steak, fries, and the crisp, airy popovers also served by BLT Steak, with Diet Cokes presented in a seven-step process, and apple pie or chocolate cake if he wanted dessert.

Restaurants were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the BLT group was among the many that received federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. However, even with some of the $3.3 million loan forgiven, its recovery didn't go well enough to allow it to pay back the $1.3 million still owed. It also had $7.8 million in other loans and was denied money from the government's Restaurant Revitalization Fund. As a result, the business filed for bankruptcy in March 2022.

Some of the company's restaurants had closed before the bankruptcy, and more did so after. BLT Prime in D.C. shuttered one month later, a closing also related to the hotel becoming a Waldorf Astoria, since its lease was with Trump International. BLT Steak shut down its D.C. location in 2024.

There are now two BLT Primes left in Manhattan and at Trump's National Doral golf resort in Miami. Seven BLT Steaks remain, all outside the U.S.: three in Japan; two in South Korea; one in Aruba; and one in Turks & Caicos. The company presents the Steak brand as a take on classic American steakhouses, and Prime as a more modern version. However, its current offerings are very similar, with both brands featuring dishes such as tuna tartare, thick-cut bacon, sautéed Dover sole, and, of course, steak. It serves USDA Prime Black Angus, ranging from smaller filet mignons and Wagyu skirt steaks to 36-ounce porterhouses, and even 40-ounce tomahawk ribeyes at the Aruba restaurant.