From employee layoffs and health code violations to lawsuits,
the transformation of Morton's Steakhouse from a standalone
chophouse into a national restaurant chain hasn't been all smooth sailing.
Many restaurant owners were forced to lay off employees during the COVID-19
pandemic as forced closures caused a nosedive in business. Few — if any — of those owners had the
added audacity to claim they were letting workers go as a favor. But Tilman Fertitta
isn't your average restaurant owner, with an estimated worth of approximately $8 billion.
"It's a huge restaurant company,
but I love owning the five casinos. But I really love owning the Houston Rockets."
"Yeah. I'll bet."
Fertitta owns the restaurant and hospitality company Landry's,
which included Morton's The Steakhouse in its portfolio. According to Bloomberg,
the billionaire businessman furloughed roughly 40,000 of his employees — including those at
his restaurants — in March 2020, just as the pandemic started spreading across the country.
While it can be argued that his hand was forced, during an appearance on Fox News,
Fertitta said that he was giving his employees a leg up by laying them off so quickly. Saying,
"You're doing the people a favor if you get them furloughed first
because you have them first to [the] unemployment line after the severance
that you give them. It's a trick that I've learned many years ago."
In July 2022, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ate dinner at the Morton's Washington,
D.C. location. The night out came roughly two weeks after Kavanaugh and
four other justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — a move that would allow
states to prohibit abortion. When pro-choice activists discovered Kavanaugh's dinner plans,
they protested outside the restaurant while the justice dined inside. According to the advocacy
organization Shut Down DC, Kavanaugh had to sneak out of the back of the restaurant to get away.
The incident may not have caused Morton's any significant publicity damage,
had it chosen to simply move on. Instead, the chain released a statement, in which stated,
"Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all of our other patrons at the restaurant were
unduly harassed by unruly protestors. [...] Politics, regardless of your side or views,
should not trample the freedom at play of the right to congregate and eat dinner."
Morton's response was lambasted by news outlets and politicians. But the worst of the backlash
came from the public, who flooded the company's social media and Yelp accounts with negative
responses, even making fake reservations to hamper the steakhouse chains' operations.
Removing a cancer patient from your establishment for breaking
the dress code is a bit more than just a public relations faux pas.
This exact incident took place at a Nashville Morton's Steakhouse in December 2013. According
to the Nashville Scene, Robert Chambers was dining at the restaurant with some
colleagues. The trouble started toward the end of the meal when Roberts — who
was undergoing chemotherapy at the time — became cold and put on a hat. Chambers told the Scene,
"We're two or three minutes away from walking out and the manager comes up behind me and says,
'Would you please take that off in the dining room.' I said, 'Sure.'"
His co-worke rs weren't as forgiving. After trying to explain the circumstances, an argument between
the guests and staff broke out, with management eventually attempting to get the police involved.
The incident made its way to social media where people quickly criticized the steakhouse chain.
According to the Huffington Post, Morton's did its best to right the wrong, publicly
apologizing to Chambers and donating over $2,000 to the local St. Jude's Hospital in his name.
One of the most common secrets that a restaurant tends to hide is health code violations. These
infractions can lead to sub-standard food at best and food-borne illness at worst.
Unfortunately for Morton's, in January of 2023, a restaurant in Charlotte was
cited for multiple health code infractions, according to the Charlotte Observer. The long
list of violations included storing food above required temperatures, storing raw food alongside
ready-to-eat items, storing expired food in coolers, and dust build-up in storage areas.
This resulted in the steakhouse receiving a "B" grade from the local health department.
While this was the fifth "B" grade this particular Morton's location received in less than 12 months,
according to North Carolina state law, a restaurant is only required to maintain "C"
grade in order to retain its operating permit. The Observer reported that the restaurant did
correct some of its violations during the inspection. But, for the sake of all the
steak-loving North Carolinians out there, let's hope they got around to addressing the others.
It's one thing when advertising attempts to specifically appeal to men. It's another
when the advertising simultaneously pushes away women. In the lead up to Father's Day in 2022,
Morton's put up a billboard with the headline, "We Call It A Menu For A Reason," spelling
out "men" in a different color. The implication? Steak is only for men.
"Who wants some man meat?"
"I do! I want some man meat."
"Michael, Dwight would like your man meat."
"Well then, my man meat he shall have."
Author Michael Beschloss posted an image of the billboard to Twitter with the caption,
"Morton's should re-think its billboards." While some responded in defense of the chain,
many became firmly entrenched in the opposite camp. One user commented,
"Well, one more place to put on the 'won't go list."
Another chimed in,
"Morton's Steakhouse: WOMEN aren't interested. Good luck staying in business."
Though, one party that didn't seem to have an issue with the billboard
was Michael Walter Advertising — the Chicago-based creative agency who came
up with the idea. The company claims that its holiday-specific publicity outreach
for Morton's helped the steakhouse chain record single-day sales records.
Morton's Steakhouse opened its first restaurant in Chicago in
1978. Over the next several decades, it expanded across the United States,
and eventually went international. Morton's website states that its footprint has grown to
include more than 65 restaurants. But more recently, that number has been dropping.
According to Restaurant Business Online, Morton's United States
locations started decreasing in 2019 — at first to 63. As of April 2023,
the chain's website lists 55 American locations, which includes the one in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The recent closures aren't surprising when factoring in the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on
the restaurant industry. This was apparently the main force behind the decision to shut down its
original location in Chicago in November, 2020. Morton's COO Tim Whitlock claimed in a statement,
"Due to COVID-19 and the city's repetitive elimination of dine-in services,
we are deeply saddened to announce the closing of the original Morton's The Steakhouse on State
Street. We are grateful for the support of our community over the last 42 years."
An upscale steakhouse chain such as Morton's is bound to attract some powerful diners.
But we all know powerful people don't always behave. This, of course, includes politicians.
This poor behavior was on full display at a Florida Morton's location in early 2022.
According to The New York Times, a Miami city commissioner was having lunch when a lobbyist
approached his table — the son of a different Miami politician. Depending on whose version
of the story is considered more believable, the lobbyist either hit or grazed the commissioner.
"Are we going to stand around here all day? Or are we going to fight."
The ensuing melee led other Morton's diners to call the police — causing
an even larger scene when officers arrived at the restaurant. But this tussle wasn't
the first time Morton's was linked to some alleged political wrongdoing. In March 2021,
the New York Post reported that Federal Election Committee records showed New Jersey senator Bob
Menendez had spent an outrageous $298,000 at the steakhouse chain since 2003. We all know how we
spend our money is our business. However, the problem with Menendez's habitual steak dinners
was that the meals were paid for by his campaign donors. A political consultant told the Post,
"He spent enough money on steak and cigars to buy
a new house in New Jersey. It's the best lobbyist-funded lifestyle money can buy."
At least two separate disability discrimination lawsuits have been filed against Morton's
Steakhouse in recent years. The first came from a former employee who claimed to have
been unjustly fired due to a medical condition. According to the Legal Aid Society, in 2012,
Richard Pelz was working as an assistant manager at a San Francisco Morton's location when he
suffered a traumatic brain injury that forced him to take a leave of absence. Pelz presented
management with notes from his doctor confirming the need to miss work and was reportedly told
by Morton's to take as much time as he needed. However, a few months after sustaining the injury,
he received a letter stating that he had been terminated. Pelz's lawyer Jinny Kim claimed,
"Extended leaves of absence constitute one type of reasonable accommodation afforded
under the disability provisions of state and federal law."
A few years later, Morton's was sued again for disability discrimination,
this time by someone outside of the company. A New York man filed a lawsuit against the
steakhouse chain in 2017 for allegedly making its website inaccessible to the
blind. The man claimed to have used his screen reader in an attempt to access the site but
was prevented from doing so due to various accessibility barriers. The suit claimed that
blind customers were discriminated against as they were unable to use Morton's website
to find the restaurant locations or when trying to purchase certain products online.
Morton's Steakhouse was hit with several wage lawsuits in the early 2000s. The most notable
of these was filed in 2005 by one former Massachusetts employee before expanding
to a class-action suit representing workers across the country. The group
claimed that Morton's prohibited waitstaff from keeping all of their tips. Instead,
workers were required to share their tips with other employees,
including managers who typically wouldn't be categorized as tipped employees. This resulted
in waitstaff being paid less than the federal minimum wage. The lawsuit also claimed that
Morton's had previously been investigated for wage violations but never changed its policy.
"Does this story seem possible?"
The legal battles came to an end in 2009 when Morton's Steakhouse agreed
to settle all the pending wage lawsuits. The deal stipulated that the chain would
pay an undisclosed amount and issue stock to all the plaintiffs. Morton's, however,
did not admit any wrongdoing and said the settlement was simply the company's
best option. Scott Levin, the chain's senior vice president and general counsel, claimed,
"Eliminating the distraction and expense of this litigation will allow our management
team and employees to focus on what we do best: Offering our guests warm,
genuine hospitality and 'the best steak anywhere.'"
A former sous chef named Reggie Williams filed a lawsuit against the chain in the fall of
2011. Williams claimed that he was sexually assaulted by fellow employees while working
at a Florida Morton's location. He alleged that criminal behavior was rampant and that
management knew about it but did nothing. Williams' lawyer Jorge Silva told Forbes,
"The climate in the restaurant is that employees better have a
thick skin or they don't belong. Some workers who complained were fired."
The lawsuit didn't just present legal trouble for Morton's. It also included some shocking
food safety allegations. Williams claimed that the chef in charge of preparing vegetables
would "place stalks of asparagus inside his underwear, next to his anal/genital area."
"Then, just as easily, remove them from their trousers put them back on the plate,
and proceed to serve them."
Silva also added,
"Reggie and other kitchen staffers called attention to the food handling practice,
but management did nothing."
The lawsuit described the chef's behavior as an "utterly revolting
stomach-turning act reminiscent of the worst fast food B movie."
"Guacamole for the steak."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? Come on, man. You can't be mixing Mexican and Continental."
Morton's didn't publicly address the lawsuit,
but did defend its food safety practices. In a statement, the chain alleged that
it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for food safety violations and that,
"All Morton’s employees receive certifications and training for
food safety and exceed federal, state, and local guidelines."
Nothing will clear a room, or a restaurant, faster than an act of violence. Unfortunately,
that's precisely what happened at a Florida Morton's Steakhouse.
As reported by the Florida Times-Union, in September 2021, two teenagers were shot at
a Morton's restaurant inside the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel. Police reported
that the incident took place during a private party being held at Morton's. At some point
during the festivities, an altercation broke out in a nearby bathroom, which ultimately led to the
shooting. One of the victims, who was just 19 years old, later succumbed to their injuries.
Some initial reports indicated that the shooting occurred inside the restaurant. However,
a Morton's public relations representative later clarified to the Times-Union that the incident
took place in a bathroom just outside the steakhouse. Technicalities aside,
the commotion caused a major scare for everyone. One witness told the newspaper,
"I heard something that sounded like gunshots. I don't know where it was coming from,
but I definitely heard it. It was one, two, maybe one, two, three shots."
Another hotel guest described the ensuing mayhem,
"Instantly there were ambulances, fire trucks, police cars. [...] They came over
the intercom and told us to stay where we were. Literally the whole lobby was crime scene tape."