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As of this morning, Rogue States co-owner and chef Raynold Mendizabal was still undecided about the future of his hip, international burger joint. He met with landlord, TRT, but couldn’t reach a consensus on what to do after a judge gave Rogue States and TRT 30 days to stop venting grill fumes into a neighboring building, where the international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson,has been none too pleased about the beef stench.
They’re going to meet again today to make a decision.
There are essentially three options for Mendizabal and TRT as they await an Oct. 4 trial, which will decide weather Rogue States really is a stinky nuisance to the neighborhood. They can start constructing a costly external vent system to the roof of their building at 1300 Connecticut Ave. NW. They can stop cooking hamburgers. Or they can close Rogue States down until the trial.
Mendizabal wants to build the multi-story vent to the roof, and he says he’s willing to pay for it himself, even though it could run well over $100,000.
“I’m fighting to stay open,” Mendizabal, who’s also a partner in Lima on K Street NW. “I don’t know what the future is…I know that everybody in this fight is huge and has deep pockets.”