Houston's Restaurant Goes To Court To Keep Calories Secret

The NYC Health Department reports "widespread compliance" when it comes to chain restaurants displaying calorie info, as required by a 14-month-old law. But at least one eatery isn't about to be bullied into telling diners how fat the Corned Beef sandwich is making them: The Hillstone Restaurant Group, which operates 30 restaurants across the country, is going to court to defend its right to calorie privacy. The LA-based group, which owns Houston's, has two locations in Manhattan—they were formerly called Houston's until the company changed the name to Hillstone to evade the calorie disclosure law. Oddly, the chain hasn't bothered removing the signs outside that still identify them as Houston's locations. V.P. Glenn Viers tells Crain's the whole "chain" label is insulting and doesn't apply to the classy Houston's Hillstone: "We don’t operate like any other chain, and that’s intentional." The restaurant plans to defend itself in court next month, which will be the first challenge of its kind to the law. The DOH has issued violations to 336 of the 2,691 establishments that fall under the regulation, but most were issued soon after the law went into effect and involved minor technical issues.