[3] The original Capital Grille was founded by Ned Grace, in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1990.

Grace envisioned the restaurant being popular with business and political elite, and his ideas proved to be accurate.

[7] In March 2018, a spinoff restaurant called The Capital Burger was opened in Washington, DC.

In 2012, employees in five states filed lawsuits against the company alleging racial discrimination and wage violations.

Capital Grille employees at the Pittsburgh location and members of the Restaurant Opportunities Center protested having to work on Thanksgiving without receiving holiday pay.