Peter Thomas Shuts Down Bar One Baltimore

Former Real Housewives of Atlanta husband Peter Thomas has been fighting to keep his Bar One Miami open after being accused of failing to pay his landlord and vendors [click here if you missed that]. 

Now Bar One Baltimore has shut down for good and Peter blames his former employees...

From The Baltimore Banner

Peter Thomas says none of this is his fault.

Bar One, the Harbor East restaurant he opened in 2021, is closed because employees stole from the business, he said. The restaurateur and former reality star, known for a stint on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” as supermodel Cynthia Bailey’s then-husband, told The Baltimore Banner that the alleged stealing led to a drop in revenue. Without offering evidence, Thomas claimed that drop is the reason he stopped paying the company’s bills, including its vendors, employee wages, rent and taxes.

By the time the Lancaster Street lounge shut down in May, “We weren’t making the money to cover payroll,” said Thomas, 62.

Now, the Baltimore business is facing litigation from two vendors plus one former customer who say they are collectively owed more than $50,000. The Maryland comptroller’s office confirmed that Bar One has still not paid more than $80,000 in taxes it owes the state, a debt that led to the suspension of its liquor license this spring. Thomas said he hasn’t paid the $38,000-a-month rent on the property in months.

An ex-employee said he and others walked off the job around Mother’s Day after going weeks without wages. “Nobody got paid, so nobody came to work,” according to Malik Joseph, head chef at the restaurant, who said the establishment still owes him about $4,000 in back wages.

During an interview with The Banner in June to discuss the situation with his restaurant, Thomas spoke scornfully of the city where he has been doing business and said that the murder rate and vacant housing problem demonstrate “there’s a problem from within.” His disdain extended toward its Black residents, including many who worked for him. “There’s a big difference between African Americans in Baltimore City and African Americans in Washington, D.C.,” Thomas said, remarking that people from the nation’s capital are “much more cosmopolitan.”

Such talk was familiar to chef Joseph, who said the restaurateur wasn’t afraid to insult the city in front of staff. “He’ll insult Baltimore while he’s in the Baltimore location,” Joseph said. “He’ll insult Baltimore’s work ethic while in a meeting with nothing but Baltimore” workers.

Bar One North Carolina shut down in 2019.