Another day, another Peter Thomas business venture failure, at least according to reports. The former Real Housewives of Atlanta star and ex-husband of Cynthia Bailey’s sketchy business history has been well documented on and off the show. When viewers first met the serial entrepreneur in Season 3 of the Bravo reality series, he was engaged to be married and his Atlanta supper club was a sinking ship, which he blamed on the 2008 recession. He and Bailey’s financial troubles grew as a result, and midway through the season, a week before their scheduled nuptials, he closed the establishment.
By Season 4, he opened Bar One Atlanta, which has since spawned three additional locations in Charlotte, Miami, and Baltimore. All locations have been in the news for various reasons, including employee complaints, leasing issues, and beyond. Now, his South Beach, Miami location has reportedly been shut down due to unpaid rent and the landlord is seeking nearly half a million dollars from Thomas.
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Radar Online reports Thomas has been sued by Bentley Bay Retail LLC. The company claims in the suit they own the property where Bar One is located and admits they entered into a commercial lease agreement with Thomas in 2018. This isn’t their first issue with Thomas. They say he was previously sued for eviction over unpaid payments. Both sides worked out a deal in 2020 where Thomas agreed to pay any outstanding debts. A copy of the settlement shows Bar One agreed to pay $270,000 at the time.
Per the settlement agreement, Thomas/Bar One agreed if any checks were returned for insufficient funds, the deal would be void, resulting in eviction. Multiple payments made by Thomas/Bar One were returned after the deal throughout 2022 and 2023. Thomas now reportedly owes Bentley Bay Retail a total of $422,000 in rent, outstanding costs, utility charges, and sales taxes and they have sued for their money back.
Bailey herself has entered into legal battles post-divorce with Thomas over Bar One business. During their marriage, a dual property that housed Bar One Atlanta and Bailey’s former modeling agency was forced to switch locations after Thomas claimed the building went into foreclosure, despite him making payments to the owner. He promised a new location.
Eventually, he purchased a space. Per Michelle ATLien Brown of StraightFromTheA.com, Bailey loaned Thomas money to purchase the new building. Court documents reveal that Bailey filed a lawsuit against Thomas in an effort to collect the $170,000 she says she contributed to the property, as her name at the time of the suit remained on the deed of the building, and the building was in foreclosure. The suit was eventually settled.
