Peter Thomas, who gained widespread attention through then-wife Cynthia Bailey‘s role on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, has made a name for himself with his chain of Bar One restaurants.
However, various employees are coming forward and accusing Peter of skimping them out of their hard-earned money, prompting an investigation from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Former ‘Bar One Miami’ GM Speaks Out: “They Didn’t Care”
During a chat with Justin Carter of TSR Investigates, Alecia Hunt—the former general manager at Bar One Miami—detailed her brief time working for Peter Thomas.
Upon being hired in April 2023, Alecia noted she “saw the potential” and wanted to help the business thrive.
However, after 42 days, she noticed that there were some major issues at play, including employees not being paid on time.
“These people are here to collect their checks. I need to be able to pay them, and they didn’t care.”
Additionally, Alecia said she was forced to step in to help out the employees—some of whom were “literally homeless.”
“I had two of the employees that were actually sleeping at an Airbnb with me, as well as one guy that I had to let sleep at night in the restaurant, which I got in trouble for, because they hadn’t paid him. And it was raining outside—he was literally homeless.”
Alecia and Peter ultimately got into some major beef over their disagreements on the situation. She says that he still owes her “almost $5,600.”
Tax Lien Tea, Commentary From Peter Thomas, & The U.S. Dept. Of Labor’s Investigation
With Alecia Hunt’s claims in mind, we should add that Bar One Miami was hit with a whopping $66,155.91 tax lien in February over delinquent sales and use tax.
Additionally, on Jun. 7, the South Florida establishment was hit with a $77,091.03 tax lien for similar reasons.
“You have no idea how unprofessionally this business was ran. You couldn’t track any costs—you couldn’t track food costs, you couldn’t track liquor costs, you couldn’t track anything.”
The Shade Room reached out to Peter Thomas for comment, and he declared that he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
“Y’all going to run with what works for y’all … at the end of the day I will still be here.”
He added, “Been here fro[m] 1985, and put on more people [than] y’all can imagine.”
As for the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the agency confirmed that its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) was actively investigating the Bar One situation.
Peep the full episode of TSR Investigates down below.