The celebrated but controversial Massachusetts chef is back in hot water just a month after announcing the closure of her remaining restaurants.
Barbara Lynch, 60, an acclaimed American restauranteur, recently announced the official closure of her last three remaining eateries of her once-mighty $24 million restaurant empire in Boston following a series of scandals.
Now, the renowned female chef is now being sued by the city of Boston for nearly $1.7 million in unpaid taxes.
'Ms. Lynch has failed, directly and through her corporate entities, to pay taxes due and owning to the City of Boston despite clear notification from the city,' the lawsuit stated.
'As Ms. Lynch continues to evade these taxes due and has publicly announced her plans to sell her remaining restaurant businesses, the city brings this action to recover the over $1.6 million due and accruing.'
Lynch, who helped kick-start Boston's modern fine-dining scene, opened seven restaurants during her 30-year run in the industry.
But a lawsuit filed on Wednesday through Suffolk Superior Court addressed the 'vast unpaid amount of taxes' across her seven establishments in Fort Point, the South End and Beacon Hill - all of which have gone ignored for more than a decade.
No. 9 Park, Lynch's 4.5 star French restaurant, owes more in taxes than any of her other businesses - more than half a million dollars which date back to 2011.
Barbara Lynch, 60, renowned chef in Boston and an acclaimed American restauranteur, is now being sued by the city of Boston for nearly $1.7 million in unpaid taxes
No. 9 Park, Lynch's 4.5 star French restaurant, owes more in taxes than any of her other businesses - owing more than half a million dollars dating back to 2011
The lawsuit comes just a month after announcing the
closure of her remaining eateries that made up her once-mighty restaurant empire across Boston
She also owes $156,188 in taxes at B&G Oyster, which also dates back to 2011.
The notable but embattled chef owes $515,107 at Menton, another modern French restaurant and
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The lawsuit also claimed that she owes $148,269 in taxes at The Butcher Shop, dating back to 2013, $124,995 at her Italian eatery, Sportello, dating back to 2012 and $8,003 at Stir - a bookstore for cookbooks which also offers classes - that had accrued since 2017.
The suit stated that along with her restaurants' corporate entities, she failed to pay personal property taxes for many years - which are assessed on equipment, fixtures and other business material - except for one payment from each entity in August of 2021.
Lynch's seven restaurants, which accumulated more than $20,000 in back taxes over the last several months, received final notices in January of this year.
Her owed tax money is continuing to grow at a rate of $366.94 a day.
The world-leading chef, who was listed as one of the Time's 100 most influential people in 2017 - is also James Beard Award-winning restaurateur who has received dozens of awards from the foundation.
In 2014, she became the second woman to receive the 'outstanding restaurateur' award, which recognizes those who set high standards in restaurant operations and ownership, The Rudder reported.
Lynch opened seven restaurants during her 30-year run in the industry and is known to have kickstarted Boston's modern fine-dining scene
In January of this year, Lynch announced that she was selling The Butcher Shop to former employees which resulted in 100 lost jobs
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday through Suffolk Superior Court addressed the 'vast unpaid amount of taxes' across all of her seven establishments in Fort Point, the South End and Beacon Hill - most of which have gone ignored for more than a decade
But in recent years, her stellar career began to become overshadowed by accusations of toxic working conditions and bullying claims in her kitchens.
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