‘It just doesn’t add up’: Barrie bistro owner faces $38,000 landlord debt dispute

A Notice to Terminate posted on the front door of a downtown Barrie establishment shortly after its closure states the owner owes thousands in rent and utilities, but the owner argues he paid for more than his fair share before closing up shop.

“It just doesn’t add up. Nothing adds up,” said Limoncello Bistro owner Francesco Petrusa.

The notice states Petrusa owes nearly $38,000 in rent and utilities arrears. The Notice to Terminate, dated June 8, lists more than $25,000 in unpaid utilities and almost $10,000 in unpaid rent.

Based on those figures, Petrusa stated that the landlord alleges he hasn’t paid in five years.

“We did pay,” he said. “Why the hell would you keep someone there for five years [if they didn’t pay]?”

Petrusa said he owes more like $2,000 to $3,000 to the property owner if anything.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I’m going to have to file for bankruptcy.”

Limoncello Bistro on Maple Avenue in Barrie, Ont., was broken into multiple times. (CTV News/Catalina Gillies)

The notice was put up the day after Petrusa closed the doors for good.

In an interview with CTV News earlier this month, Petrusa said he could no longer keep his bistro open due to a 50 per cent drop in business after a rash of break-ins and thefts at his Maple Avenue venue.

“Our insurance told us basically that if we put in a claim, our premiums would either go sky high or we’d be dropped as a customer because downtown Barrie now is so high risk,” he explained.

The father of five said he paid thousands over the years for repairs while the establishment was in operation and received no financial help from the property landlord.

“The last two years, we had a series of flooding, [we] have had to operate with no heat in the winter, where we lost three months of business and tens of thousands of dollars. We have had to pay for all structural issues in the building when the issue wasn’t part of our business,” Petrusa noted.

In a Facebook post published early in June, Petrusa stated, “We have put everything we have into this and just have no more to give.”

Petrusa said he has a lawyer looking into the situation.