behind last month’s announcement Chef Barbara Lynch, who said she would close and sell her remaining restaurants, is currently being sued by the city of Boston for nearly $1.7 million in unpaid personal property taxes.

The famous but embattled chef said there were “large amounts of unpaid taxes” at his seven restaurants in Fort Point, the South End and Beacon Hill that had gone unaddressed for more than a decade, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court.

The case is Lynch No. 9 Park claims to owe $589,430 in back taxes and $156,188 B&G Oysters, dating back to 2011; $515,107 in Menton and $134,714 in Drink unpaid since 2015; $148,269 unpaid at the Butcher Shop since 2013; $124,995 at Sportello, dating back to 2012; and $8,003 in taxes accrued in Stir since 2017.

The lawsuit alleges that Lynch has consistently failed to pay personal property taxes “except for paying one tax per entity in August 2021.” evaluated based on equipment, fixtures and other business materials. These taxes continue to increase at a rate of $366.94 per day. The city sent final notices to the chef’s seven restaurants in January this year; In the following months, more than $20,000 in back taxes were assessed against many of Lynch’s restaurants.

Lynch, a South Boston girl whose journey from public housing to the upper echelons of fine dining has placed her among an elite class of celebrity chefs, has faced a series of debilitating challenges over the past few years that have upended both her career and her hometown. restaurant empire.

In March 2023, Two former employees file class-action lawsuit Against the James Beard award-winning chef He failed to pay tips to staff after his restaurants reopened after being closed during the pandemic. Like many restaurants, Lynch’s group applied for federal Paycheck Protection Plan loans to help keep the business afloat in 2020; South End seafood spot B&G Oysters received nearly $888,974 in PPP loans, and Lynch’s Fort Point cocktail bar Drink received more than $1.3 million. case still ongoing.

A month later, more than a dozen former employees filed reports about long-standing problems in Lynch’s kitchens, saying the chef’s inappropriate behavior and hostile actions sparked a scandal. toxic workplace culture. Lynch, herself a sexual assault survivor, wrote in her memoirs about her past problems with alcohol and dismissed the allegations as “fantastic”.

“I expressly deny the various false accusations made against me that I have acted inappropriately with employees or violated professional rules that are important to me,” he said in a statement at the time. “I cannot put out all the fires burning in this high-stress environment, and my humble roots allow me to understand that I am beyond reproach.”

But all the arguments came at a cost. In the following months, Lynch withdrew from his Boston restaurants, and by September, The Butcher Shop in the South End went dark.

In January of this year, Lynch announced that he would: close three Fort Point restaurants – Menton, Sportello and Drink – and sold The Butcher Shop and Stir to former employees, a move that resulted in the dismissal of 100 workers. He said at the time that he planned to focus his efforts on executing his newest endeavor. Rudder, A seaside seafood restaurant in Gloucester where he lives upstairs.

Six days later, the city submitted its final notices to the chief for unpaid taxes.

Then last month Lynch shared a post Instagram post He said he was shutting down The Rudder. By the end of the day, the remaining restaurants in Boston were No. 9 Park and B&G Oysters also announced they would close. In his announcement about the closures, Lynch said financial difficulties in the restaurant business contributed to his decision.

“The harsh realities of the global pandemic and the many challenges faced require significant investments that neither I nor my fellow shareholders are prepared to make,” Lynch wrote. “We are working hard to complete sales that will allow these much-loved organizations to continue, albeit in a small way.”

The city had filed a temporary restraining order against Lynch in court to protect assets so that back taxes would be paid if the restaurants were sold.

A representative for Lynch did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.

Sean Cotter of Globe Staff contributed to this report.

Read the full transcript of the lawsuit below.

Janelle Nanos can be reached at [email protected]. follow him @janellenanos.