Glu Hospitality, owner of The Peabody which opened just two weeks on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 15th Street, is shutting down amid a Department of Labor investigation following allegations of wage theft, using expired liquor licenses and lawsuits alleging lease defaulting, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The Peabody is still open under new management from New York. Glu Hospitality also launched Bagels & Co., whose operations will not be affected in the investigation because it has other investors to support it.
The university has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Glu Hospitality workers demanded back pay, safer working conditions, to address “chronic understaffing,” wage theft, W-2 withholding, harassment and tip mishandling at the establishments in an October 2024 CoWorker petition. The campaign has reached more than 3,000 signatures from workers and non-workers.
Other restaurants in Glu Hospitality include Izakaya Fishtown and 1225Raw Sushi & Leda’s Cocktail Lounge, which are now permanently closed, the Chika Ramen Bar, Figo, an Italian restaurant, and Brewerytown Food Hall. The Bagels & Co. chain operates six locations in the immediate Philadelphia region, including one next to The Peabody on Cecil B. Moore Avenue, as well as various locations in Pennsylvania and Florida.
At least six former employees filed back pay wage claims with Glu Hospitality, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Most of its locations had been serving alcohol with expired licenses, including Chika and Izakaya Fishtown.
The Peabody employs about 15 workers, who would be given the opportunity to stay on. The location was once the home of the Draught Horse Pub and Grill, which closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new bar and restaurant was scheduled to open in Fall 2022, then two years later this past November.
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