It was early December when Gregory Pranzo spoke to the director of facilities for the Cordish Companies. Pranzo complained in a phone call about his Baltimore restaurant, Docks on the Harbor. He just might close down one night and take everything inside, he said. He was opening another Docks, this time in Memphis.

Less than a week later, the restaurateur did just that, according to a lawsuit filed in Baltimore Circuit Court. Security camera footage from the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 2024, shows Pranzo in a gray sweatsuit loading up barstools, decor and cooking equipment from his Inner Harbor restaurant into a truck. The suit compares the paunchy restaurateur to “Bob Irsay stealing the Colts in a Mayflower truck.”

The following day, The Banner reported the restaurant appeared closed and its social media presence was scrubbed.

Now, the Cordish Companies, which is Pranzo’s landlord — as well as The Baltimore Banner’s — is suing the restaurateur for unpaid rent plus other damages to the tune of more than $8.1 million. Cordish is also asking for permission to take the money from Pranzo’s Wells Fargo bank account.

Pranzo could not be reached for comment and has not responded to the lawsuit.

Docks Baltimore LLC is listed as “not in good standing” on online state records. In November, the state comptroller’s office recorded a more than $200,000 lien against the business for unpaid taxes. In addition to the suit from Cordish, Docks faces litigation from media company Clear Channel Outdoor, which alleges the restaurant owes more than $120,000 for advertising work.

Cordish alleges Pranzo took the equipment from his Baltimore restaurant to another Docks location he owns in Tennessee. Since the restaurateur defaulted on the terms of his lease by closing his business, the furniture and other property he took rightfully belonged to Cordish, according to the suit.

Pranzo appears to own two restaurants with the same concept as Baltimore’s Docks, both called Docks off 5th. One branch is located in New York City’s Rockefeller Center and another on historic Beale Street in Memphis. No one answered the phone at either location and an email sent to the restaurant bounced back.

But videos posted on social media show the eateries are similar in appearance and menu to the now-shuttered restaurant at 621 E. Pratt St., down to the faux floral decor and brightly colored cocktails served with miniature rubber duckies.

An investigation by The Baltimore Sun found Pranzo has a pattern of opening and abruptly closing restaurants. As a former Wahlburgers franchisee, he was named Restaurateur of the Year in Myrtle Beach in 2017.

But his employees at the South Carolina spot later alleged bounced paychecks and other financial problems. Around that time, he opened numerous other concepts around the South, including a branch of Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen & Bar. All have since closed, The Sun reported.

Pranzo’s previous failures didn’t prevent him from taking on a new concept in Charm City in 2022. Docks on the Harbor opened its doors the following May.

According to a copy of Pranzo’s lease included with the suit, the rent for Docks on the Harbor started at about $33,000 per month and would increase each year. In addition to the base rent, Pranzo agreed to pay Cordish a portion of sales from the restaurant. The eatery was designed after another restaurant Pranzo previously owned, the now-closed Doc’s Baja Surf Grill in Connecticut.

The lawsuit alleges that Pranzo stopped paying rent for his Baltimore space last October. He owes just around $130,000, but Cordish wants to collect on money he would have paid had he stuck around for the duration of his 10½-year lease, plus other damages.

The Inner Harbor location of Docks was previously home to another restaurant, Dick’s Last Resort, which closed in 2020. In 2021, Cordish sued Dick’s for about $581,000 in unpaid rent and other damages, though the developer later dropped the lawsuit.