A Federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the owners of the bygone Cibo in Owings Mills claims its former landlords, David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd., raised their rent and harrased them with maintenance fees as it began to attract more black patrons, the Daily Record reports today.
The lawsuit brought by Cibo's owners, Rinaldo "Aldo" Vitale and his sons, Sergio and Alesssandro, alleges that the landlord's agents "made deragatory comments about Cibo's customers, referring to them as an "undesirable element," the story reports. The agent also interfered with the Vitale's attempts to sell the restaurant to a black couple, asking the couple if they planned to convert the space into a "chicken and waffle shack," the lawsuit alleges, according to the story.
The Vitales are the owners of Aldo's in Little Italy and of the new Chazz: A Bronx Original in Harbor East. Cibo operated at 100 Painters Mill Road from 2003 until last September.