Atlanta_Guy

No Captain Pedantic (aka Bozo) - you missed the point. You’re arguing over the label instead of the substance Johnson’s isn’t a defining issue for the LGBTQ community.. It’s a serious issue because it represents what happens when a successful business ends up in the hands of people who appear unable to preserve what they bought. Johnson’s wasn’t some dying club circling the drain. In less than ten years, it built a national reputation and became one of the premier gay male entertainment venues in the country. That’s hard to do. Building a successful business takes vision, discipline, and years of work. Destroying one can happen in a matter of months. Who pays the price? The dancers wondering if payroll is coming. The bartenders and DJs. The vendors who may not get paid. The landlord. The loyal customers who lose a place they loved. The local community that loses a business that had become a destination. And the damage doesn’t stop there. Every time something like this happens, it reinforces the narrative that gay nightlife is in decline. That’s one less thriving venue, one less reason for people to go out, and one more independent success story that may disappear. Whether the cause is incompetence, chronic undercapitalization, or something else is ultimately for the facts to determine. But when multiple acquisitions are followed by closures, eviction actions, reported payroll problems, and growing controversy, people are justified in asking hard questions. So no, this isn’t a crisis for the LGBTQ community. It’s something worse in a different way. It’s a cautionary tale about what can happen when ambition outpaces execution, and when the people entrusted with preserving successful businesses leave them weaker than they found them. That’s why this matters.

I wonder how serious it would be if you didn’t get your paycheck after your clown show? What’s that? Oh, you say you do it for free. Would that be because no one would hire you to do a clown show?

If the clown was trying to do satire he isn’t good at it and should stick to something more in line with his skill set such as pie or water gags, balloon twisting, juggling, unicycle riding or animal impressions.

Distinguished career? ROTFLMAO 🤣 What a load of sh… I mean fertilizer. Don’t surprised if there are indictments issued against some of the officers and former officers of Pride Holdings Group. Based on the information currently available, there are a number of significant red flags that would concern employees, landlords, vendors, and anyone considering doing business with Pride Holdings Group. Pride Holdings Group: A Pattern of Operational and Financial Red Flags Pride Holdings Group (formerly Parliament House Enterprises) markets itself as a rapidly expanding LGBTQ hospitality holding company. Its public messaging emphasizes aggressive acquisitions, global expansion, and long-term growth. However, recent events paint a starkly different picture. Rather than isolated setbacks, the company’s history shows a recurring pattern of ambitious announcements followed by operational failures, unpaid obligations, closures, and disputes. 1. Rapid acquisition strategy followed by rapid collapse Throughout 2025 and early 2026, Pride Holdings Group announced acquisition after acquisition: AquaPlex Fort Lauderdale AquaPlex Key West / Birdcage Cabaret Johnson’s Tampa Club One Savannah Lucky’s West Palm Beach International properties in Australia, Bali, and Italy The public narrative was one of explosive expansion. Yet within months: Both AquaPlex locations shut down. Lucky’s closed. Johnson’s Tampa became the subject of an eviction lawsuit. Multiple announced projects have failed to materialize or have largely disappeared from company communications. A pattern in which newly acquired businesses close shortly after acquisition raises legitimate questions about the company’s integration strategy, capitalization, and operational management. 2. Eviction lawsuit in Tampa One of the most significant warning signs is the lawsuit involving Johnson’s Tampa. According to court filings reported by Watermark Out News, the landlord alleges: repeated lease defaults, unpaid rent, unpaid taxes and other lease obligations, multiple prior defaults, operation of the business without landlord approval following the acquisition, continued possession while allegedly failing to make required payments. Although company management later stated that some rent had been paid and negotiations were underway, the existence of the lawsuit itself reflects serious financial distress. 3. Payroll problems Perhaps the most troubling allegations involve employees. Reports from performers and former staff describe: bounced payroll checks, delayed payroll, missed payroll, uncertainty about whether taxes withheld from employee paychecks were actually remitted. If true, these issues go well beyond ordinary cash-flow problems. Failure to remit payroll tax withholdings can expose a company—and potentially responsible officers—to significant IRS and state tax liability. At present, these are allegations reported by employees and media; I have not found evidence that a government agency has publicly concluded such violations occurred. 4. Constant leadership changes The company has experienced notable executive turnover. In July 2026: CEO Michael Barrett retired. The company announced new interim leadership. Management attributed some operational problems to the dismissal of two CFOs whose departures allegedly disrupted financial records and payment systems. Frequent turnover in senior financial leadership is often viewed as a governance risk, particularly when accompanied by payment issues. 5. History of abandoned business models Before becoming Pride Holdings Group, the company pursued several unrelated ventures. Among them: hemp/CBD businesses, redevelopment plans for the Parliament House brand, multiple corporate restructurings and rebrandings. Several of these initiatives never became meaningful long-term operations, suggesting a recurring pattern of announcing ambitious ventures that either stall or disappear. 6. Promotional announcements versus operational reality One striking contrast is the company’s public messaging. During the same period that venues were reportedly: closing, facing eviction, struggling with payroll, experiencing financial disputes, the company continued issuing optimistic press releases announcing: record growth, global expansion, acquisition pipelines, $100 million in assets, transformational milestones. While companies often present their best face publicly, the disconnect between promotional announcements and reported operational difficulties is noteworthy. Overall assessment Based solely on publicly available information, Pride Holdings Group exhibits numerous warning signs commonly associated with financially distressed organizations: aggressive acquisition strategy without demonstrated operational stability; multiple venue closures in a short period; landlord litigation over alleged unpaid obligations; reported payroll disruptions; allegations regarding payroll tax remittance; repeated executive turnover; frequent strategic pivots and abandoned initiatives; optimistic public messaging despite mounting operational problems. Taken together, these issues suggest a company experiencing significant operational and financial strain. While some allegations remain disputed and have not been adjudicated, the overall pattern is one that would reasonably cause concern for employees, business partners, landlords, and others evaluating the company’s reliability.

Wouldn’t be surprised if both Johnson’s locations are shut down before the summer is over

He didn’t have to sell….. your argument is illogical. you don’t have to sell bars that make money. He sold the clubs for equity in pride holdings and a promises that Pride Holdings would open new Johnson’s locations

The Chicago situation is being wildly overused here as a kind of political Ouija board — as if chanting “woke activists” explains unpaid liquor distributors in Florida. Let’s separate emotion from arithmetic. Chicago may very well have been kneecapped by community politics. Fine. Even if I grant that 100%, it still has zero explanatory power for what’s happening right now at the Florida clubs. Liquor distributors don’t cut you off because of activism. Cleaning crews don’t stop showing up because of ideology. Landlords don’t file eviction notices because someone was cancelled three years ago in another city. Those things happen for exactly one reason: the owners aren’t paying their bills. And Matt hasn’t controlled the books, the bank accounts, or vendor payments since the sale. That’s not opinion — that’s how ownership works. Blaming him for this is like blaming the architect of a house for the foreclosure after he sold it and moved out. If we want to criticize Matt for not doing deeper due diligence on the buyers, that’s fair. But the real cause of Johnson’s issues is Pride Holdings — their financial condition isn’t mysterious or ideological. Their own filings show no operating revenue in 2024, multiple unfinished properties, and a long, documented history of bankruptcies and creditor disputes. That’s not “community backlash.” That’s a balance sheet screaming. You can tell stories about Chicago all day if it makes you feel better. But it won’t mop the floors or buy liquor in Tampa or Fort Lauderdale. This isn’t culture war drama. It’s owners extracting cash from one asset to prop up failing projects elsewhere — and vendors eventually stop playing along. The clubs aren’t in trouble because they were controversial. They’re in trouble because someone stopped paying the bills. Quote

You’re right. I’ll move it

I am providing information here. Not speculation…. The sale involved stock/shares in the company and promises…..not cash. He can’t “buy it back”. And even if the new owners were willing to exchange the stock for the bars… they’ve taken money and run up bills… which is why the Tampa club has received an eviction notice, vendors haven’t been paid, liquor distributors haven’t been paid… it’s fucked up!!! If you really think I’m blowing smoke look at these financial statements…. Prior to “buying” Johnson’s they had no revenue for all of 2024. their website is just a bunch of bullshit. They are crooks. They are destroying Johnson’s… it has nothing to do with wokeness, it has nothing to do with being “pushed out” in Wilton manors or Tampa bay It’s all about the majority owners of Pride Holdings. PRIDE Holdings Group | Leader in the LGBTQ+ Community PRIDEHOLDINGSGROUP.COM Welcome to PRIDE Holdings Group Your LGBTQ+ publicly traded company Come join us and support your company! At PRIDE Holdings Group, our vision is to... Parliament House Enterprises Financial Statements 2022-2025 | PHSE WWW.MACROTRENDS.NET Ten years of annual and quarterly financial statements and annual report data for Parliament House Enterprises (PHSE). Income statements, balance sheets, cash...

Both clubs are at risk.

Matt is not responsible for this mess… except in the fact he didn’t do enough investigation on his buyers. Matt has had no control of the money since he sold the business. The new owners are handling all accounting. There has still been revenue coming in. So, how the hell is Matt responsible for the blatant dishonestly of the new owners

There are multiple sources. I don’t do rumors. I’m talking to people who know. In Tampa and fort Lauderdale. It’s worse than I thought. They can’t even buy liquor right now because they haven’t paid their liquor distributor. They haven’t paid their cleaning crews… I’m not sure if they have made payroll. Here is what I’ve learned about the “Pride holdings group” everyone knows they have no money. They haven't been able to finish the build out on their new nightclub (Parliament House) since before Covid. And then they leased another building to open it first and the alcohol wet zoning had dried up and they couldn't get a liquor license for it and it is just sitting. So they have 2 unfinished properties. And the owners are known crooks. The only reason Parliament House went under was the owners took all the money and didn't pay any bills and filed for bankruptcy multiple times. But the last time they filed, the judge pulled the chair out from under them and said they were intentionally defrauding the State of Florida, The IRS, ETC. And declined to let them file and made them liquidate all their assets to pay off bills.

Johnson’s tampa has received an evictions notice. It appears the new owners are extracting all of the cash flow to pay for the Parliament House reopening. They aren’t paying their bills…:hence the eviction notice

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Well as of Aug 1st they own Johnson’s which means they have two profitable clubs (Johnson’s Tampa and Fort Lauderdale). But if those clubs had a massive income straam they could have expanded without selling… seems they trade their assets for worthless shares.