Winnipeg-born businessman Pepper Foster — best known as half of the duo Chip and Pepper — is being sued by a bank that alleges it’s owed nearly $700,000 after he and his brother took over an iconic local bakery brand.
The Royal Bank of Canada filed a statement of claim on June 13 in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench against Foster and a numbered company.
The suit says the company is a bakery and that Foster is its sole director. Previously court documents indicate the numbered company operates as KUB Bread.
The lawsuit said Foster breached agreements by failing to pay back money he borrowed on a line of credit with a $500,000 limit, and a Visa credit card with a limit of $75,000.
In total, Foster now owes the bank $681,988.53, which includes accrued interest, according to the lawsuit.
Foster and his twin brother, Chip, took over Winnipeg’s KUB brand after the bakery, founded in Winnipeg’s North End in 1923, closed in November 2022.
The brothers, known for their Chip and Pepper line of tie-dye clothing that was hugely popular in the 1980s and 1990s, said in early 2023 they hoped to collaborate with other small bakeries to keep the KUB brand on shelves.
Chip Foster is not named in Royal Bank’s lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Pepper Foster accepted the line of credit and credit card agreements around mid-June last year, but has failed to pay principal and interest when due.
The suit said Foster failed to notify the bank of any “adverse change in the financial condition” of the company.
It says the bank sent a registered letter in March demanding payment to Foster at his last known address. He now lives in California, according to the suit.
However, he “continues to neglect or refuse to pay the remaining debt,” the suit alleges.
Foster’s lawyer could not be reached for a comment prior to publishing.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and a statement of defence hasn’t been filed.