The manager of the Hollywood Diner wants to continue operating the eatery made famous in Barry Levinson’s film “Diner” and said he was “stunned” when the city reported that he wanted to end his lease.

“I never agreed to that,” Richard T. White said of his purported decision to close the restaurant within 90 days. That agreement was cited in a five-page report submitted yesterday to the Board of Estimates.

Baltimore owns the Hollywood Diner and has been searching for a stable operator of the chrome-clad eatery on East Saratoga Street one block from City Hall.

Trading under the name of Thomasino’s, White was selected to operate the diner and a food service training program for young adults last summer. He opened the doors of the diner in late October.

In its report yesterday, the Real Estate Department praised Thomasino’s vocational program, saying it was “doing very well” based on observations of the students and written feedback from the state Department of Education and Chesapeake Center for Youth Development.

But the report also noted that Thomasino’s had lost nearly $6,000 in the first six months of operation and “it will be a challenge for this business to maintain itself without adequate finances.”

White said he recently met with Walter J. Horton, chief of the Real Estate Department, where the early termination of the lease was floated as an option.

“They felt as though I was not making enough money to be viable here. But you are going to have a deficit as a start-up company, and I have an 18-month lease to be able to produce a viable training program,” White said today.

“Termination of my lease will have a devastating impact on the youth and young adults I am working with,” he added. Currently, he is training three students.

Developing a Training Course

Larrell Campbell, 19, who was waitressing today, said she “loves” the program. Charles Perlie, a 20-year-old trainee, volunteered: “I’m learning a lot. On all levels.” Both said they counted on graduating from the program to land a good food services job.

White has devised a four-month course with both classroom and practical experience. Students are required to rotate through various types of jobs, including dish cleaner, prep person, line server, busboy, salad maker, wait person and storeroom clerk.

Acknowledging that money is tight and that he is one month behind in his $700-a-month rent to the city, White said that he is seeking non-profit status and has applied for a grant from the Abell Foundation.

He said he wants to build up his training program as well as expand the hours of the restaurant, which presently only serves breakfast and lunch.

Other Plans for the Site?

Asked why he thought the city was pressing to terminate his lease, White said he was being “squeezed out” because the city has other plans for the site.

Horton and his boss, City Comptroller Joan Pratt, were not available for comment today.

White said he spoke to Pratt yesterday and filed a protest with the Board of Estimates.

In his protest letter, White wrote: “Not only have I not agreed to terminate my lease, I have also asked for a reduction in the rent of the property. The Diner was designed as a vocational training program and not for making a profit for the City of Baltimore.”

But because the spending board will only “note receipt” of the report (but not actually vote on its contents), the panel typically does not hear protests from outside parties, according to Harriette Taylor, clerk of the board.

But a final decision on whether to open up a dialogue with White is up to the board, led by City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and including Comptroller Pratt.