A former cook at The Post Sports Bar & Grill has been charged with starting a fire at the Maplewood bar, apparently trying to trap employees in the restaurant at the time, according to Maplewood Police.

On April 16, in the evening, Alexander Silver threw what appeared to be two Molotov cocktails at the front entrance of the Post Sports Bar & Grill, according to Maplewood Police.

It happened at a time when the restaurant is normally still occupied by employees. Silver drove his car to the back of the building and blocked the rear exit with his vehicle before lighting the fire, police say. On this particular evening, employees had just closed the bar and were out of building at the time of the fire. There were no injuries.

Maplewood police found Silver using the license plate information of his car abandoned at scene, according to KPLR news. Silver confessed to the crime.

The Post general manager, Dave Sendejas, told KPLR his departure was not acrimonious. “He stopped showing up for work. He walked out on his shift, and after that we parted ways,” he said. “It seems like he had some sinister intentions, with that, you know? I don’t know, you’d have to ask him.”

Silver, of the 7300 block of Manchester Road, was charged with first degree arson and held on $100,000 bond, according to court records.

Chrystal Ray, an artist at Studio:art, in Maplewood, was hired by The Post owners to paint the St. Louis Blues and Cardinals artwork over the plywood where the window was broken.