Palace Theatre sues Wrecktangle Pizza for $1.6 million over failed restaurant partnership

What seemed like a harmonious partnership between the Palace Theatre and Wrecktangle Pizza has struck a discordant note.

The music venue filed a lawsuit last week in Hennepin County District Court alleging the restaurateurs breached their contract and owe $1.6 million fronted to open and operate Wrecktangle Wrestaurant in the heart of downtown St. Paul. The restaurant opened in August 2023 and was hailed as a natural fit between the popular music venue, which is operated by First Avenue, and the popular Detroit-style pizza makers, who had been awarded best pizza in the United States earlier that year by “Good Morning America.”

First Avenue had purchased the former Wild Tymes restaurant space next to the music venue and was looking for a partner. CEO Dayna Frank had met Jeff Rogers and Breanna Evans, two of the three owners of Wrecktangle Pizza, on a video shoot and brought them the idea of a restaurant for people to eat and drink before and after shows that could also serve daily foot traffic in downtown St. Paul.

By all indications, the partnership started strong.

“They have that live music ethos,” Frank told the Star Tribune ahead of the opening. “A little bit of willingness to push the boundaries to go a little bit further, and like a real joie de vivre.”

The restaurant was praised in the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press, with critics noting a more diverse menu showing the restaurateurs pushing themselves outside of their trademark pizza, while also offering additions like a walk-up window for individual slices.

“Where the Wrecktangle pizza crew goes, fun follows,” the Star Tribune wrote. “This supergroup responsible for Minneapolis’ most buzzed-about pan pizza has paired with the nightclub prowess of First Avenue for some superfun nightlife in downtown St. Paul. It’s a no-brainer that this is an ideal destination before or after a show at the Palace — with a late-night menu and pizza window. But it’s a great bar to belly up to any night of the week."

The lawsuit states that Palace Operations and Wrecktangle entered into an operating agreement to create a business entity called Palace Pizza LLC with the music venue owning 51% of the company and the restaurant owning 49%.

In April 2023, Wrecktangle agreed to borrow upwards of $3 million from the Palace to fund the restaurants’ “capital contribution” and make monthly installment payments starting in October 2023, including any interest. Alex Rogers, another owner of Wrecktangle, allegedly signed the guarantee on repayment of the loan for construction and operation of the restaurant. The Palace claims that cost is in excess of $3.3 million and Wrecktangle and Rogers are liable for repayment. The suit says the amount should be determined at trial but is “reasonably believed to be in excess of $1,650,000.”

The lawsuit claims the two parties “jointly agreed” to close the restaurant in Dec. 2024.

In August, Wrecktangle opened a new restaurant inside Wild State Cider in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. In Minneapolis, they still operate their restaurant at the corner of Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street, have outposts at Malcolm Yards and Graze Food Hall, and run their food truck at Falling Knife Brewing Company.

In June, the Palace Pub opened in the place of the former Wrestaurant. It still serves pizza along with burgers, sandwiches and wings but bills itself as more of a bar than a restaurant. Marc Dickhut, the director of general operations for First Avenue, told the Pioneer Press that the restaurant is run entirely in-house.