Wrecktangle Pizza, Palace Theatre opening a restaurant in St. Paul

Wrecktangle Pizza and the Palace Theatre are joining forces to open Wrestaurant at the Palace, a new full-service restaurant and bar with a walk-up window in downtown St. Paul.

The Detroit-style pizza restaurant from Jeff Rogers and Breanna Evans became a full-on phenomenon after "Good Morning America" recently named it the country's best pizza. The Palace Theatre is a destination concert venue run by the iconic First Avenue and Jam Productions. Wrestaurant at the Palace will pull the two entities together in a full-service eatery with Wrecktangle's hallmark thick and cheese-crusted pizzas, plus sandwiches, slices, new dishes and a distinctive cocktail menu.

"To say we're excited to be working with Wrecktangle is an understatement," said Dayna Frank, First Avenue's owner and CEO, in a statement. "This new partnership is a long time coming and a great addition to the already vibrant area near the Palace Theatre and the Fitzgerald Theater just down the street."

Wrecktangle cautioned not to expect another Wrecktangle location. "This isn't Wrecktangle Pizza, but there will be Wrecktangle pizzas," Rogers said.

Not only will this new venture serve the preshow Palace crowd, but a walk-up window will offer grab-and-go dishes, making it accessible to those who live in and around downtown St. Paul. In the summer, there will plenty of patio seating on the W. 7th Place mall.

Wrecktangle began as a stand inside the North Loop Galley food hall in December 2019 and quickly became a hit with its focaccia-like crust cooked in a deep rectangular pan. A second stand opened inside the Market at Malcolm Yards in summer 2021, and its first full-service restaurant and bar on the corner of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue followed in spring 2022.

The century-old Palace Theatre started as a vaudeville theater in 1916 before being converted into a movie theater in the 1920s that operated until it closed in 1984. After a $15 million renovation, it reopened in 2017 as a destination entertainment venue in downtown St. Paul. The Palace Theatre is owned by the city of St. Paul and is co-managed and co-operated by First Avenue and Jam Productions.

Look for Wrestaurant, at 17 W. 7th Place in St. Paul, to join the lineup this summer.