Pizza restaurant to leave downtown Iowa City spot

IOWA CITY - A popular pizza joint is leaving its downtown Iowa City location.

The Wedge Downtown has asked out of its lease for the city-owned space at 136 S. Dubuque St., which is in the heart of the Pedestrian Mall, and could leave as early as this fall, city officials said.

The Wedge has sold pizzas out of the downtown spot since 2008. It has another restaurant, known as Wedge Pizzeria, on South Riverside Drive.

It's not clear exactly why the Wedge Downtown is closing.

Owner Steve Harding said he did not have any paperwork from the city yet, but when he does, he'll 'tell the whole story.” He would not comment further.

Assistant City Attorney Eric Goers said he does not know Harding's reasons, but 'he's indicating that his current model isn't working.”

The Wedge Downtown is in the second year of a three-year lease agreed to with Iowa City that sets the rent at $6,267 per month for the 4,580-square-foot space.

The restaurant is in commercial space that is part of the Iowa City Public Library building that has been rented out since 2006.

The city offered to extend the lease another two years at the same rent, but the Wedge Downtown asked to be released from its obligations, said Simon Andrew, administrative assistant to the city manager.

The city gave the Wedge a $40,000 low-interest loan in 2008 to help open the downtown location. All but approximately $4,700 of that has been repaid, Andrew said.

The city is negotiating the terms of the Wedge's exit, including the repayment of the rest of the loan, with the restaurant's attorney, Goers and Andrew said.

The city does not yet know what may replace the Wedge Downtown in what is a high-profile location on Iowa City's popular Pedestrian Mall.

'It's an awfully good retail space, and we'd love to get another retailer in there,” said Jeff Davidson, Iowa City's economic development administrator.

Before spring 2013, the Wedge Downtown sublet half of the space from Capanna Coffee. The city evicted Capanna last year for failing to meet its financial obligations.

The Wedge Downtown then took over the full space and continued the coffee business with May's Café. Harding also declined to comment on the café's future.