Madison's favorite dumpling restaurant may soon be closing its doors. Pel'meni, 505 State St., has been the subject of an ownership battle for the past year and a half and may, in its current form, close within the next month, according to two Pel'meni employees who wished to remain anonymous.
Paul Schwoerer, current owner of Pel'meni, came to Madison from the original Pel'meni restaurant in Alaska. Schwoerer and the owner of the Alaskan restaurant decided to open a Pel'meni in Madison with ownership split between them, one of the employees said.
Then, about a year and a half ago, Schwoerer was accused of stealing from his Alaskan partner, according to the employee.
Schwoerer immediately began looking into the restaurant paperwork, which had been managed by his partner in Alaska, and found that he was not even listed on the ownership agreement.
He then began efforts to establish himself as owner in Madison, increasing tensions between him and his Alaskan partner, the employee said.
The Alaskan owner responded by filing a lawsuit against Schwoerer, and the two have been battling for complete ownership of the Madison Pel'meni ever since. But Schwoerer's money is running out.
The two men have been unable to reach a settlement and, according to a source close to the story, the Alaskan owner is willing to spend as much money as he needs to take over the Madison restaurant.
The Pel'meni employees said the Alaskan owner might re-open the store under new management too, and the restaurant might serve the same fare as well.
In the event of new management, many of Pel'meni's loyal customers might look for food elsewhere, as one employee encouraged. 'I hope that the people who support the time and effort we have put in take their business elsewhere,' the employee said.
But many of the restaurant's devotees just want their dumplings. There are currently two Facebook groups with more than 200 combined members dedicated to saving the restaurant.
Lisa Eisenberg, a UW-Madison sophomore and Pel'meni enthusiast, summed up the terror of a possible Pel'meni closure: 'Pel'meni can't close,' Eisenberg said. 'I would be so devastated if they did.'
