When Pimento on the Lake opened for its third season this year on Memorial Day weekend, people could once again order Jamaican cuisine like black bean jerk burgers and red bean stew from the banks of Bde Maka Ska.
The pavilion sat empty for nearly four years following a 2019 fire. When the site reopened in October 2023 featuring the new restaurant, Pimento Market, outdoor seating and year-round restrooms, it was seen as the introduction of a new community hub.
“As beloved as the original pavilion was, I believe this new building will quickly become a favorite gathering space and a Minneapolis icon,” said Al Bangoura, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Superintendent, at the 2023 ribbon cutting.
But the restaurant is in financial trouble. A lawsuit filed by the Metropolitan Economic Development Association, or MEDA, in February 2026 is seeking more than $1 million in alleged outstanding loans.
While the lawsuit is ongoing, Pimento on the Lake is here to stay, said David Rinao, vice president of sales and development at Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.
“We’re not planning on going anywhere,” Rinao said.
Lawsuit developments
MEDA’s Feb. 2 lawsuit is against Pimento on the Lake, Pimento Incorporated and Pimento owner and founder Derek “Tomme” Beevas for unpaid loans and interest on the site totaling $1,009,053.90.
That total comes from three unpaid loans issued from October to December, 2023: $670,000 on Oct. 11, 2023, $250,000 on Nov. 13, 2023, and $50,000 on Dec. 1 2023.
Due to unpaid interest, as of Dec. 8, 2025, the amount owed by Pimento exceeded the principal by nearly $40,000 according to court documents.
A hearing for the case is scheduled for July 27, 2026 in Hennepin County District Court where MEDA is seeking a motion for summary judgement.
“There are no facts in dispute and neither discovery nor mediation will change the positions of the parties,” Garth G. Gavenda, a lawyer with Jellum Law representing MEDA, wrote in an April 17, 2026 letter to the court. “Defendants simply want additional time, and Plaintiff is not agreeable to reserve this matter for anything less than the full amount sought in Plaintiff’s Complaint.”
According to Pimento’s Rinao, the company is currently renegotiating the deals with MEDA but could not comment further on the lawsuit.
Lead attorney for Pimento and Beevas, David Clay Taylor, did not respond to calls for comment.
Additional financial troubles
MEDA’s lawsuit against Pimento on the Lake occurred one week after Beevas and Pimento St. Paul Inc. were sued by VCI-VICRAMP LLC. for $109,000 in back rent and $306,000 in future rent payments. The lawsuit alleges that the St. Paul location failed to pay rent starting in September 2024.
Rinao referred to the St. Paul location, on Wabasha Street North, as “struggling.” The St. Paul location opened two months after Pimento on the Lake in December 2023 and at time of writing, the Wabasha location is no longer listed on their website and the phone number for the location does not work.
The Future of Pimento on the Lake
Like many businesses in the Twin Cities, Pimento was impacted by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge. Its Nicollet Avenue location is just a few blocks from where Alex Pretti was killed.
Pimento is still “stabilizing after Metro Surge,” said Rinao, with the impact and subsequent loss of revenue affecting all Pimento sites.
“Financially, it was hard to start this place up,” said Rinao about the opening of Pimento on the Lake in 2026.
New additions are planned for Pimento on the Lake in July including the unveiling of the site’s beer wall and the addition of a fine dining option.
According to Rinao, Pimento on the Lake will open its “Lake Experience,” a reservation-only, dine-in restaurant featuring a new menu at the pavilion.
“That’s where you can get your three course meals, your surf and turf, T-bone steak and lobster,” Rinao said, “Bringing the caliber a little bit higher than what normal parks do.”
What closure would mean for the pavilion
Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board Commissioner Cathy Abene said in the event of a business closure the board would seek a replacement in a matter of months.
“If [Pimento on the Lake] closes anytime soon, we would pursue another contract,” said Abene, who represents District 6 including the Bde Maka Ska area.
Abene said she hasn’t been briefed on any potential site closure at the Bde Maka Ska Pavilion.
The Owamni precedent
Owamni’s recent move from the Water Works Pavilion in Mill Ruins Park is a similar model for how the Bde Maka Ska Pavilion commercial space would be handled in the event of Pimento leaving the site, according to Abene.
Following the announcement of Owamni leaving the Water Works Pavilion in October 2025, the Park Board opened a request for proposals from restaurants interested in operating out of the Water Works which was narrowed to four finalists in what Abene described as a “competitive process.”
The board selected Arch and River, a French Bistro with an Afro-Caribbean twist which is set to open at the Water Works without a firm open date. The Park Board’s request for proposal sought a summer 2026 opening date.
For the Park & Recreation Board system, restaurants and cafes at park locations aren’t just community gathering places but revenue streams.
“We are very interested in that being an exceptionally successful spot,” Abene said of the Bde Maka Ska Pavilion.
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