What Happened To Hulk Hogan's Build-Your-Own Pasta Spot?

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Star power isn't always enough to carry a brand, and celebrity restaurants don't always work out. Country music star Kenny Rogers launched a chicken chain in the 1990s that didn't survive in the United States — though it definitely deserves a comeback. Burger brand Wahlburgers, co-helmed by famous siblings Mark Wahlberg, Donny Wahlberg, and their brother Paul, experienced massive restaurant closures in 2025, though the chain is still hanging on with over 20 locations as of February 2026. In the 1990s, things didn't go so well when a celeb entrepreneurial effort attempted to mash up professional wrestling and pasta.

In 1995, WWF/WWE wrestler, actor, and reality TV star Hulk Hogan launched a restaurant called Hulk Hogan's Pastamania!, offering diners what the star referred to as "a quick and healthy meal" (per YouTube). The enterprise's single location was in the South Food Court of Minnesota's Mall of America. The menu included mix-and-match pasta and sauces, letting diners build their own entrees; an international selection consisting of Swedish meatballs, pasta Mexicana, turkey tetrazzini, and beef stroganoff; and specials like fettuccine primavera and chicken marinara. There was also a three-item kids menu featuring pasta shaped like Hogan himself, including the wrestler's head, torso, and full-body likenesses in various stages of muscle flexing.

Though the restaurant's launch coincided with the debut episode of World Championship Wrestling's "WCW Monday Nitro" TV show, with various plugs for the restaurant throughout the episode, all the hype and promotion weren't enough to keep the eatery in business. Ultimately, the restaurant was defunct less than a year after it debuted.

While we don't know the precise factors that led to the demise of Hulk Hogan's Pastamania!, it seems food quality may have played a role. Online posters, stating they ate at the short-lived restaurant while it was in business, have widely criticized the offerings there. One Redditor called the cuisine "the worst pasta I've had in my life," while another compared it to old, warmed-over Chef Boyardee meals. "It was disgusting, and no matter how big of a Hulkster mark I was[,] it couldn't save the food," the poster declared.

A restaurant, like a person, only has one chance to make a first impression, and it seems on that key opening night, with hundreds of wrestling fans present at the Mall of America and many trying Pastamania! for the first time, the food wasn't enough to bring them back for a second helping. One Redditor, stating they were present for that debut taping of "WCW Monday Nitro" in the Mall of America as a 21-year-old, stopped by to try the wrestling star's restaurant and was less than impressed. "The fettuccine [Alfredo] at Hulk Hogan's Pastamania! was NOT GOOD. Very watery," the poster stated. Actor Kulap Vilaysack, who worked at Pastamania! as a teen, commented in a Facebook post that the restaurant was "rarely busy," attesting to the cool reception the food court bistro received once the hype surrounding its debut had died down.

While Pastamania! was an entrepreneurial failure for Hulk Hogan, its demise didn't stop the star from trying his hand again at being a restaurateur. The celeb later launched a casual dining spot in 2012 called Hogan's Beach, located in Tampa Bay, Florida. This was followed by another endeavor called Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater, Florida, which opened in 2020.

Hogan's Beach encountered troubled waters. In 2014, a scandal erupted over a dress code sign posted at the restaurant that was perceived as racist. The sign was ultimately removed, but that wasn't the end of issues at the eating spot. After Hogan himself was involved in some personal, reputation-damaging public scandals — involving a leaked sex tape and racial slurs spoken by the celebrity that were released in an audio transcript — the restaurant was ultimately rebranded, and all ties to the star were eradicated in 2015.

Hogan's Hangout fared better. As of February 2026, the beach-adjacent bistro is still in business. Its menu is varied, with offerings ranging from breakfast items and burgers to fish entrees, wings, and tacos. Echoes of Pastamania! can still be found there, such as the ravioli appetizer or the chicken Alfredo and seafood pasta entrees. There is mac and cheese on the kids menu as well — but, alas, no Hulk-shaped pasta ... for now.