A new restaurant on Indianapolis's eastside is betting that pretzel dough and pizza crust don't have to be separate menus. Paradise Pizza & Pretzels opened at 6725 E. 82nd St., bringing hand-rolled soft pretzels, pretzel-crust pizzas and a Hawaiian-inspired tropical theme to the Lawrence Township area and surrounding eastside neighborhoods.
The restaurant is co-founded by Gerald “Jerry” Terhune, who previously owned pretzel stores in shopping malls, and Michael Warner, who brings extensive pizza-making experience to the venture, according to a report from WISH-TV. The pair say Paradise Pizza & Pretzels is the only Indiana location serving soft pretzels and pretzel-crust pizzas under one roof year-round. Everything is made from scratch daily using a proprietary pretzel mix that forms the base for both the pretzels and the pizza crusts, with every pretzel and pizza crust hand-rolled in house.
“Quality is a major focus for the restaurant,” Warner has said, per the same account, and Terhune has said the goal is to give families quality handmade food in a fun atmosphere. The pair tested that pitch outside their own storefront when Paradise Pizza & Pretzels participated in a festival in Lawrence, where cinnamon-sugar pretzels were a hit with attendees. Warner said the festival turnout showed the restaurant was on the right track.
What's on the Menu
The core menu leans on the pretzel-and-pizza crossover concept. Classic salted pretzels and cinnamon-sugar pretzel bites sit alongside the Paradise Pretzel, loaded with three cheeses and bacon; Paradise Pretzel Pockets stuffed with pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella and marinara; and the Coconut Dream, a dessert pretzel combining Nutella and coconut. On the pizza side, the pretzel-crust format carries toppings like the Pineapple Express (pineapple, ham, onion and barbecue drizzle) and the loaded Paradise Boss, piled with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, onion, mushrooms and banana peppers. A buffalo pretzel pizza and fully custom pretzel-crust pizzas round out that side of the menu, alongside Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, iced teas and lemon shake-ups.
Delivery listings on Uber Eats show the menu stretching further, with a Hot Cheetos Pretzel at $5.99, a Tiki Torch pizza at $13.99, and family-sized orders of 50 mini pretzel dogs for $29.99. Dirty sodas on that same listing start at $3.99, giving customers a lower-cost entry point into the build-your-own drink menu.
Dirty Sodas Join a Fast-Growing Category
Paradise Pizza & Pretzels also serves dirty sodas, the customizable soft drinks built from carbonated beverages mixed with flavored syrups and creamers, including the Orange Creamsicle (vanilla, orange soda and sweet cream), the Dirty Paradise (coconut, pineapple, Mountain Dew and lime) and the Blue Lagoon (blue raspberry, Starry and coconut cream). Customers can also create their own combinations. The category has exploded nationally: quick-service restaurant case volume for dirty sodas jumped 318% over a two-year period, according to Circana market research cited by Fox Business. U.S. consumer awareness of dirty sodas jumped from 56% to 75% between 2025 and 2026, while trial of the drinks doubled from 21% to 42%, per market research reported by Beverage Industry. Dirty soda menu adoption at restaurants also grew 42% year-over-year while traditional soda menu growth stayed flat, according to industry analysis from The Food Institute.
Soft pretzels are riding their own wave of growth. Americans consumed an estimated 600 million soft pretzels in 2024, with North America remaining the largest global market for the fresh-baked snack, according to Market Reports World. The soft pretzel market is projected to grow at a 5.02% compound annual rate between 2026 and 2031.
A High-Visibility Corridor Near Castleton Square
The new restaurant sits in a commercial stretch of East 82nd Street that carries daily traffic counts exceeding 44,000 vehicles near I-465, according to commercial real estate data from McCrea Property Group. It's also just down the road from Castleton Square Mall.
Deals for New Customers
Paradise Pizza & Pretzels is offering introductory deals through October. Customers who mention life.style.live! can get buy-one-get-one-free pretzels, buy-one-get-one 50%-off pretzel-crust pizza, or buy-one-get-one-free dirty sodas. The restaurant offers both dine-in and carryout options and is open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Sundays. More information is available at paradisepizzapretzel.com.
