Turkey Leg Hut’s next chapter was already trying to sell a comeback story, but Lynn Price’s guilty plea just dragged the brand’s past back to the front of the line.
Lyndell Leroy “Lynn” Price pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to commit arson of a commercial building, with federal prosecutors saying he admitted directing others to intentionally set fire to Bar 5015, a Houston business owned by his former partner on Almeda Road. The Justice Department said the dispute came after that former partner declined Price’s offer to buy into the bar and refused to sell his interest in Turkey Leg Hut.
According to federal prosecutors, the arson crew bought gasoline and gas cans before heading to Bar 5015 in the early morning hours of June 12, 2020. They wore face coverings, carried gasoline-filled containers, poured gas across the entrance ramp and deck, lit it, and ran. The fire caused major damage and endangered nearby occupied homes, commercial properties, and the electrical grid.
The case sat for years before the indictment was unsealed in 2025. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña said at the time that surveillance showed men dumping liquid at the bar before the blast, calling it “an intentional act of arson” and adding, “The intent is obvious.” ABC13 reported the explosion sent debris hundreds of feet and destroyed a large part of the business.
Price’s plea lands days before Nakia Holmes, Turkey Leg Hut’s co-founder and Price’s estranged wife, is set to host a one-day food pop-up at The Quad, just three blocks from the former restaurant site. Holmes teased the event on Instagram with the line, “You can close a building. You can’t close a legacy,” though it remains unclear whether the pop-up will use the Turkey Leg Hut name.
That “legacy” has been complicated for years. Turkey Leg Hut grew from a parking-lot concept into a Houston hotspot boosted by celebrity attention, but later faced lawsuits, divorce filings, bankruptcy, an arson case, and a 2024 health department shutdown. Court records tied to the bankruptcy showed more than $6.5 million in scheduled claims were expected to be discharged without payment.
Price is scheduled for sentencing on September 25, 2026. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
