Tavern on the Green finally re-opens next week, more than four years after being shuttered, gutted and now fully renovated. The landmark location in Central Park re-opens next Thursday, April 24. It is serving dinner only until Mother’s Day weekend, when it opens for brunch, lunch and take-out after that.
Reservations are being accepted online or by calling 212-877-8684 but opening day and Mother’s Day are already sold out, even with prices at $18 for a burger and $54 for a steak.—after a year of construction and financial setbacks that kept the landmark restaurant in Central Park shuttered for more than four years.
Restaurant owners Jim Caiola and David Salama, had hoped to open last year, but were stymied by construction snafus and other problems that anybody who has ever tried to renovate a historic building would understand.
The partners are from Philadelphia and this is their first New York operation. They took over after a variety of issues, including labor disputes, caused several New York City restauranteurs to back out of the contract, which all started when the NYC Parks Dept. – in one of the most questionable decisions of recent memory – decided not to renew TOG’s lngtime operating license.
The fabulously ornate restaurant had been the single highest grossing restaurant in the world when it was run by Warner LeRoy, a member of the family which founded Warner Bros. in Hollywood, who took over the place in 1974.
The new TOG has 350 staffers, half of whom are seasonal. These part-time workers will be responsible for outdoor spaces including the 300-seat courtyard, 110-seat garden, and a new 110-seat “Green to Go” take-out window. The year-round restaurant can serve 410 guests.
The logo BTW, honors the building’s original tenants, when it was a barn and sheep grazed on the adjoining meadow named for them – Central Park’s sprawling and popular Sheep Meadow.
NYCOTC wishes the new TOG much success, and we hope to write about special discounts or happy hour deals when they become available.
NYC on the Cheap is a member of
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.