NYC Landmark and Broadway Celebration Staple, Tavern on the Green, Closes its Doors

Yahoo News is reporting that New York City Landmark and former home to many a Broadway Opening night party is closing its doors after 75 years.  According to the report, whereas the Central Park restaurant was just three years ago the second highest grossing restaurant in the United States, taking in approximately $38 million annually by serving more than 700,000 meals, the venue has been unable to get out of bankruptcy court of late (Chapter 11 was filed in September of this year).

The $8 million debt accumulated by Tavern on the Green, which is owned by the city, will be collected at an auction of the venues finery, including "Baccarat and Waterford chandeliers, Tiffany staiNed Glass, a mural depicting Central Park and other over-the-top decor that has bewitched visitors for decades."

The 27,000 square foot space is up for grabs, though it is unclear as to whether new owners could reopen the venue under the Tavern on the Green banner.

Former owner Warner LeRoy, son of a producer of "The Wizard of Oz," operated the venue from 1973 until his death in 2001.  Thereafter, and his wife and daughter Jennifer LeRoy maintained ownership until their operating license expired. As this date approached this year, the city sought competing bids for the property, and while the LeRoys bid to retain ownership, they were outmatched by Dean Poll who operates the nearby Loeb Boathouse restaurant in Central Park.  Poll is to invest $25 million on Tavern renovations under a 20-year license awarded to him by the city in August. 

Report Yahoo News: "The decisive moment in the intellectual-property dispute comes in January. That's when a Manhattan federal judge will either side with the city and rule that the moneymaking name Tavern on the Green, valued at about $19 million, belongs to whomever operates the space or say the LeRoys own it."

Tavern on the Green has been home to many Broadway openings for decades, celebrating the openings of the recent A Little Night Music starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury, the current revival of Ragtime, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Mary Stuart, and older productions such as Triumph of Love, and The Country Girl. The list goes on. The Broadway musical title of show includes a line in the song "Part of it All": "Ducking out of the theatre before the show's finale to get to the opening night at Tavern on the Green!"

To read the full report on the Tavern's closing and next steps on Yahoo News, click here.