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Tavern On The Green Files For Bankruptcy
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| The former ABC News television broadcast team of Barbara Walters and Harry Reasoner are shown outside the restaurant Tavern On The Green in Central Park, New York on Sept. 30, 1976. The operator of the famous restaurant has sought bankruptcy protection. (Carlos Rene Perez/Associated Press) |
By Andrea Tan, Christopher Scinta and Linda Sandler, Bloomberg
Tavern on the Green LP, operator of the 75-year-old restaurant in New York’s Central Park, sought bankruptcy protection after losing its lease on the city property to a higher bidder a month ago.
The restaurant’s name, valued at $19 million and in place since its founding by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in 1934, now will be sold to the highest bidder in bankruptcy court, according to Keith Costa, a lawyer for the bankrupt partnership.
The lease for Tavern on the Green, the second-highest-grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year, had been held since 1974 by the family of Warner LeRoy, which owns the Tavern on the Green name. The city last month awarded the lease for 20 years starting Dec. 31 to restaurateur Dean Poll, who runs the Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.
Mr. Poll, who didn’t immediately respond to a call and e-mail seeking comment, will meet with representatives of the LeRoys later Thursday, Mr. Costa said. “If he is interested, then the name would be sold at auction to the highest bidder,” he said.
The bankrupt partnership listed assets and debts of as much as $50 million each in a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, with more than 200 creditors. It said it probably won’t have enough to pay unsecured creditors, after deducting expenses and exempt property.
Financial Crisis
“The filing was the result of two factors — the extreme financial distress brought on by the current financial crisis and the City of New York’s decision not to renew our lease,” Tavern on the Green Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Oz LeRoy said in a statement.
The restaurant will continue to operate during the reorganization, she said. Discussions between Poll and LeRoy representatives include ways to keep operating after Mr. Poll takes over on Jan. 1 and begins to renovate, said Shelley Clark, a spokeswoman for Jennifer LeRoy.
“We’re working out those things,” she said.
Mr. Poll’s winning proposal for the restaurant included a $25 million investment in the historic building, with new slate roofs, kitchens and ventilation, electrical and plumbing systems, public restrooms, a bike rack and an outdoor cafe serving sandwiches and snacks, according to a statement in August by the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. The Boathouse, after a $4 million renovation, is one of the park’s top grossing facilities, it said.
‘Only Alternative’
“While the family is saddened by the need to seek court protection, we saw it as our only alternative given the current situation,” Ms. LeRoy said.
The New York Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Association of New York City Inc. Health Benefits Fund, Pension Fund and Industry Training Fund was named as Tavern’s largest unsecured creditor with a claim of $1.8 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The New York City Department of Parks is owed $76,923. Law firms Herrick Feinstein LLP and Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP were also listed among the restaurant’s largest unsecured creditors in its court filing.
Restaurants & Institutions, a publication that tracks the food-service industry, ranked Tavern on the Green as the second- highest-grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year, behind Tao Las Vegas.
Café des Artistes, an Upper West Side haunt of New York painters and literati, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week after closing down last month. The restaurant, open since 1917, attracted people attending theater, music and dance events at nearby Lincoln Center.
New York’s restaurant industry has endured an 11 percent sales decline over the past three months. This year, 512 New York restaurants have closed, according to NDP Group, a market research company.
The restaurant’s name, valued at $19 million and in place since its founding by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in 1934, now will be sold to the highest bidder in bankruptcy court, according to Keith Costa, a lawyer for the bankrupt partnership.
The lease for Tavern on the Green, the second-highest-grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year, had been held since 1974 by the family of Warner LeRoy, which owns the Tavern on the Green name. The city last month awarded the lease for 20 years starting Dec. 31 to restaurateur Dean Poll, who runs the Central Park Boathouse Restaurant.
Mr. Poll, who didn’t immediately respond to a call and e-mail seeking comment, will meet with representatives of the LeRoys later Thursday, Mr. Costa said. “If he is interested, then the name would be sold at auction to the highest bidder,” he said.
The bankrupt partnership listed assets and debts of as much as $50 million each in a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, with more than 200 creditors. It said it probably won’t have enough to pay unsecured creditors, after deducting expenses and exempt property.
Financial Crisis
“The filing was the result of two factors — the extreme financial distress brought on by the current financial crisis and the City of New York’s decision not to renew our lease,” Tavern on the Green Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Oz LeRoy said in a statement.
The restaurant will continue to operate during the reorganization, she said. Discussions between Poll and LeRoy representatives include ways to keep operating after Mr. Poll takes over on Jan. 1 and begins to renovate, said Shelley Clark, a spokeswoman for Jennifer LeRoy.
“We’re working out those things,” she said.
Mr. Poll’s winning proposal for the restaurant included a $25 million investment in the historic building, with new slate roofs, kitchens and ventilation, electrical and plumbing systems, public restrooms, a bike rack and an outdoor cafe serving sandwiches and snacks, according to a statement in August by the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. The Boathouse, after a $4 million renovation, is one of the park’s top grossing facilities, it said.
‘Only Alternative’
“While the family is saddened by the need to seek court protection, we saw it as our only alternative given the current situation,” Ms. LeRoy said.
The New York Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Association of New York City Inc. Health Benefits Fund, Pension Fund and Industry Training Fund was named as Tavern’s largest unsecured creditor with a claim of $1.8 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The New York City Department of Parks is owed $76,923. Law firms Herrick Feinstein LLP and Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP were also listed among the restaurant’s largest unsecured creditors in its court filing.
Restaurants & Institutions, a publication that tracks the food-service industry, ranked Tavern on the Green as the second- highest-grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year, behind Tao Las Vegas.
Café des Artistes, an Upper West Side haunt of New York painters and literati, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week after closing down last month. The restaurant, open since 1917, attracted people attending theater, music and dance events at nearby Lincoln Center.
New York’s restaurant industry has endured an 11 percent sales decline over the past three months. This year, 512 New York restaurants have closed, according to NDP Group, a market research company.
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