Tavern in the Red

“New York’s Tavern on the Green restaurant, a sumptuous tourist trap set in a lush grove in Central Park, will serve its last meal on New Year’s Eve before changing hands. The restaurant, notorious among New Yorkers for its rude and laggardly waiting staff, has for years been one of the highest grossing independently owned eateries in the US, serving crab cakes and Caesar salads to tourists who gaze out onto the park from richly appointed dining rooms furnished with chandeliers, stained glass murals and silver candelabras. But the landmark restaurant’s fortunes have declined during the recession, and in August the city awarded the concession to a restaurateur who next month will take over from the family that has operated it since 1976. The city owns the 27,000 square foot facility on Central Park’s west side. The restaurant is now in bankruptcy court, and the current owners hope to sell many of the fixtures at auction next month to satisfy $8m in debt.”