What's in a Name? In This Case, Everything

The never-ending saga of New York’s Tavern on the Green sale and potential loss of name (reported extensively here since last summer…) actually has an end--at least in part.
A judge ruled yesterday that the city, not the operators of the restaurant, holds the rights to the famous name, which has been valued at $19 million.
The restaurant closed New Year’s Eve after a long series of legal problems that culminated in an auction of all the furnishings. More than 20,000 items were up for sale; the high bid was $180,000 for a Tiffany glass ceiling. The court-ordered auction was held to help erase the owners’ $8 million in debt.
Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ruled that the city had licensed the facility and retained control. That included the right to end the license if it found that the restaurant was not being operated in a satisfactory manner. The “Tavern on the Green” name has been associated with a Central Park restaurant since 1934.
Prior to the recent recession, the restaurant had been one of the most famous in the country. It brought in $38 million a year in revenues, and served a staggering 700,000 meals a year.
The license was awarded last August to Dean Poll, who operates the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park. He won the license after the LeRoy family, which had operated the restaurant sine the 1970s, lost its bid renew the lease. He still plans to reopen the restaurant this spring. He will spend $25 million to refurbish the space, which clocks in at 27,000 square feet.

Carved Wooden Animals and Crystal Chandeliers: It's the Tavern on the Green Auction

Want a giant crystal chandelier? What about some ornate oversized silver candelabras? Well, there’s a new chapter in the ongoing saga of New York’s Tavern on the Green restaurant, which recently declared bankruptcy and is slated to be transferred to a new owner next month. (Yes, you read about it here over the summer...)
Next month--January 13, to be exact--many of the restaurant’s famously glitzy fixtures and decorative pieces will be auctioned off at Guernsey’s Auction House. Profits of the sale will be put towards the debts owed to more than 450 creditors, one of which is Kay LeRoy, who was married to the restaurant’s founder, Warner Leroy. She lent the company, headed by her daughter Jennifer, $1.9 million to allow the restaurant to meet its payroll. Up for grabs now: Gilded copper weathervanes and a three-foot carved monkey from the Black Forest. Need a baby grand piano? Or white-painted wooden elks? (You can buy them as a pair.) They can be yours for the right price, as can a topiary of King Kong (his debut was showcased at a party at the restaurant hosted by Fay Wray, of the original “King Kong” movie.) You can also bid on some of the gaudy outfits for which Mr. Leroy was known.
The sale will be held in the Crystal Room, and will feature absentee Internet bidding. Although the restaurant is currently mired in a host of messy legal matters involving its finances and staff, it is still supposed to be taken over this winter by Dean Poll, who runs the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park.

A New Chapter for Tavern on the Green, But Maybe Not the One You Expected

New York City’s legendary Tavern on the Green restaurant was ready to enter a new chapter this coming January when it switched to new ownership—but one chapter people might not have been anticipating was Chapter 11: The current owner, Jennifer LeRoy, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
LeRoy’s family has operated Tavern on the Green for almost 35 years. She blames the bankruptcy filing on the current recession, as well as the city's decision to give the restaurant’s license to new owners. The 75-year-old restaurant is due to pass into the hands of Dean Poll, who also runs Central Park’s Boathouse restaurant, in four months.
Twenty creditors and the money owed to them are listed in the federal bankruptcy filing: they include some that might be expected, such as almost $80,000 owed to American Express and close to $2 million owed to the New York Hotel Trades Council. There are other debts, however, that show that just as the rich are different from you and me; clearly, high-end restaurants are as well: More than $53,000 is owed to Atlanta’s Buckhead Beef, and (wait for it) $26,299 is due to Urbani Truffles.
In a somewhat ironic footnote, the public might be interested to know that the 19th- century building originally housed sheep. The Sheep Meadow was originally called "The Green," so the restaurant, when it originally opened in 1934 (yes,the sheep had left by then), was christened "Tavern on the Green."

Famed Tavern on the Green Restaurant Under New Management

New York City’s famed Tavern on the Green restaurant—often noted more for its extraordinary décor and location in Cental Park than for its food—is changing hands.
Dean Poll, who runs the Boathouse restaurant in Central Park, was chosen by the Parks Department last week to take over the restaurant, starting in January. Department officials say he submitted the most impressive proposal for the 20-year license.
A number of well-known names in the restaurant business either pulled out of the running for the license or never made a bid, including Danny Meyer (of Gramercy Tavern and Blue Smoke), who had initially showed interest. While Tavern on the Green was at one time one of the most profitable independent restaurants in the country, its revenues have soured along with the economy.
The 25-million capital investment will cover a renovation that includes adding banquet rooms; an outdoor café serving sandwiches and snacks; and a club room. Green technology will also be incorporated.
Poll is taking over the license from the LeRoy family, which started the restaurant in 1974. Interestingly, the name is still controlled by Jennifer LeRoy, and it could cost Poll many millions of dollars if he wants to keep using it.
Tavern on the Green is located in Central Park, near West 67th Street.