Tavern on the Green prepares to serve its last meal.

Tavern on the Green will close its door after serving the last meals on the New Year’s Eve. The restaurant was once the highest-grossing in United States. Tavern on the Green serves 500,000 dinners in an year with an average of 1,400 meals in a day.

The current owner of the restaurant Jennifer Oz LeRoy decided to file for bankruptcy after they lost a bid for the renewal of the operating license. The bid was won by Dean Poll who is operating another restaurant in the Central Park.

The attorney of Poll, Barry LePatner, told that Dean Poll has intentions to revitalize the place. He says Poll plans to retain the name ‘Tavern on the Green’ but the restaurant itself will undergo renovations. The plan includes renovating the kitchen, electrical and plumbing systems as well as introducing a green building technology. The renovations will take four years but it will be carried out in smaller steps to keep the restaurant running. Barry LePatner says that the new changes will give Tavern on the Green a warmer sensibility. ‘We want more New Yorkers as well as tourists,’ says LePatner.

The restaurant presented its first meal in 1936 when America was fighting against the Great Depression. It was near its death in 1974 when Warner LeRoy took over the lease of Tavern and invested a huge sum in its renovation and rebuilding. The signature brass and copper chandeliers were installed after LeRoy took over the Tavern. When it was reopened in 1976, Tavern on the Green was described by words like ‘eclectic’ and ‘dazzling’. It has a history and millions can relate them self to the restaurant. It has hosted thousands of weddings, birthday, and holiday parties.

Its visitors received the news with sad hearts. Many dinners poured in to enjoy their last meal in the Tavern to revive their good memories. One couple who came from Virginia to treat themselves with the last meal in the restaurant recalls their previous dinner at the Tavern. They tell that everyone knew what Tavern on the Green was. ‘It’s the atmosphere and ambience,’ says the retired Claudia Myers who came to visit it from Virginia.

The tables for the last meal of Tavern on the Green have been booked for $126 per head. The restaurant will serve its last meal on the New Year’s Eve.

Tavern on the Green