The first restaurant to open its doors in Grand Central Madison will be a familiar one to seasoned Long Island Rail Road commuters: former Penn Station watering hole Tracks Raw Bar & Grill, which was located at the West Side transit hub for nearly two decades before the oyster bar was forced to relocate due to construction.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to ink a 10-year lease with Tracks for roughly 2,700 square feet in Grand Central Madison, according to lease documents published late Friday. The bar restaurant is expected to open sometime this fall on the main concourse level between 47th and 48th streets near the LIRR ticket window, transit officials said.
MTA Chair and Chief Executive Janno Lieber said that he’s excited for riders to tap into the nostalgia of their former haunt at a new, modern location.
“If you talk to Long Islanders, they’ll tell you about the great times they had lifting a glass with friends and co-workers after a long day or following a Rangers or Knicks victory,” Lieber said in a statement. “Now they can create new memories at our beautiful East Side terminal.”
The MTA’s board must formally vote to approve the lease this Wednesday, but under the agreement the first year’s rent is set for $216,000, along with 12% of gross sales that exceed $2.5 million, documents show. Tracks will also invest roughly $1 million to outfit the space.
MTA real estate officials said in lease documents that they expect the eatery “will establish a new and dynamic gathering spot that contributes to the aesthetics of Grand Central Madison, helps to define the overall sense of place, and enlivens the customer experience.”
The restaurant’s owner Bruce Caulfield has long-eyed space at Grand Central Terminal and in years past has bid for locations including Vanderbilt Hall, which is currently home to City Winery.
Track’s proposal for the location was the sole response to a July 2023 request for proposals issued by the MTA for a full-service bar and cafe in Grand Central Madison.
The call was purposefully timed ahead of an April 2 solicitation for a master lease for all 25,000 square feet of retail space at Grand Central Madison, according to David Florio, the MTA’s chief real estate transactions and operations officer.
“We wanted that in advance of the master tenant because there’s still some construction going on within the retail spaces themselves, but the space for the bar-cafe, that’s pretty much ready now, so why wait?” David Florio said in an interview. “Let’s get rolling on that and that can only help attract a master tenant opportunity.”
Caroline Spivack , 2024-03-25 19:04:34
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