NEW YORK The operator of the famed Tavern on the Green in New York’s Central Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Wednesday, citing the sluggish economy and the recent loss of its contract with the city’s parks department, which owns the restaurant location.
LeRoy Adventures Inc., operator of the 75-year-old fine-dining restaurant, filed the request for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York.
“The two major factors for the filing were that like so many restaurants nationwide and especially in New York, we suffered under the economic crisis,” Tavern spokeswoman Shelley Clark said. “And when the city said it would not renew our lease, it put us in an untenable situation with our creditors and vendors. We thought this was the only responsible thing to do.”
The company said in filings that its liabilities totaled between $1 million and $10 million and the number of creditors totaled less than 50.
LeRoy Adventures lost the contract to operate Tavern on the Green last month, when New York City’s parks department tapped Dean Poll, chief executive of Boathouse LLC and operator of The Central Park Boathouse restaurant, as its new licensee. Poll won a bidding war for Tavern’s operations after agreeing to renovate the restaurant to the tune of some $25 million, install environmentally friendly technology on the premises and pay a larger percentage of annual sales — said to be as high as 20 percent — to the city. Tavern on the Green has reportedly booked annual sales totaling more than $30 million in recent years, and in 2008 alone booked about $37.6 million.
Clark said the bankruptcy filing would have no bearing on the transition of the contract to Poll.
Phil Abramson, a spokesman for New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said the department had not seen the filing and could not comment on the bankruptcy. He added, however, that the parks department would “ensure that Tavern on the Green fulfills all of its financial obligations to the city.”
The LeRoy family has run Tavern on the Green since the mid-1970s, first under the direction of Warner LeRoy, the flamboyant showman and entrepreneur who died in 2001. LeRoy’s daughter, Jennifer Oz LeRoy, was then named his successor.
“Filing for Ch. 11 was not an easy decision,” Jennifer Oz LeRoy said. “This restaurant has been a part of our family since 1976, and the name Tavern on the Green has become synonymous with New York and fine dining.”
She added that Tavern on the Green will continue operations while it pursues options including the reorganization of its debts or other corporate changes to benefit its employees and customers.
“We plan to honor all of our obligations to our loyal employees and customers until our lease expires at the end of the year,” she said.
The LeRoy family’s operating contract ends Dec. 31.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].