New dining options managed by restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, including a replacement for Bryant Park Grill and a Latin-themed eatery, are in the works for Bryant Park, the Midtown oasis that draws 12 million visitors a year. But it will be 2026 before anyone can reserve a table.
Jean-Georges has landed an 18-year lease to operate a new eatery at the park, Crain’s reported Monday, when the the Bryant Park Grill closes this spring after 30 years in business. The new restaurant, whose name hasn’t been finalized, could be a big culinary attraction considering Jean-Georges’ establishment at 1 Central Park West has two Michelin stars.
However, it could take up to 10 months after Bryant Park Grill closes for the new restaurant to open because extensive renovation work is planned, Bryant Park Corp.’s executive director, Dan Biederman, told a Manhattan community board committee on Monday evening.
Jean-Georges is 25% owned by Seaport Entertainment Group, a public company that raised $175 million in cash after it was spun off from a real estate developer last year. Pershing Square, a hedge fund run by billionaire Bill Ackman, has disclosed a 38% ownership stake in Seaport Entertainment.
Jean-Georges’ lease for the Bryant Park space hasn’t been signed yet, Biederman said, and must be approved by the city Parks Department and the New York Public Library. While well known and successful, not every Jean-Georges concept succeeds. The Tin Building by Jean-Georges, a food court in the South Street Seaport, produced a $25 million net loss over the nine months ending last Sept. 30, Seaport Entertainment disclosed.
While Bryant Park’s indoor restaurant space is under renovation, it isn’t clear if an outdoor dining area run by the grill next to the library will remain open, Biederman told Crain’s. But a watering hole called the Porch will stay open near the park’s Sixth Avenue entrance with minimal if any interruption, he said. Ultimately it will be renamed Happy Monkey, following the theme of a Jean-Georges-owned establishment in Greenwich, Connecticut, that describes itself as a “fun-loving Latin restaurant.”
“The general design and feel is what we’ll port over to the Porch,” Matt Partridge, chief financial officer Seaport Entertainment, told the community board.
Bryant Park Grill is one of the nation’s highest-grossing restaurants, with $30 million in annual revenue, and its nearly $3 million in rent accounted for about a tenth of the park’s annual revenue, according to a financial statement from the park’s nonprofit operator. Biederman told the community board last month that a new restaurant could produce $40 million in revenue, which would produce an unspecified boost in income for the park, which is managed without city funding.
