“Hello, excuse me, we’re closed,” said co-owner Janet Poccia, as a family of four in matching Bermuda shorts stepped inside Grand Central Oyster Bar, recently. “We’re opening on September 7.”
It’s lunchtime in late August, and because the doors are open, hungry commuters and tourists (once again!) keep coming into the iconic dining room. Grand Central is alive, not in any way close to pre-Covid-19 numbers, but a far cry from the ghost town it felt like in September 2020, when the restaurant reopened after a six-month shutdown, only to close again nine days later.
“After three days, I knew,” said Ms. Poccia. “We couldn’t sustain it.”
One of the counters at Grand Central Oyster Bar
Copyright: ATSUSHI TOMIOKA
While various sources tell us between 30% and 40% of New York’s office workers are back at their desks, Grand Central Oyster Bar is emerging from its pandemic-induced shut down. The restaurant management is banking on increased foot-traffic in the area, despite the rise of the Delta variant postponing many corporate plans to return to the office. Several vendors have reopened with the Terminal and the Metropolitan Transit Authority has announced a significant increase in Metro-North Railroad service starting just before Labor Day.
Except for the few days last Fall, the 108-year-old employee-owned restaurant was closed for 17 months. Sadly, one long-time employee, Tito Caballero, died of Covid-19 in the spring of 2020.
“We told our 120 employees in March 2020 we would be back in two weeks,” said Ms. Poccia. “Who knew? But now, it’s time to open. How much longer can we wait?”
Oyster Bar Grand Centennial Celebration, Grand Central Terminal in 2013.
BRYAN SMITH
Executive Chef and co-owner Sandy Ingber, who started there as the fish buyer in 1990, has reworked the menu. He will offer a reduced list of dishes, but fear not, they will include the famous oyster pan roast and about eight different kinds of oysters—from a pre-pandemic 22.
“We still cannot get some basic raw products and everything else has gone up,” said Mr. Ingber, who heads to Fulton Fish Market every weekday. “So, we’ve had to raise our prices 2 or 3%.”
The famous oyster pan roast at Grand Central Oyster Bar
Copyright: Iain Bagwell 2012
Patrons and staff will need to show proof of vaccination and the restaurant is implementing many safety measures including following social distancing guidelines and providing one-time use menus.
When former owner, restaurateur Jerome Brody became ill in 1999, he transferred 49% ownership to his non-union employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Program to provide a retirement plan and ensure continuity of the restaurant. In 2004, his widow sold the remainder 51% to the ESOP. Today, the restaurant is fully owned by the ESOP and rents the space from the Metropolitan Transit Authority.