| Oyster Bar | |
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 Interactive map of Oyster Bar | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1913 (1913) |
| Food type | Seafood |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Location | Lower Level,Grand Central Terminal, 89 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 |
| Coordinates | 40°45′8.4″N73°58′38″W / 40.752333°N 73.97722°W /40.752333; -73.97722 |
| Reservations | Yes |
| Other locations | Tokyo |
| Website | oysterbarny.com |
The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant is a seafood restaurant on the lower level ofGrand Central Terminal at42nd Street andPark Avenue inManhattan,New York City.[1]
The restaurant space was first opened as the Grand Central Terminal Restaurant. Although Grand Central Terminal opened on February 2, 1913, its opening was celebrated one day prior, February 1, with a dinner at the restaurant, arranged for Warren and Wetmore along with 100 guests.[2]
The restaurant was operated by The Union News Company.[3][4] It closed briefly for renovations following a 1997 fire.[5]
Jerome Brody sold the Oyster Bar to employees in 1999, and died in 2001.[6] Brody chose to sell to staff to preserve the union and employee satisfaction in his transition. As of 2017, all non-union, managerial staff are part of theEmployee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). The initial group of managers bought a near-majority of the company's stock with a loan between 1999 and 2001. They purchased the remainder between 2004 and 2008.[7] Staff at the Oyster Bar are represented byUNITE HERE Local 100.[8]
In 2016, theZagat Survey gave it a food rating of 22/30, "Very Good To Excellent".[1]
The Oyster Bar closed for a majority of 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic. It briefly reopened for two weeks and closed again when its underground location failed to attract foot traffic. It then resumed its activities back to normal business from 2021 on.[9]
Its architecture features the vaulted,Guastavino tiled ceilings common in the era of its construction. The archway in front of the restaurant is also famous for anacoustical quirk making it awhispering gallery by which someone standing in one corner can hear someone standing in the opposite corner perfectly no matter how softly they speak.[10]
Two Japanese branches have opened inTokyo. The first, the GCOBR Shinagawa, is located on the 4th floor of Atre Shinagawa in theShinagawa Station. The second, GCOBR Marunouchi, is located in Marunouchi MY PLAZA nearTokyo Station. A small branch was located in Terminal C atNewark Liberty International Airport, but closed in about 2021.[11]
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