Restaurant Delayed at GCM, but Beer/Wine Will Soon Flow at Mini Tracks; Wine Cellar Opens in Penn
Supply chain problems were cited for the delay in opening a full Tracks Raw Bar & Restaurant in Grand Central Madison but a mini Tracks is now planned to open on Jan. 20, while construction of the full restaurant is underway. And a Penn Station wine store is also open.
| 12 Jan 2025 | 04:17
On January 20, harried LIRR commuters will be able to sitting in this area in Grand Central Madison, the first vestige of Tracks Raw Bar and Grill to appear in the station that has been a restaurant desert in its first two years of operation. Supply chain issues had pushed back the full restaurant’s opening until this Spring. (
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Owner Bruce Caulfield stands at the front of his brand new Penn Cellars wine and spirits store in Penn Station Long Island Rail Road Concourse which opened on December 23, 2024. (
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When Tracks Bar and Grill fully opens on the Grand Central Madison Concourse now set for April, behind this door will be the kitchen and food preparation area. For the first time at GCM, freshly prepared food will be available to commuters and passers-by in the station that is one quarter mile underground. (
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Looking like a misdirected installation of an art exhibition, since December, Grand Central Madison travelers may have noticed this hulking boxed off area; no Picassos or Renoirs inside—it is a construction area for the brand new Tracks Bar and Grill to be open on the concourse. With its Spring opening, bivalves, crustaceans, hamburgers, beverages will be served, ending the two-year-old terminal’s status as a restaurant desert. (
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As LIRR commuters whisk by on the outside, a quiet calm exists within the walls of Penn Cellars. A large inventory of wine and spirits nest on shelves of dark mahogany wood, a rare upscale touch for a liquor store in the nation’s busiest rail hub. (
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As the Grand Central Madison terminal and concourse observes its second anniversary of opening on January 25, its retail spaces have been bereft of venues. There are a handful of kiosks that dispense light food and soft beverages for hungry commuters between 43rd and 48th Street entrances, but no place to sit down, no place to have a cold one waiting for your LIRR train east.
That’s about to change on January 20.
Tracks Raw Bar and Grill signed a contract with the MTA in March of 2024 to provide such a place, where crustaceans and Chardonnay will be offered to travelers and passers-by. Predictions were the new (and, currently, the only non-kiosk retail venue in the concourse) would have been opened by October, 2024 as the first restaurant in the new station a quarter mile underground. That was not to be; the contractor of the job had not anticipated lead time on needed metal fabrication work, vital for the space that owner Bruce Caulfield anticipated, in an exclusive conversation with Straus News Manhattan.
“Simply,” Caulfield related, “between the need for a lot of metal that was needed and supply chain issues, the project lost a lot of valuable time.”
The MTA, he noted, was upset with how long the construction has been taking, but had been very helpful and had given a transformer to aid in the operation of Tracks at Grand Central Madison once it opens. Construction did start in mid-December.
In the interim, on January 20, there will be a kiosk plus, where a roped-off few tables and chairs will adjoin a small serving area. This is near the LIRR ticket office at the 46th Street end of the concourse.
In a previous statement, Caulfield had indicated that the kiosk would be opened by the middle of March, but now, there is no need to wait until then. He told Straus News Manhattan that he was happy to open after the Holidays to insure that more commuters are able to take advantage of the new space.
An attendant will dispense beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Also available? cheese plates and small sandwiches crafted by Murray’s Cheese. At last, customers will be able to enjoy their beverage and snack as they wait for the 5:51p.m. train to Babylon–or any other east bound train out of the city–either sitting down, or as a grab and go to enjoy on board. The hours for the mini-Tracks will be 3-8 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Once Tracks Raw Bar and Grill opens in full–now planned for April, five months after its original scheduled opening–the menu will broaden exponentially, alcoholic choices will be vast, and a full waitstaff will be on hand to serve. There will be a separate kitchen/prep area with an electric stove; while piped water has already been connected, there will not be a gas connection. Anticipated hours will be 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. during the week; on weekends, 11 a.m to 8 p.m. To give you a sense of place at the new Tracks, there will be model trains running as well.
And on the West Sidw, Caulfield is also a very busy person.
Open for business since December 23, his Penn Cellars liquor store is open for business on the newly revived and widened Long Island Rail Road concourse at Penn Station. A huge wine selection compliments mahogany shelves, a quiet zone of contemplation in the busiest transportation complex in the nation, where an estimated 600,000 commuters pour through each weekday. Halfway down the concourse between 7th and 8th Avenues, the new wine cellar is open during most of the week from 9 a.m to 10 p.m.; on Sundays, 10-8.
Moving towards the Seventh Avenue end of the Concourse is the Penn Station Tracks Raw Bar and Grill. When plan approval is completed, which should be soon, construction permits will be issued, and another contractor, separate from the one used at Grand Central Madison, will oversee the project’s completion. While metal caused a slowdown at GCM, this Tracks will use mostly wood, including a similar mahogany to what is installed at Penn Cellars; there should not be any delays with that material. Tracks’ Penn Station iteration should be open around Memorial Day Weekend.
While the original Tracks Raw Bar and Grill was on the LIRR level at Penn Station, the MTA made the venue move for the revitalization of the Long Island concourse five years ago. The original operation then moved to West 31st Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Currently, the only Tracks full-service restaurant, once the Penn Station Tracks Bar and Grill opens, the 31st Street location will change its name and emphasis; so far neither has been decided for sure.
By Summer of 2025, NYC LIRR passengers can look forward to gustatory and any beverage delights before, after or during their travels. Crustaceans at the stations will become a New York thing.