Dean Poll’s headaches are only getting bigger, according to a Diner’s Journal piece. Tavern on the Green’s current owner, Jennifer “Oz” LeRoy, apparently of the opinion that there’s no place like home, wants a bankruptcy court to let her stay in the space for as long as three months past her December 31 move-out date so that she can conduct an on-site auction of Tavern’s $8.171 million in assets, including artwork and chandeliers. Otherwise, she says, she might have to lay off her 400 employees and close during the lucrative holiday season so that Tavern’s fixtures can be moved to a remote auction site. LeRoy argues that this would hurt her chances of repaying the creditors named in Tavern’s bankruptcy case, and the union is siding with her. On the other hand, new leaseholder Dean Poll says that if he can’t take over operations on January 1 as planned, he may have to shut down the restaurant for two years while he conducts renovations that were previously meant to occur while the restaurant was open, something that might also jeopardize the workers’ jobs. Meanwhile, tourists eagerly wait to find out who will be serving them their crab cakes.
Timing Becomes an Issue in Tavern on the Green Dispute [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
