Ark Restaurants expects legal battle over Bryant Park Grill to go to trial

The battle over New York’s Bryant Park Grill and sister concepts continues.

More than a year after Ark Restaurants, operator of the 1,000-seat Bryant Park Grill, lost a bid to continue to lease the spaces in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, the restaurants are still there and operating, pending an ongoing lawsuit.

Michael Weinstein, the publicly traded Ark’s CEO, said in a second quarter earnings report on Tuesday that he expects the lawsuit to go to trial late this year, or early in 2027. “I’m sure whoever wins that trial will be faced with an appeal from the opposite side, which will take another 1.5 years,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said the 30-year-old restaurant remains profitable, though litigation expenses offset “a good portion” of that profitability, he said.

Ark also operates the Bryant Park Café and The Porch in the park, and Weinstein said the venues have suffered from the lease uncertainty because visitors and residents were led to believe the restaurants were closed. The company said the three venues accounted for more than 13% of the company’s revenue during the quarter.

The winning bid for the restaurant lease last year reportedly went to Jean-Georges Restaurants and Seaport Entertainment Group. Ark Restaurants’ lawsuit, however, targets Bryant Park Corp., the private nonprofit that oversees Bryant Park, which has attempted to evict Ark Restaurants from the properties.

Ark argues that the landlord neglected to obtain required approvals from the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the New York Public Library, adjacent to the park, before awarding the lease to Jean-Georges, rendering the lease ineffective.

Meanwhile, for Ark Restaurants, same-store sales were down 7.6% for the group, which includes 16 restaurants and bars and 12 fast-food concepts, mostly in New York, but also Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Florida and Alabama.

Revenues declined to $36.6 million for the March 28-ended quarter, compared with $39.7 million a year ago, but that decline was partly tied to the closure of Tampa Food Court. Excluding that closure, same-store sales were down 7.5%.

The company reported a net loss of $1.8 million, compared with a net loss of $9.2 million a year ago.