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Tavern on the Green is now Food Trucks on the Green.
The site of the closed restaurant officially became home to some of the city’s hippest fast food yesterday when four food trucks opened for business on the former Central Park restaurant’s grounds.
“We did great today; it was the introduction,” said Leslie Lampert, 56, the owner of Ladles of Love, a soup and sandwich maker that was among the quartet of food trucks.
“There are a lot of curious parkgoers here. This is nostalgia for me in terms of having Tavern on the Green in my life personally and culturally. This makes me so proud.”
The trucks were set up in an open area that was once the site of the Tavern’s tony Crystal Room. The Tavern was closed and the room demolished after the city didn’t renew its contract with the Tavern’s old owners, and a new deal fell through.
In recent years, some customers had said Tavern on the Green was stuck in a culinary rut. Yesterday, some former Tavern patrons said the new fare was actually an improvement.
“I like this better than the fussy food I would have had at Tavern on the Green,” said former Tavern patron Roberta Ballin, a teacher from Long Island. “The last few years it was more of a tourist spot. Now it’s definitely for New Yorkers. If I’m in the area and I want to eat, I’ll know this is here and pop in.”
In addition to the sandwich and soup truck, the newly opened area features the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, Pera Turkish Tacos and a Van Leeuwen ice-cream truck.
“I’ve been here for dinner when [the Tavern] was a special-occasion place,” said Nancy Zelenetz, 53, of Scarsdale. “This is more alive. I thought the dumplings were delicious. Eating here used to be like a commitment.”
To get to the food-truck court, diners have to go through the remains of the old Tavern building, which has been turned into a Central Park visitors center.