Out with the cars, in with the carbs.
The Crossroads of the World will become a sidewalk café under a plan to bring food and drink service to Times Square’s pedestrian plazas.
Starting this summer, up to five vendors will be contracted to take orders and serve food to people sitting at the 350 red chairs and 100 tables within the car-free area, according to a request for proposals released today.
“If you’re sitting there, we want you to have the opportunity to get a light beverage or snack,” Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, told the Post. “We’re constantly thinking about how to make these Broadway plazas a great urban space.”
The business improvement district is also seeking companies interested in providing delivery service from nearby restaurants to the plaza seating.
So if someone wanted to east a pulled pork sandwich from Virgil’s, for instance, they could order it right from their seat in Times Square.
“This is an experiment,” Tompkins said. “We want to see what ideas people have.”
Revenue from both the food concession and the delivery service would be used to help maintain the plazas.
Currently many people who work in office buildings near Times Square walk over to Bryant Park to have lunch, where there are several food service options, Tompkins said.
“We want to make it appealing to the people who work for Morgan Stanley Conde Nast, or the tourists to sit here and have a light snack,” he said.
Unlike Shake Shack, which helped revitalize Madison Square Park, no permanent, full-service restaurants will be able to set up shop in Times Square.
But with 350,000 visitors daily, the plazas may rank among the most lucrative outdoor dining locations in the city.