Nearly 1,000 people filled Cipriani 42nd Street to celebrate the Grand Central Partnership, raise money for the homeless, and showcase delectable cuisine from some of Midtown’s best restaurants.
The Grand Central Partnership, which runs the Grand Central Business Improvement District, one of 75 BIDs citywide, held “Grand Gourmet – The Flavor of Midtown” on Feb. 27, continuing a tradition that has lasted more than 20 years.
This year’s event, however, also celebrated the neighborhood’s ongoing comeback. More office workers are returning to Midtown and giving the community a spark not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.
‘This neighborhood is coming back’
Thirty-five restaurants and bars participated in the gala event, filling the high-ceilinged, high-end Cipriani 42nd Street with food, drink, and plenty of networking in a taster’s paradise.
“We’re very lucky to have some of the best restaurants in the world in this area,” said Grand Central Partnership President and CEO Fred Cerullo. “This only helps to promote this neighborhood that they call home. It also gives back to those in need.”
Chefs cooked for and conversed with guests, such as Nick Testa, chef at Albert’s Bar on 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, who said Grand Central is rediscovering some of its grandeur as employees return to work.
“This neighborhood is coming back. We’ve seen it come back in a big way,” Testa said as he served octopus salad. “As far as happy hour crowd, people coming back to the offices, enjoying Midtown the way it should be enjoyed.”
Alfredo Villa, general manager of Pershing Square, a nearby restaurant that opened in 2019, said the district is doing well.
“We’re getting up there again. People are coming back. There are more tourists,” Villa said. “People are coming back to the office buildings. They want to stay at home and work, but I guess nobody can stay home forever.”
Origins of ‘Grand Gourmet’
When Cerullo started working for the partnership in 1999, he began branding the neighborhood.
“I wanted to spend some time focusing on our food and beverage industry to help redefine what people consider a 9-to-5 neighborhood as a more of a 24/7 community,” he said. “You can’t be a 24/7 community without bars, restaurants and lounges.”
The Partnership launched “Grand Gourmet: the Flavor of Midtown” in 2000, soon after Cerullo took over.
“It has grown because it immediately had a following by the businesses in the neighborhood and the people who lived and worked around the neighborhood and visited,” Cerullo said. “We sell out every year.”
The social element, with chefs at tables introducing restaurants and rhapsodizing about recipes, adds another twist to the tastings.
“We learned early on that we wanted this to be a social networking opportunity where the restaurants were the stars, the businesses were the stars,” Cerullo added.
Hospitality Holdings, which owns Madison & Vine, the Empire Rooftop and Bookmarks, in the Library hotel, presented food at various tables.
The Food Hall Co. gave a sneak peek as it plans to open a Shaver Hall in the former Lord & Taylor building now occupied by Amazon at 424 5th Avenue near 38th Street and Fifth Avenue.
“Grand Central is iconic for the city,” said Elpidio Hernandez, a senior manager and general manager of the Empire Rooftop, in the Empire Hotel.
Royal 35 Steakhouse, on 35th Street, served small pieces of New York strip steak with Bourdelais sauce, while Tommy Bahama restaurant, bar, and store chef Gustavo Aguiar presented ahi tuna poke.
“I worked here so many years, I spent more time in the city than in my own house,” said Reinaldo Santiago, a sanitation sweeper for nearly 28 years on Fifth Avenue from 1998 to earlier this year. “Management was awesome to me. The partnership has a lot of good employees.”
Making its mark
The Partnership has left its mark, from sanitation to seating to poetry plaques on the sidewalk near the library. It has been working on projects throughout the neighborhood, and more are in the works.
They’re creating what Cerullo calls a “shared street” on 43rd Street with widened sidewalks and sitting areas, although cars will still have access.
In December, they opened Pershing Square East, a new plaza on the east side of the Park Avenue viaduct. Pershing Square West opened just before COVID-19, providing a new public space.
The Partnership raised money from sponsors to defray costs and is donating its net proceeds to the Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services Corp., or Mainchance, which provides necessities and services to the homeless in Midtown East.
“This has not only a business branding promotion focus,” Cerullo said. “It also is philanthropic with its social service component.”
