The historic Tavern on the Green restaurant opened last spring to much fanfare, but received mostly poor reviews. It has lost two big name chefs. Today, it was reported it will also lose its iconic name, but that report in the New York Post has proved to be incorrect.
The tabloid reported the restaurant had lost the rights to its name in federal court, and according to a press release, Jennifer Oz LeRoy won the trademark. Her father took over the lease for the restaurant in 1974 and today, she announced that the name now belonged to her.
“Tavern on the Green is and always will be a part of my family,” said LeRoy in the statement. “Reacquiring the rights to the name feels like a homecoming.”
But Oz Leroy will only be using the name outside NYC, and Tavern on the Green in NYC will be retaining the name here.
“To be clear I do have the trademark back outside of NYC- no relation to the restaurant in Central Park but wish them luck!,” she tweeted.
LeRoy ran the eatery after her father Warner LeRoy died in 2001, and the trademark is valued at $19 million, according to the Post.
LeRoy, who is the granddaughter of Holly wood director and “The Wizard of Oz” producer Mervyn Le Roy, will open “luxury” Tavern on the Green restaurants “across the world.” The first, Tavern on the Green Polo West, will open in Wellington, Fl., near Palm Beach in October 2015. She has partnered with All American Licensing & Management Group to establish a line of “Green” products, too.
According to a press statement, the Tavern on the Green owners Jim Caiola and David Salama wish LeRoy the best.
