Grand Central Madison 2 years later: Vacant storefronts, hungry commuters

Two years since Grand Central Madison opened its doors, the station’s 25,000 square feet of retail space remains vacant, leaving Long Island Rail Road commuters with few options for getting a bite to eat inside the $11 billion terminal.

Other than a bar and grill expected to open near the station’s waiting room this summer, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials aren’t sure if any of the 32 empty retail spaces inside the station will be occupied before Grand Central Madison turns 3 next year. And, because of ventilation restrictions, the eateries that do open will, at least initially, be limited to warming food, rather than cooking it, according to the MTA.

When full LIRR service launched there in February 2023, Grand Central Madison’s pristine and spacious conditions drew praise from Long Island commuters, many of whom looked forward to the day they could dine and shop along the 700,000-square foot station’s concourse.

But, Grand Central Madison looks largely the same as it did when it opened, with vacant storefronts covered with tantalizing images of pizza, diner countertops and shelves filled with artisanal delicacies. Posters ask prospective tenants, "What would you do with 32 retails units in the heart of NYC? A grand audience awaits."

While plentiful food and beverage options await commuters at the dining concourse above Grand Central Madison, hurried LIRR commuters say they'd prefer to grab something closer to their train.

Emerging at Grand Central Madison’s concourse level after riding the elevator up from his morning train, Dave Ostrander, of Huntington, said he’d be satisfied with "maybe a pizza place or something like that." Instead, his options are limited to a few snack kiosks sprinkled throughout the concourse.

"I would’ve thought that something would be open by now," said Ostrander, 66, an engineer.

No 'master tenant'

Stretching five city blocks below the existing Grand Central Terminal, the LIRR's second Manhattan terminal came after decades of planning, years of delays and more than $11 billion in spending as part of the MTA's East Side Access megaproject. MTA officials have said the station has been a huge success, growing daily morning ridership from 7,000 when it opened to 28,500 last year.

But the MTA has had a considerably harder time attracting merchants to the new terminal. Officials originally hoped to have some shops and eateries in place by the time full service launched at Grand Central Madison in February 2023, but failed to get the interest it expected when it sought bids from a "master tenant" — a sort of landlord who would have been in charge of curating the retail space in the station and recruiting businesses. At the time, MTA officials suggested potential bidders were hesitant because of uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Manhattan’s economy.

The MTA didn’t fare much better when it again put out a request for proposals for a master tenant contract last March. The MTA aimed to pick a winning bid by the fall and have businesses opening their doors throughout 2025. It heard back from two firms and couldn’t make a deal with either, MTA real estate director David Florio said in an interview.

"While we earnestly went at it together to make it work, it just simply didn’t happen. We really couldn’t reach terms," said Florio, who noted that one of the interested firms had a background in airport retail.

Earlier this month, MTA officials revealed that, after pursuing a master tenant for four years, they were abandoning the plan altogether, in favor of a more traditional strategy of negotiating leases with individual merchants.

MTA external communications chief John McCarthy defended the transit authority's decision not to rush into a longterm lease with a single vendor whose offer may not have reflected the Grand Central Madison's future potential.

"Sometimes you really have to consider when are you going to get your best price and when are you going to get your best tenant," McCarthy said in an interview. "I think it makes more sense to get the best deal for the public and the best deal for the riding public — the person who's going to use that retail."

The MTA is putting units out to bid in "batches," with proposals for the first six units due back next month, Florio said. It’s the MTA’s goal to have "one or two" of the businesses in place by the end of 2025, but Florio couldn’t guarantee they would open that soon.

Grand Central Madison’s first sit-down dining establishment should open much sooner than the others. Tracks Raw Bar & Grill — a staple at Penn Station for most of the last two decades — is under construction and set to open by June. The MTA negotiated the deal for Grand Central Madison’s "anchor tenant," as agency officials have called Tracks, separate from its other retail properties — using space initially intended for an LIRR customer waiting room near the ticket office.

"Tracks has faith in the foot traffic here and also the fact that they are, themselves, a destination," Florio said.

But other potential tenants have had more reservations about moving into Grand Central Madison. Florio cited several "risks" with operating a business in the new railroad terminal that have impacted negotiations with potential bidders. Unlike the "white box" finished interiors of retail establishments in the 112-year-old Grand Central Terminal, which sits on top of the new LIRR station, Grand Central Madison’s retail space is "raw," Florio said.

"There are columns that encumber the spaces because they’re for the office spaces above that predate the terminal," he said. "We're pulling electric into the space. We are pulling the fire alarm system into the space. But the rest of the space has to be finished out by the tenant."

Ventilation issue

Another challenge: the ventilation system throughout most of the terminal is not adequate for a traditional restaurant kitchen, meaning most new eateries would be limited to "warming" food, Florio said. A new office tower being built at 343 Madison Avenue, above Grand Central Madison, will provide the ventilation needed for some restaurants to move into the station in the future, Florio said.

Tracks Raw Bar & Grill owner Bruce Caulfield confirmed, when his business opens, it will be limited to uncooked meals, like oysters, salads and sandwiches, and "heat-and-serve" meals, like chili, soup and mac and cheese.

Fred Cerullo, the president/CEO of the Grand Central Partnership, a business and property owner advocacy group, said, despite some of the "physical challenges" of the station's retail space, the MTA's decision to hold out for a more lucrative arrangement with retail tenants is "prudent, smart and actually forward thinking."

As evidence of the station's economic potential, Cerullo pointed to a 77% increase in people from Long Island zip codes visiting the Grand Central business district since 2022. On weekends, that's up 90%, according to Cerullo.  

"The data has been very clear. It's been transformative to the neighborhood," Cerullo said. "Everyone is recognizing the incredible pedestrian activity that is occurring, which is, in part, being driven by Grand Central Madison.”

Marketing materials provided by the MTA to prospective bidders reveal the agency's "potential merchandising strategy" for the available units. Food and beverage vendors could include "cheese & prepared food," "grab & go," "salads/sandwiches," "deli & soup," baked goods, sushi, Italian food, a cafe, a beer stand and a few bars.

Other businesses could include a cosmetics boutique, hair and nail salons and gift shops, according to MTA materials. MTA officials plan to fill the storefronts one by one, starting at Grand Central Madison's south end and working their way north.

Kiosks, main Grand Central options

Although it will be a while before the new businesses open, MTA officials noted among the half-dozen kiosks already operating in Grand Central Madison are ones selling bagels, pastries and other baked goods.

And there are more food options at Grand Central Terminal’s dining concourse, including ones with table seating, just above the LIRR’s station.

"Long Island Rail Road customers, most of them, pass through this space on their way down to Grand Central Madison," Catherine Rinaldi, president of sister MTA railroad Metro-North, said at a Feb. 4 event promoting new dining options in the Grand Central complex.

But Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, said those are no substitute for the "convenience" of having shops inside Grand Central Madison, which at track level is about 15 stories below street level — and a long walk from the rest of the complex.

"If you’ve got 10 minutes for a train, you can grab a slice of pizza. If you’ve got to go up a level to grab your slice of pizza, you’re going to think twice because you might miss your train," said Bringmann, who suspects Grand Central Madison’s tucked-away location may also have detracted some merchants.

MTA officials said about 75,000 LIRR riders pass through Grand Central Madison each day, accounting for about 40% of the railroad’s Manhattan rush hour commuters. But LIRR president Robert Free has acknowledged that, outside of peak periods, about 70% of Manhattan-bound riders choose Penn Station. As a result, the railroad last year rerouted several off-peak trains from Grand Central Madison to Penn.

Florio expressed optimism that the foot traffic at Grand Central Madison will grow substantially in future years, as several major Midtown East developments are completed above ground with connections to the underground station, including JP Morgan Chase's 1,400-foot-tall new global headquarters under construction on Park Avenue.

"We are excited about those helping to create traffic that will make the retail much more marketable," Florio said.

Walking by the empty storefronts with a cup of coffee in her hand, Danielle Wrynn, of Flushing, Queens, said "the little booths" throughout the concourse suffice for now, but "it would be nice if they had more to offer."

"If you’re a commuter, it’s tough," Wrynn, 22, said. "But ... it’s New York. It’s the city that never sleeps. But it’s the city that also drags its feet all the time."

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.