Penn Station’s popular Tracks Raw Bar & Grill has found a new home in Grand Central Terminal. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Tuesday that the eatery opened on the concourse level of Grand Central Madison, Long Island Rail Road’s new east side terminal, becoming its first restaurant. Tracks will keep its current West 31st Street location and is also preparing to open a new location inside Penn Station.
Tracks opened in 2003 at Penn Station, located between the LIRR ticket windows and Tracks 18 and 19. It quickly became a commuter mainstay, attracting patrons who could grab a drink or two before catching a train home, as 6sqft previously reported.
In September 2019, the eatery and nine other businesses closed to make way for a new Penn Station entrance, part of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $600 million overhaul of the transit hub. The restaurant relocated above ground to a new spot on 31st Street and 7th Avenue.
Last spring, the MTA revealed plans to reopen Tracks as the first major commercial tenant at Grand Central Madison, which opened in January 2023.
The restaurant will offer its signature seafood-focused menu, including a raw bar, as well as a full drink menu. It will be open 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., with food served from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The new Tracks location comes after a strong summer for both the LIRR and Metro-North, which consistently broke post-pandemic ridership records, according to the MTA. On-time performance topped 98 percent for Metro-North and 97 percent for the LIRR.
In May, the LIRR recorded its best on-time performance for any May in recorded history, with a rate of 96.7 percent, while the Metro-North achieved a 99.1 percent on-time performance. Both railroads also set post-pandemic ridership highs this summer, with 285,050 riders on the LIRR and 255,638 on Metro-North on May 20.
“LIRR riders are loving Grand Central Madison, with 95% approval in customer satisfaction surveys, and now it’s getting even better,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “Tracks is the first step towards filling the terminal with a full range of retail and food options to go along with the most reliable service in the railroad’s long history.”
Tracks will also return to Penn Station, occupying 3,150 square feet at the renovated LIRR Concourse near the 7th Avenue entrance. Construction on the new space began last fall with plans to open by the end of the year, but no opening date has been announced.
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