Gustavino Tiles
Architect and builder Rafael Guastavino was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1842 and came to New York City in 1881. Guastavino had built vaulted houses in Spain using clay tiles set in mortar and continued to refine this traditional technique—called bóveda catalana, or Catalan vault—to make vaults that could span relatively large distances. He patented his “Tile Arch System” in 1885.   His first major commission came from McKim, Mead & White, who asked him to create vaulting for the Boston Public Library. Guastavino’s graceful vaults can be seen in many New York City locations, including the Elephant House at the Bronx Zoo, the Great Hall at Ellis Island, and in the market under the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.   The large vault at the entrance of the Oyster Bar has long been known as the Whispering Gallery and is considered one of the “secrets” of Grand Central Terminal. Stand facing into one corner with a friend in the opposite corner, speak in a normal tone, and your voice “follows the curvature of the ceiling,” says urban historian Justin Ferate. “It’s called telegraphing.” Your friend will hear you as clearly as if you were having a conversation face-to-face.

Yesensky remained at the Oyster Bar for thirty-three years, and the restaurant continued in its vital role in the New York food scene. Anthony Gil, head waiter in the 1940s, collected autographs of notable diners, including two chief justices of the United States: Charles Evans Hughes and former president William Howard Taft. “There were some truly exceptional tastes to be tasted, too, especially in seafood,” Jan Morris reported in Manhattan ’45. “Incomparable oyster stews were prepared at the Grand Central Oyster Bar by Viktor Yesensky and his thirty-six oystermen.” After Yesensky’s retirement in 1946, Nick Rossetos led the thirty-six oystermen. It’s said that twenty-six of these had worked at the Oyster Bar for at least twenty-five years—a history of dedicated employment that continues today.

1950’s – late 1960’s As years passed, though, long-distance train travel fell out of fashion. Money was short, and Grand Central Terminal fell into disrepair, and with it, the Oyster Bar. By the early 1970s, it was derelict, bankrupt, and waiting for a savior. The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority approached Jerome Brody to take over the restaurant.

Jerome Brody’s words still ring true: “Old and new friends come back regularly—some of them every day—for some of the 25 or 30 varieties of oysters we carry fresh daily of a favorite dish that they insist doesn’t taste the same anywhere else. The Oyster Bar & Restaurant with its high, vaulted ceiling and the architectural grandness of an age gone by has an ambiance now that makes it different from any other restaurant in the world, and since people enjoy our cuisine, they come back again and again.” Brody had had a storied career in the restaurant business. From his leadership position of Restaurant Associates and the later United Brody Company, Jerome Brody had overseen the launching or restoration of a series of legendary New York restaurants: The Forum of the Twelve Caesars, The Four Seasons, The Brasserie, Mama Leone’s, La Fonda del Sol, Gallagher’s, the Rainbow Room. When Brody inspected the Oyster Bar he found the marble at the base of the arches had been covered with three layers of aqua contact paper. The walls between the arches were concrete, then hung with fishing nets “decorated” with plastic fish. The potted palms of the early days were gone. But perhaps most disturbing, the once-glorious tiles were thick with grime. “They were black,” Mrs. Brody recalls, “literally black. Jerry had the steam cleaners in and they had to do the job twice!” Still, it was a glorious space, and Brody determined he could restore the restaurant to its former glory. Brody decided that the Oyster Bar needed to become a destination restaurant, not just a place in a train station where commuters could grab a bite on their way to a train. The name of the restaurant gave him his idea, so he and his wife, Marlene, began visiting seafood restaurants. They went to every seafood restaurant they could find within a radius of 50 miles. The fish they found was frozen; the preparations were basic. Nevertheless, wherever they went, they found the restaurants bustling. Brody knew he could do better. He would reinvent the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant as a seafood palace. But the fish would be fresh. And it would be a palace for the people, with a variety of dining options. As you enter the Oyster Bar, you face what was once called the Canopy Bar. The fishing nets that hung from the arches and gave the bar its name are long gone, but the classic Eero Saarinen tulip tables and chairs that Mrs. Brody so loves are still there. To the left—beyond the maitre d’s podium and the tank filled with live lobsters, is the sprawling dining room. This is the place for more traditional dining, at tables covered with an Oyster Bar signature—the red-and-white checked tablecloths—and wooden armchairs upholstered in brown leather. To the right is a labyrinth of counters, where regulars line up to wait for their favorite “counter girl” (who likely has been working there for 20 years or more). Opposite the counters is the oyster bar, where diners sit on high stools and watch cooks prepare the famed stews and pan roasts from steam-powered, swiveled pans and note the lightning speed with which the shuckers turn out plate after plate of fresh, briny oysters and clams. Farther on still is the Saloon, a dark, woody room—quieter, without the echoes of the tiled arches, and the room of choice for a business lunch. Outside, to the right of the entrance, along the ramp that leads from the upper to the lower level of Grand Central Terminal, is the take-out window—bustling at lunch and in the evening commuting hours. Once the floor plan had been established, Brody set out to make the Oyster Bar & Restaurant the finest seafood restaurant possible. The fish and shellfish would be of the highest quality, fresh from the sea, and prepared with care and simplicity. He and Marlene began searching. They explored Maine for the best lobsters (the lobstermen they found there still supply the Oyster Bar), the Chesapeake Bay for oysters, and crabs. They consulted with A. J. McClane, author of The Encyclopedia of Fish, and learned of fish enjoyed by European gourmets but unknown in American restaurants. Brody developed a wide network of sources, perhaps the most important being individual fishermen who would come to the Oyster Bar when they had something special. The menu would include significant recipes from the original menu, like the oyster stew, but Brody worked with his chef to create a panoply of simple, perfectly cooked dishes. When fish was broiled, it was broiled to perfection. When fried, the coating was crisp and the fish was flaky and moist. The chowders were classic, and they are prepared today as they were when Jerome Brody reinvented the Oyster Bar. Two employees were key in the new restaurant. George Morfogen, the fish buyer, was a major force—visiting the wholesale fish market early every morning and personally selecting the thousands of pounds of fish to be served that day. “He had tremendous knowledge and really knew fish,” Mrs. Brody remembers. “And he was an incredible human being. Pleasant. Always in a good mood.” The Oyster Bar pictured above in the 70’s was setup differently, customers sat on both sides of The Oyster Bar’s counter while the Chef’s prepared the stews and pan roasts and shucked oysters in the middle.   Oyster Bar in action in the 1970’s.

Revisiting the restaurant for the Times in 1980, Mimi Sheraton wrote, “The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant . . . remains the classic setting for clams and oysters on the half shell and the justly famous oyster stew and oyster pan roast.” She praised the broiling, “with the fish cooked to the point of moist and snowy perfection,” and mentioned several recipes that remain on the menu today (and which are included in these pages). Among “the excellent first courses are the cool mussels in half shells in a sheer Dijon mustard sauce,” she noted. “Try the marinated squid salad with slivers of red onion.” As for the desserts: “Among them the best are . . . rice pudding that seems to be based on clouds of whipped cream.”

Three significant employees joined the Oyster Bar in 1990. Janet Poccia—the current comptroller, President—came on as an assistant bookkeeper. Mohammed Lawal-Manager of the back of house, Vice President—was hired as a dishwasher. And executive chef Sandy Ingber- Executive Chef, Vice President - was hired as seafood buyer. George Morfogen came out of retirement to train Sandy. “The job was so involved that even though I considered myself a seafood chef, it still took me almost three months to feel really comfortable in my duties as buyer.” These three were to play a major role when Jerome Brody started to think about retirement.

1997- Oyster Bar’s Fire
Early one June morning in 1997, Brody received a phone call. There had been a fire in the Oyster Bar. A restaurant fire is always disastrous, but with the Oyster Bar, it was disaster compounded. Fire officials reported to the New York Times that “the heat in the windowless underground vault was so intense that furnishings and fixtures melted.” The Times went on to say that “the heat, combined with the pressure of water driving into the flames, brought down hundreds of the gracefully curved ceiling tiles, part of a distinctive architecture that made the glazed, arched canopies seem like parachutes billowing in a breeze.” Mohammed Lawal remembers standing next to Brody, surveying the damage and thinking that it was time to start looking for a new job. But Brody put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Mohammed, get your plumbers, get your electricians, and get to work.” The police department shared their space in Grand Central, providing a base of operations—and an all-important phone—and Mohammed set a staff of dishwashers to the job of cleaning up. Three weeks later, the Oyster Bar reopened, with a cold menu being served in the Saloon. The Oyster Bar is a registered New York City landmark, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission was determined that it be restored exactly. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (which holds the lease to the site) was obstructionist and insisted on a master plan, rather than piecemeal restoration, and they wanted the restaurant closed until the job was complete. They took Brody to court to stop work. And lost. Brody continued to work with the contractor from the 1974 restoration, his union electrician and plumber, and the carpenter who had restored the paneling. “Construction was going on,” Mohammed remembers, “but still, the customers came.” “These days it takes courage just to go to the Oyster Bar. . . . Inside the restaurant you are still in a construction zone; the blueprints are posted by the lobster tank,” wrote Ruch Reichl. “But for all that, it is still the Oyster Bar. The rich aroma of shellfish, Worcestershire sauce and cream still greet you the minute you walk through the door.” And, “Significantly, the regulars have returned. They sit at the counter with their platters of bluepoints and cherrystones and their schooners of beer.” A small factory outside Buffalo, New York, was able to re-create the terra cotta Guastavino tiles. Landmarks sent representatives to the Oyster Bar to supervise the installation. The chandeliers presented another problem. The originals had not been very successful at lighting the space (the strings of tiny bulbs outlining the arches were hung for the first Christmas of Brody’s Oyster Bar, and Mrs. Brody wisely insisted they stay), and Brody wanted a change. He asked lighting consultant Howard Brandston to design something new. Brandston’s design was brilliant. It was based on a ship’s steering wheel, encircled by tiny reproductions of the fishing ships that plied New York harbor when Cornelius Vanderbilt commissioned Grand Central. Brody and Brandston won their battle with Landmarks, and the new chandeliers were installed. When the restaurant was again fully back in business, the Landmarks Commission hosted a cocktail party at the Oyster Bar, under the chandeliers the Metropolitan Transit Authority said would never be approved.

1999 – ESOP
In 1999, the nonunion employees of the Oyster Bar received 49 percent of the restaurant. Brody continued to hold the controlling interest and franchising rights, but Mohammed remembers Mr. Brody often calling him over to introduce him to a colleague or customer, saying, “This is the owner of the Oyster Bar.” Janet says, “You could feel the energy from all the employees. We were working for a goal, something that would benefit us.” And while Brody was always available for questions, “he wouldn’t tell us how to do anything or take sides in a conflict. He’d smile and tell us to figure it out amongst ourselves.” Jerome Brody died in 2001. In 2004, Marlene Brody transferred the remaining 51 percent to the ESOP, and in 2012 the final payment was made. The employees now own 100 percent of the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, with Mrs. Brody as the franchise owner. “I think he was very pleased with his decision,” says Janet. “And it was very unusual. There are maybe 11,000 ESOPs in the country, but just two of them are restaurants.” This may have been the greatest legacy Jerome Brody left to New York’s restaurant business.

2013 – Grand Central Oyster Bar 100th Anniversary
Oyster Bar has a great deal to celebrate in 2013 as the restaurant turns 100 years old, marking a century of tradition and new ventures like the ESOP. “For our birthday we joined the American Cancer Society and the Alzheimer’s Association to host a private buffet-style dinner to raise money for both organizations,” reveals Janet. “We’ve been doing this event for about three years now and it’s a huge success.” As Oyster Bar welcomes a new century of continued success, Janet, Mohammed, and Sandy reflect on its rich history and the development of an employee-owned establishment that will carry on a tradition for years to come. The Grand Central Oyster Bar, Inc. remains a New York City landmark devoted to serving the finest quality seafood supported by invested employees.