A grim day for New York restaurants. September 9th will be remembered as a day of sadness for two legendary New York restaurants. Indeed, that day Tavern on the Green and Cafe des Artistes both filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is just another nail in the coffin for Tavern on the Green. The restaurant was already scheduled to close on December 31st anyway, as a new 20-year license was sold to the operator Central Park Boathouse. The restaurant will continue to operate and accept reservations through December 31st.

Tavern on the Green has long been nothing short of a a New York landmark. Generations have celebrated countless special events there. The restaurant has appeared in many films and TV shows over the years, including "Arthur", "Wall Street" and "New York Stories".

Taken over by Warner LeRoy more than 25 years ago, it was once one of the most successful restaurants in the country with a $40 million dollar operation, a staff of 525 and nearly 500,000 patrons annually. Only one block away from Tavern on the Green, is the shuttered Cafe des Artistes. It filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Tavern on the Green in New York City's Central Park may have been the second highest grossing restaurant in the U.S. last year but that doesn't make it immune to sale. On Tuesday, potential bidders for Tavern on the Green's operating license took the third of three fact-gathering tours. The restaurant's operating license expires December 31 but interested parties only have until May 18 to submit proposals and $50,000 bid deposits to compete for the license.

The 25,000-square-foot restaurant in Central Park has been a tourist draw for decades. One thing that doesn't come with the license to operate the restaurant is its famous name. The name has been owned by the LeRoy family since 1973. Restaurateur Warner LeRoy took over the restaurant's lease in 1974 but the first incarnation of Tavern on the Green as a restaurant dates back to 1934 when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia opened the restaurant with a brass key. Le Roy reopened the restaurant in 1976 after $10 million in renovations. Since LeRoy's death in 2001, it has been managed by his daughter, Jennifer Oz LeRoy. The NY Times reports that Michael Desiderio, Tavern's chief operating officer, said last month that the name "Tavern on the Green" had been appraised at $19 million.

Parks officials are planning to select the winner of the license by July. While the restaurant brings in millions of dollars each year it also has substantial overhead and that could increase. The Times says that under the terms of its current license, the LeRoy family is required to pay 3.5 percent of its gross receipts to the city but more recent licenses for other businesses often demand a larger percentage. The restaurant also could use a bit of refreshing. But for potential bidders the promise of a restaurant that is a guaranteed draw is pretty alluring.

One of New York's most famous restaurants, Tavern on the Green, is now getting a new branch all the way across the country. Tavern on the Green will be opening a massive 40,000-square-foot restaurant at San Francisco's Metreon. The restaurant will be on the the top floor, with an outdoor terrace overlooking Yerba Buena Gardens. The restaurant will have the same luxurious style that makes Tavern on the Green a popular tourist destination in New York with chandeliers, murals and art.

The new Tavern on the Green will focus on catering and special events. Brian Young, the former chef de cuisine of the three-star Michelin restaurant Le Bernardin and executive chef at Citarella the Restaurant, has been hired as executive chef. The restaurant is expected to open during summer 2009 and will focus on contemporary American with an emphasis on local ingredients and wine selections. The restaurant is closely identified with New York and with more formal fine dining than casual California is often used to, it will be interesting to see how they adapt the concept to the West Coast crowd.