Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Grand Central Bar Carts & Commissary Counters Closed Amid Investigation Into Missing Money
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Dec 13, 2016
Modified Dec 13, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Nathan Tempey/Gothamist
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Dec 13, 2016
Modified Dec 13, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The bar carts and commissary counters at Grand Central Terminal have been closed since last Wednesday as the MTA is auditing the vendors under a shroud of suspicion. An MTA spokesman confirmed a Journal News report stating that Metro-North suspended booze sales as part of a probe into missing money, and that three employees have been suspended as the investigation continues.
The MTA Inspector General's Office is involved in the investigation, a spokesman for the agency confirmed.
Metro-North booze sales were already set to be suspended over the weekend for SantaCon. The carts and commissary are cash only. For the coming year, the MTA anticipates that the retail operations in Grand Central will bring in $68 million in total revenue. If history is any guide, several million of that would be coming from the bar carts and commissary counters.
Signs along the upper-level tracks where the bar carts would normally be currently advise commuters that the carts and counters "are not available at this time," and recommend that seekers of cold ones try one of the businesses inside the terminal.
(Nathan Tempey/Gothamist)
Brian O'Gorman, a construction manager from Greenwich, Connecticut, has been commuting into the city for 15 years, often stopping for a beer with the lads before catching the train back. On Monday afternoon at around 4:30, capping a work shift that started in the early morning, he was standing around a tall table on the lower level with a group of fellow working stiffs sipping on tall cans of Budweiser and Bud Light that he said they purchased at the nearby Zaro's Bakery. Usually, he and the fellows patronize the carts, and he is sad to see them taken out of commission.
"Zaro's is getting our money now," he said. "There you're just a customer. Over here," at the carts, "they treated you like a person."
O'Gorman said he'd heard rumors of the investigation and noticed the carts gone on Friday.
"Those were good guys," he said of the cart vendors. "They took care of you like a regular. I feel for 'em. It's the holidays, and they've got families."
Transport Workers Union Local 2001 did not respond to a call seeking comment.
In a statement, an MTA spokesman said, "We will re-open the commissary as quickly as possible."
In September, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy announced that the beloved in-train Metro-North bar cars, discontinued in 2014, are returning to the New Haven Line. No date has been set.
Tagged
audit
bar carts
cash only
commissary
grand central
investigation
MTA
Nathan Tempey
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .