Businesses Struggle In Grand Central Dining Area: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Several businesses operating in the Grand Central Terminal Dining Concourse are having trouble staying open despite the area's heavy tourist and commuter traffic, according to reports.

Business owners told the Wall Street Journal that their restaurants are failing due to the dining concourse's outdated facilities and expensive rents. Joe Germanotta — owner of Art Bird and Whiskey Bar and father of pop star Lady Gaga — told the newspaper that he pays $50,000 per month to keep his business running and estimated Art Bird could go under in the next year.

"If I had known this before I sunk all the money into this space, I wouldn’t have done it," Germanotta told the Wall Street Journal.

Several other business owners laid out a laundry list of complaints to the paper: Crawling internet service, poorly-designed seating areas, filthy bathrooms and a heavy presence of people experiencing homelessness.

MTA officials told the Wall Street Journal that a business' success in the dining concourse has more to do with its performance than its location. Data shows that there are both struggling and flourishing businesses located in the retail area, according to the transit agency.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.