Penn Station Bar Is Back on Tracks

For 16 years at Penn Station, Tracks Raw Bar and Grill kept hungry commuters happy with a raw bar, burgers, beers and other adult beverages on their way home. At the eastern end of the Long Island Rail Road level, its unique railroad decor added an additional panache for customers.

In 2019, Janno Lieber, headed up the MTA’s capital construction programs as the Chief Development Officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; during that year, he announced that the MTA was going to fund a $700 million redevelopment program for the Long Island Rail Road level at Penn Station, for a widened, brightened, and transformed retail space. When preliminary work there started in June of 2019, Tracks was booted from its home and decamped to nearby West 31st Street a few months later, after he received a letter that April saying Tracks would have to leave by Aug. 31 to make way the construction

And so it went for seven years, as the concourse took shape. In the meantime, Lieber became Chairman and CEO of the MTA; Tracks on West 31st continued to serve its customers. That site has since been sold to his former partners, Terrence and Michael O’Brien, brothers who grew up on the Upper East Side. They looked at a return to the original location but opted to stay above ground on West 31st. They’ve since renamed the former Tracks as O’Brien’s, and swapped the railroad theme for a sports theme.

While the new Tracks had a soft opening on August 8, and busy from that day, different tweaks needed to be worked out.

On September 17, Tracks Raw Bar and Grill reopened officially in the space it had vacated on August 31, 2019, now with a $3 million design reimagining and upgrade. It’s one of the oldest operating establishments in Penn Station, located in a corner of the LIRR concourse, behind the escalator leading out to Seventh Avenue and West 33rd Street, next to Dunkin’ Donuts and Tracks 18 and 19.

Noted now-MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber in his remarks at the ceremony, “After seven years above ground, the legendary tavern is coming back to a totally transformed LIRR corridor that’s achieved customer satisfaction records.” Known for its railroad theme with murals and vintage photographs that detail the LIRR and the other railroads that have operated into Penn Station, Tracks has always had a loyal band of commuters, railroad employees and visitors to Penn Station.

Tracks owner Bruce Caulfield, who had started as a proprietor in Penn Station almost 40 years ago, envisioned the concept of a raw bar, bar and grill and showplace of railroad artifacts almost 25 years ago. His positivity permeated the moment; “I want to thank the MTA, Vornado, the entire Long Island Rail Road team, and the many hardworking construction workers and skilled tradespeople who rebuilt this beautiful concourse and helped bring Tracks home,” he said as he spoke to invited guests and the media.

During the Media question and answer session, Straus News zeroed in on Chairman Lieber to focus on the LIRR level reconstruction, which started when he was MTA Chief Development Officer. He replied that what the railroad’s riders wanted was something brighter, airier, with clear sight lines, devoid of the impression that the ceiling was about to bump you on the head.

Addressing the current hot button of the Federal Government’s plans to redevelop Penn Station, he sent out a warning to it, as he told Straus News and the assembled media, “And by the way, the other thing is, you know, this facility was not designed to modern fire codes, and public safety in this space has been what we tell anybody else who wants to work on Penn, prioritize that first! Safety aspect of more egress, better sight lines, higher ceilings for smoke to gather, all those things. Focus on safety, focus on egress, focus on bringing some light into here, so people don’t feel like they’re in a closed box. When the federal group and maybe the private sector people finally do give us the plans and ask us for feedback, that’s what we’re going to be talking about, making it a better and safer place for the customer.”

At the close of the press conference, when asked about his return to Penn Station, owner Caulfield remarked “I came back because I always knew I wanted to come back here. It took seven years, but I’m glad I’m here!” To address another question about the favorite beer of customers at the new spot, Caulfield mentioned that as a proud Irish-American, he was honored to be selling more Guinness than any other brew.

To conclude the official ceremony, guests followed Father Bryan Jordan, of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street. When all were inside the cozy Tracks space, he blessed the beer taps at the bar. After the prayer, patrons, politicos and MTA officials toasted each other as they hoisted a Guinness in honor of the grand reopening of the reimagined iconic spot.

Currently, Tracks has no website or public telephone number. The official social media feed is @trackspennnyc.