Gabriel's Bar & Restaurant, the Northern Italian spot tucked into the base of 40 Central Park South, has spent decades feeding some of the city's most powerful diners — including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Warren Buffett. This week, the restaurant avoided being forced out of its own dining room after landlord ATCO Properties & Management moved to evict it over unpaid rent.
According to New York Post, Gabriel's defaulted on roughly $81,000 in monthly rent starting July 1, prompting ATCO to seek $88,246 in back rent, expenses, interest and legal fees. The bill also included nearly $6,000 owed for water service and about $2,000 left over from a previously agreed debt settlement, the report says. ATCO said all issues were recently resolved and that the eviction action was being dismissed.
A Fixture on Billionaires' Row
Gabriel's occupies the ground floor and basement levels of 40 Central Park South, a 23-story tower on Manhattan's so-called Billionaires' Row that includes 139 units, two attended lobbies, a gym and locked elevator access, according to The Real Deal. The building has counted Lady Gaga, who rented a penthouse there from 2013 to 2017, along with Rod Stewart and Lance Armstrong, among its former residents. Today the restaurant's menu includes dishes like an $89 grilled filet mignon with bordelaise sauce, the outlet notes.
Forced Out of Columbus Circle, Rebuilt From Scratch
Gabriel's first opened in December 1991, according to Manhattan Sideways, inside a space near Columbus Circle at 11 West 60th Street. Over 28 years there, the restaurant served more than 2.5 million meals and hosted over 5,000 private functions, according to West Side Rag. Gabriel's was forced to vacate in July 2019 after the building was slated for demolition to make way for a new residential high-rise, as iLoveTheUpperWestSide.com reported at the time.
A Pandemic-Era Bet on Central Park South
The build-out proved costly. Founder Gabriel Aiello mortgaged his Hamptons home and took out additional loans to finance a new 4,600-square-foot dining room, per the outlet, and that work stalled when COVID-19 shut down the restaurant's operations in March 2020. Gabriel's didn't soft-launch the Central Park South location until the summer of 2021, and it now shares its address with Sarabeth's Central Park South, the same report notes.
Designed by David Rockwell, Anchored by a $125,000 Bar
Architect David Rockwell designed the new space, which is anchored by a custom $125,000 bar crafted from butternut wood, oiled brass and green marble, according to West Side Rag. Available units in the tower itself now start at $6,200 a month for a 740-square-foot one-bedroom and climb to $13,200 for a 1,464-square-foot two-bedroom, the outlet reports.
From Bloomberg's Favorite Table to CBS Newsmen's Memorials
Beyond the Clintons and Buffett, Gabriel's has hosted a bipartisan sweep of power players over the years. Mitt Romney reportedly decided to launch his presidential candidacy over lunch there, while regulars have included Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Stephen Colbert and former NYSE chairman Lloyd Blankfein, according to Our Town NY. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Gabriel's his favorite eatery in the city and reportedly dined there nearly every Thursday while in office, per Manhattan Sideways. In 2011, Bloomberg held his first one-on-one dinner with then-newly elected Gov. Andrew Cuomo at Gabriel's over $25 fettuccine and a $35 yellowfin tuna steak, and CBS newsmen Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Bob Simon and Morley Safer also frequented the restaurant and later had memorial dinners held there, the outlet reported.
The Landlord Behind the Filing
ATCO Properties & Management, the firm that filed the eviction case, is a fourth-generation, family-owned real estate company that has operated for more than 90 years, per The Real Deal. Its longtime chairman, H. Dale Hemmerdinger, led the Metropolitan Transportation Authority during the 2007–2009 financial crisis, the outlet noted. As recently as November 2025, ATCO sold two office buildings in NoMad for $104 million while holding onto marquee Midtown addresses like 40 Central Park South, according to PincusCo. The firm has also recently shifted management responsibilities elsewhere in its portfolio, including Jamestown's Camp North End takeover in Charlotte.
Case Dismissed, Lease Back in Good Standing
Under New York City's civil court rules governing commercial nonpayment cases, settling an outstanding balance and legal fees before trial leads directly to a case's dismissal, returning a lease to good standing, according to the New York City Marshals Handbook of Regulations. Gabriel's and ATCO had already worked through several rounds of rent relief, entering into multiple lease-modification agreements between April 2021 and January 2025, the outlet reported. Gabriel's did not respond to an inquiry about the latest settlement, according to the same report.
