Editor’s note: A version of this story was originally published in 2020. It has been updated by Sydney Maldonado.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Old-time Staten Islanders will recall the former Tavern on the Green, the restaurant to see and be seen, which operated from about 1938 to 1976.
Tavern on the Green was located at 2566 Hylan Blvd. in New Dorp, and was destroyed in a massive fire in 1977.
The Coppotelli Family, synonymous with restaurants and catering halls on Staten Island, operated Tavern on the Green for some 26 years, and sold it in 1974.
Many loyal regulars claim it was never quite the same, and that its glory days were behind it after it changed hands.
In its heyday, Tavern on the Green was Staten Island’s best known gathering place, the site of political dinners and lunches, affairs for community and charitable organizations, and countless family and social events.
Celebrities from the worlds of government, sports and show business had occasion to drop in. That included three presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George Bush, and movie stars such as Loretta Young, Joan Crawford and Betty Hutton. Orson Bean was a frequent visitor.
It’s the place Bobby Thomson chose to have dinner Oct. 3, 1951, after having hit “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” earlier in the day. Thomson dined with his Curtis High School baseball coach, Harry O’Brien, and Hal Squier, the sports editor of the Advance.
Robert Kennedy also dined at the Tavern during his successful campaign for senator of New York.
According to former Advance food editor Mike Azzara in an old Advance article, Cardinal Francis Spellman also visited the Tavern many times.
The site was also used as emergency headquarters by city, state and federal authorities on several occasions.
One occasion was the December 1960 crash between two airliners over New Dorp, and another was the April 1963 brush fires that ravaged the South Shore.
The Tavern was eventually sold to a company made up of Greek-American restaurateurs who never enjoyed the success of the original owners. The company went into arrears on its mortgages and taxes, and the Coppotelli family reacquired it in 1977. About a month later, in February 1977, it was destroyed by fire.
Scroll below for glimpses into the social gatherings held in the now iconic Tavern on the Green.
1966
In 1966, Rockefeller was the guest of honor at a fundraiser in the Tavern-on-the-Green in New Dorp. With him are State Senator John Marchi and Jack Wells, county Republican campaign chairman. Staten Island Advance
The foyer at Tavern on the Green in New Dorp was a fashionable beehive as Staten Island women gathered to greet friends and find their table places, November 17, 1966.Staten Island Advance1967
Surrounded by law secretaries, Civil Court Justice Mark Costantino joins the Staten Island Legal Secretaries’ Association at its Christmas party in the Tavern on the Green, New Dorp, on December 12, 1968. Left to right are Mrs. Edward Fieramosca, Mrs. Timothy F. Donovan, the judge, Mrs. Frank R. Morganti and Mrs. Louis V. Russo.Staten Island Advance1969
Edward V. Curry being congratulated by his family, Edward Jr., left, his wife, Beatrice, and Kevin, in Democratic headquarters in the Tavern on the Green, New Dorp, following his victory.Staten Island Advance
City Councilman and Democratic County Chairman Robert G. Lindsay, left, greets a jovial Mario A. Procaccino, mayoral contender, Procaccino’s running mate for City Council President, Francis X. Smith, and Charles D’Arrigo, Borough President hopeful, at last night’s Richmond County Organization’s ball in the Tavern on the Green, New Dorp. Staten Island Advance1970
Gubernatorial candidate Arthur J. Goldberg stresses a point before an audience of approximately 200 person at the Tavern on the Green while Representative John M. Murphy looks on. Staten Island Advance
1970: Governor Rockefeller and his wife, Happy, enter the main banquet room of the Tavern on the Green, New Dorp, for the Republican County Organization’s annual fundraising dinner. Accompanying them is GOP County Chairman Richard H. Bolton. Staten Island Advance1971
District Attorney John M. Braisted, left, reelected by a wide margin, is about to take microphone from Democratic County Chairman Dante L. Ferrari to thank his supporters in the part’s election headquarters in the Tavern on the Green, New Dorp.Staten Island Advance
Seen at the Tavern on the Green: Mr. and Mrs. William McDermott, Dominick Coppotelli, owner, and Ambrose Coppotelli. Staten Island Advance1973
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Holzka, left, chat with Mr. and Mrs. Philip Fitzpatrick during a dinner in Tavern on the Green, New Dorp, honoring Mr. Fitzpatrick as the new Republican county chairman. Mr. Holzka was chairman of the affair.Staten Island Advance1974
Dom C. Spanos with Ambrose Coppotelli, owner, left, outside of Tavern on the Green on April 26, 1974.Staten Island Advance
Arthur Keriopoulos, owner of the Tavern on the Green and Patti Neuschaefer, 5, of Grant City, with party hats, streamers and horns. December 30, 1974.Staten Island Advance1976
Group meeting at Tavern on the Green, September 9, 1976.Staten Island Advance1977
View of Tavern on the Green when it was destroyed in a fire in 1977.Staten Island Advance
Only a small front portion of the Tavern on the Green remained after a fire that closed down the restaurant in July 1977. The annual Women of Achievement awards luncheon event had to be moved to the Columbian Lyceum.Staten Island Advance
A bulldozer makes quick work of the restaurant, which was gutted by fire in February 1977. Staten Island Advance
A view of Tavern on the Green after it was devastated by a fire.Staten Island Advance
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