c/o Central Park Conservancy
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Visitors heading to the ice rink at the Davis Center this winter will have a new reason to linger a little longer as the Central Park Conservancy has announced its newest food partnership.
Starting Monday, Settepani–the beloved Harlem-based restaurant and bakery–will be managing concessions at the Davis Center’s recently opened ice rink.
The new three-season café, called Settepani on the Meer, will serve skaters and parkgoers through the holiday season and across winter, spring, and fall. The café’s menu will feature Italian breads, pastries, paninis, soups, salads, pizzas, and both hot and iced beverages.
Founded in 1992 by Leah Abraham and Chef Antonino “Nino” Settepani as a small bakery in Williamsburg, Settepani later expanded to Harlem, where it has become a fixture in the neighborhood’s culinary and cultural life. Today, the family-run business also operates a café at Time Out Market and maintains its original Brooklyn bakery. The name “Settepani,” meaning “seven breads,” reflects the family’s philosophy of bringing people together through food, drawing on Italian, Sicilian, and Eritrean traditions.
“It’s fitting that visitors to the Davis Center will be able to enjoy their delicious menu at the rink,” said Darline Lalanne, Director of Public Programs and the Davis Center at the Central Park Conservancy, noting the restaurant’s deep community roots.
For Abraham, the new outpost feels especially personal. “Opening here feels both new and familiar,” she said, citing years of memories made in the north end of Central Park.
The café is part of the larger vision for the Davis Center, which opened earlier this year as a year-round community hub replacing the former Lasker Rink and Pool. For updated holiday and seasonal hours, visitors are encouraged to check the Davis Center’s website before heading out to skate.
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