UNION SQUARE — Food can be a great motivator, so perhaps runners competing in the ING New York City Marathon will find this news inspiring: Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group has been tapped to cater all events surrounding the Nov. 6 race.
“We are bringing the biggest brand in restaurants and marrying that to the New York Road Runners and the ING Marathon," Peter Ciaccia, New York Road Runners’ senior vice president of event development, told Crain’s.
NYRR will turn the grounds of Tavern on the Green into the Blue Line Lounge for the race. The location is near the finish line and will be the site of a pre-race pasta dinner, which Meyer's group will cater.
In addition to that event the night before the race, 5,000 people can purchase $275 tickets to watch the event at the Blue Line Lounge, while enjoying a smorgasbord carefully crafted by Meyer’s team.
The race-day festivities will include five serving stations, and each will center on cuisine popular in individual neighborhoods and boroughs around New York City. Little Italy and Chinatown will be represented, along with Indian food from Queens, Ciaccia said.
Union Square Hospitality Group is known for several landmark restaurants around the city, including 11 Madison, Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Café, Blue Smoke and Shake Shack.
A spokeswoman from the group told Crain's that the marathon presented “a great opportunity for us.”
