Renowned Central Park Boathouse Shutters After Bid to Save Restaurant Fails

A well-known Central Park restaurant has closed despite a multi-million dollar offer to keep its doors open and staff employed.

The doors of the beloved Loeb Boathouse were locked, and a sign on the front seemingly confirmed reports the longtime park restaurant had finally closed for good.

Previous reports of a mystery billionaire with a $6 million offer raised the hopes of longtime diners eager to see the restaurant stay open past the scheduled October close. But the offer wasn't enough.

Word came last month that the city rejected the bid for reportedly not coming in high enough, the New York Post reported.

Operator Dean Poll previously said he had no choice but to shut down because of the skyrocketing costs of labor and goods, with all 163 employees at the restaurant to be laid off.

The restaurant reopened in March 2021 after temporarily shutting down in Oct. 2020 during the pandemic.