NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Grand Central Terminal welcomed two new restaurants to its dining concourse on Tuesday—iconic Harlem staple Melba’s and Middle Eastern eatery NAYA—as the MTA continues to push development in its retail space.
“Grand Central Terminal is New York, but guess what, Melba’s is New York also,” chef and owner Melba Wilson said. “So we find it to be a perfect marriage.”
Wilson opened Melba’s Restaurant on 114th Street in Harlem 20 years ago, and during a recent interview for 1010 WINS’ Black History Month 2025 profile series said that she chose that location to reinvest in her community. Now, with Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem thriving, she is happy to keep expanding.
“There’s 750,000 people that go through this space on a daily basis,” Wilson said. “I’m born, bred and buttered, like I said, in Harlem. Everybody cannot and will not come up to Harlem. But 750,000 come through Grand Central.”
NAYA, serving fresh Middle Eastern cuisine, also joined the concourse and is glad to be serving a diverse group of people in the highly populated located.
“Joining the Grand Central Terminal community is an exciting moment for the NAYA Team,” CEO and founder of NAYA Hady Kfoury said. “We've felt an incredible reception from both commuters and partners, and we're proud to offer Middle Eastern Goodness to such a lively and diverse crowd.”
Fourteen new options for dining and shopping opening in 2024 as part of the terminal’s “retail revitalization,” and construction on more eateries is underway.
The MTA said that more than 90% of retail spaces at Grand Central Terminal are filled, helping rebuild following COVID-19 pandemic dips.
“Owning a store at world famous Grand Central Terminal is an amazing opportunity in the heart of the biggest business district in the country for any retailer,” MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said. “The opening of so many shops and restaurants in only one year shows that the MTA is back, New York is back.”
One of the terminal shops—Jacques Torres Chocolates—is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special limited edition “Fall in Love with New York” chocolate box. Only 300 are being made, and they feature a subway train car, subway route symbols and other NYC iconography.
“I am thrilled to celebrate 25 years of creating and making chocolates for my fellow New Yorkers,” Jacques Torres said.
“There is nothing more New York than the MTA. They are the heartbeat of our city.