Looks like Yankees fans might have one less place to score a plate of pricey french fries—troubled restaurant and sports bar Mickey Mantle's could be evicted from its Central Park South space by the end of next month. The 25-year-old eatery, which was briefly owned by its slugger namesake before his death in 1995, was put into bankruptcy by current owner Chris Villano a few months ago. Since then, Villano has neglected to pay the space's $850,000-a-year rent, and the building's landlord is looking to toss it out, kitschy memorabilia and all, by the end of May.
Bill Liederman, who was Mantle's original partner when the bar opened in 1987, has been trying to raise enough cash to keep the Budweiser flowing, asking old timey Yankees like David Cone and Goose Gossage to donate about $10,000 each. "We need $1 million to get it back on its feet," Liederman, who sold his stake seven years ago, told the Post. Villano says he stopped paying rent because of outstanding issues he has with ATCO, the company who owns the building, and added that he still has eight months left on his lease.
If Mickey Mantle's does fold, it doesn't seem like it will be missed all that much. Yelpers have given the bar a tepid 2.5 stars, with commenters noting that it's usually noisy, full of tourists and overpriced. "If you want an overpriced burger or food in general then just go to Yankee Stadium and have a hot dog or a sausage," one commenter said. "Same goes for Yankees merchandise."
