Parks Department Names New Concessionaire for Patrizia's Site

The eatery and catering hall formerly known as Patrizia’s has a new concessionaire and is expected to reopen in two months, a spokesman for the city’s Parks Department said.

Paul Nicaj and George Makkos, of 123 Restaurant Group, will take over at the Patrizia’s site, which had scaled back its operations to only providing catering services earlier this year.

Previously, the site had been operated by Friendship Restaurant Group, which had also run Valentino’s on the Green at the locale.

For years, the site had been known as Caffe on the Green and was run by Joe Franco, who lost the concession in January 2009.

Nicaj and Makkos, who could not be reached for comment, also operate Battery Park’s Battery Gardens and Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

123 Restaurant Group will reopen the site within two months as a catering facility and an Italian eatery, the Parks spokesman said.

The new concessionaire has not yet decided a name for the business, but they are interested in retaining the connection to silent movie star Rudolph Valentino, who once owned a home at the site, the spokesman said.

123 Restaurant Group will assume the current 15-year lease for the site that expires in 2025.

The Parks spokesman said the new operators are currently waiting for a liquor license and would make some interior changes to the building prior to its reopening.