Return of the Campbell, an Ornate Grand Central Bar

Liked it better under the old ownership. There was a dress code, it was a classy old New York place. Can't wait to have a cocktail sitting next to someone wearing a wife beater and a backwards baseball cap!

I'm glad the interior has been left intact. I enjoy(ed) sipping single malt scotch while relaxing and hiding from the masses outside.

No prices on the menu. Sounds like a place strictly for Wall Street parasites. Will stay away.

Gasp! Next thing you know, they'll let WOMEN in.

Lighten up, snoots. Just because the architecture is turn-of-the-century doesn't mean your attitudes have to match.

Sadly the bar's website does not list prices. A drink at the old Campbell Apartment was already at the $20 mark when you added in the tip. I am afraid to ask how much the drinks cost.

There has been a lot of turnover in the dining selections at Grand Central over the last couple years. All of the new establishments are pricier than the places they replaced. On the one hand I support the MTA dramatically raising rents in the fiscal interest of the taxpayers who support the agency. On the other hand if Mr. Gerber brings prices even higher then many of commuters that Metro-North was designed to serve will be priced of getting a daily drink at the Campbell, and would only be able to visit on special occasions.

I liked the old Campbell, but often found it so darkly lit it was hard to even read a cocktail menu. The new one sounds great too. For the griper who finds it appalling that the bar exists in Grand Central, why?

We have the Oyster Bar, Michael Jordan's, Cipriani, lots of shops and casual dining outlets, etc., and the rents are a great way to subsidize transportation.

The site of the old MTA Police (Metro-North PD) Manhattan district command.

I learned of Campbell Apartment about three years ago, and was eager to try it: history, architecture, classic bar, etc. I went only twice (6;30pm one day and 9:00pm another), and both times the "slightly mysterious hideaway" was noisily packed to the rafters -- insane even by Manhattan standards.

The first time I left after being unsuccessful in getting service or bar proximity. The second time I did snag a standing spot at the bar, and was rewarded with the fastest lukewarm martini imaginable (albeit properly stirred not shaken). As a non-regular, I don't know if this was Paris DuRante or someone else, but in his defense his rush was understandable since he was the sole bartender servicing a crowd that size. What architecture and furnishings I could glimpse were pretty, but neither the ambiance nor the drink was worth the $21 per drink (before tip), so I never returned.

You want your favorite places to be busy -- not only because it's fun, but so that it's successful and survives. I'm all for someone making a successful buck even if the offering is not to my taste.

Insanely packed-in is another story, however. If Mr. Gerber's attitude is really "We want people to know about it. We don’t want it to be that secret place" ... well, spreading that so-called secret even further that it used to be is not exactly going to enhance the experience. That's probably why he needs the two new adjoining areas: crowd overflow.

Sad that they had to "relax" the dress code, guess there are some people that think jeans and sneakers are the norm. Time to grow up people and act like adults instead of toddlers.

The only thing more repelling than the thought of dining or imbibing in Grand Central Station is dining or imbibing in Penn Station (or maybe Port Authority).

It's a bar people, get over it. Why shouldn't business owners make a profit it's hard work and a huge risk. Easy for all the dress code loving snobs to say there goes the neighborhood.

"There will no longer be a dress code. The Campbell will open earlier, at noon, offering sandwiches, salads and soup for lunch. "

Oh goodie - so it can be turned into yet another bar like a hundred others in town albeit in a nicer setting. Ca't wait to buy a high priced drink in a grand seeing next to the tourist in a tank top! Slobs loudly eating and talking - where's the charm or urge to seek it out?

Couldn't they at least keep the dress code, at least for the bar proper, while going easy on the two new spaces?

Gerber is turning a once beautiful and high class bar into a low class watering hole/ slobs in dirty jeans who drink beer.
He wasted a lot of money. No dress code people don't belong in this place and the top paying customers won't come back.

At the end of the day, this is GRAND CENTRAL STATION and while the space is admittedly gorgeous in a very "turn of the century plutocrat" sort of way, nothing should be more "democratic" than a bar in a major city's train terminal which is why I'm glad to hear that it's "more relaxed" because there was an element of snottiness to the last incarnation that did NOT play well for this native New Yorker. I've been frequenting GCT for nearly half a century and the last thing I expect to find at any location within it's confines is a velvet rope or snotty attitude.

You know, I was sad the swanky old school Campbell Apartment was looking like it was going to be replaced by something newer and trendier, but somehow, this is even worse. So the new owners get to out bid on the lease and then just scoop up the all the hard work the old owner did on the brand and atmosphere? It's a little gross.

Glad they respected the beautiful, landmarked interior of the Campbell apartment. Looking forward to imbibing there again.

They must have taken a lot of flak after their aggressive takeover of the space. The original plans seemed much more destructive, but now it sounds like not much will change except a new coat of polish and a less restrictive dress code. I'm sure the prices will go up. But they were already seating in the outside hallway and "terrace" before the changeover. I don't understand why they want to remove the mystery of it. It only adds to the appeal and it rarely seemed lacking for customers.

Hmmmm... I view this with trepidation! I always liked the hidden, special feeling and "more relaxed" seems to be code meaning people with jeans and ball caps are also welcome.

There is nothing better after a long day than a perfect cocktail made by Paris, a true New York treasure.

"We don’t want it to be that secret place. We want it to be more inclusive.

To translate, "I want every tourist to know about it. Anyone with a dollar is welcome.

The good old days in some cases were better.

So now in his newest death incarnation, Campbell has been elevated to 'railroad executive'. He used to just be a wealth guy who rented office space from the railroad. So the drink prices will rise with the new management's growing myth, and inversely, the less-restrictive dress code admits anyone with pants on, right?

I really liked the old Campbell Apt. It was a true "speakeasy". Now that the Gerber group has gotten its greedy hands on it, whatever was special and mysterious about it will have disapeared. I love the way Scott Gerber makes it sound like all of his changes are for the better and to let more people know about it; the bottom line-it's a business, and the addition of lunch and the two other "side bars" are there exclusively to rake in the bucks. Like so many things in NYC-The Second Ave. Deli, The Four Seasons, etc.-the name is t\
he only thing that stays the same.

I know a lot of people who were very happy when the Campbell Apartment closed they will not be happy to hear it's opened mess in the elevators and outside constantly. Good riddance to it I say.

So they got rid of the dress code. So the descent into slovenliness marches on. I guess they're going for the tourists who dress like "Larry the cable guy".