Though most of my stalking adventures consist of copious amounts of time spent tracking down locations from movies and television shows and then heading out to see those sites in person, it does happen on occasion that a locale I have previously visited pops up unexpectedly in a production. When this occurs, it thrills me to no end. Such was the case with Pershing Square, a brasserie situated just outside of Grand Central Station in New York. My family and I had dined at the glass-fronted eatery numerous times throughout the years during our many trips to the Big Apple. In fact, we grabbed coffee there upon first meeting our friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, in person back in 2009. So when the restaurant was featured in a scene in 2011’s Friends with Benefits, I was floored. While I had failed to take many photos of the place during our past meals there, I amended that during my recent trip to New York with the Grim Cheaper.
Pershing Square restaurant is situated on 42nd Street underneath the Park Avenue Viaduct, an elevated roadway which was constructed from 1917 to 1919 in order to provide an express thoroughfare for automobiles traveling on Park Avenue. The Beaux Arts-style span stretches from 40th to 46th Streets and the area beneath where it crosses over 42nd is known as Pershing Square. The name came about due to a failed city plan to build a public plaza in honor of World War I General John J. Pershing on an adjacent plot of land located at the southwest corner of 42nd and Park. The project went awry, though, and in 1920 the property was sold to a developer who constructed an office building on the site. Despite the change in plans, the area continued to be known as Pershing Square.
The space that now houses Pershing Square restaurant, which is tucked into one of the viaduct’s three French-inspired archways, was originally an open air expanse utilized as a barn for trolleys. In 1939, as part of that year’s World’s Fair, the area was enclosed with a wall of bronze and glass and transformed into a tourist information center, which would remain in place for many years.
By 1989, when the Grand Central Partnership started making plans for an $8-million renovation of the viaduct, the tourist center site was vacant. As part of the revamp, the GCP set out to demolish the space and turn it into a restaurant. The project took several years to come to fruition, but Pershing Square finally opened to the public in the fall of 1999.
The eatery, which evokes hints of both London and Paris with its stylized crimson décor, was established by restaurateur Michael “Buzzy” O’Keefe, of The Water Club and The River Café fame.
Pershing Square won The Municipal Art Society of New York’s Preservation Award the same year it opened.
The brasserie, which has the feel of a glamorous train car from yesteryear and also boasts a fabulous bakery/espresso bar, quickly became one of my family’s favorite NYC dining spots. Though a bit pricey, the food is fabulous and the ambiance charming, and we find ourselves returning there time and time again.
In Friends with Benefits, Pershing Square is where (spoiler alert!) Dylan (Justin Timberlake) takes Jamie (Mila Kunis) for their first official date after professing his love to her via a massive flash mob in Grand Central Station set to Semisonic’s (not Third Eye Blind’s) 1998 hit “Closing Time.”
In the scene, Dylan and Jamie sit in the very front of the eatery.
In reality, though, there is no seating in that area of Pershing Square.
As you can see above and below, that section of the restaurant serves as a sort of waiting area.
During New York’s warmer months, Pershing Square operates an outdoor café situated on its west side. That café was featured in a battle scene in the 2012 film The Avengers.
The front of Pershing Square was also shown briefly in the scene.
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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Pershing Square, from Friends with Benefits, is located at 90 East 42nd Street in New York’s Midtown East neighborhood. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.
