A charity-based licensing firm won the bid Wednesday for the intellectual property rights of the shuttered Tavern on the Green restaurant, enabling it to expand the iconic Central Park New York establishment into a chain.

Headed by Lou Bivona, New Jersey-based Tavern International LLC agreed to pay $1.3 million for the trademark rights that will allow it to license Tavern on the Green restaurants in other parts of the United States and around the world. The company also plans to produce a line of branded retail products.

Although Tavern International owns the rights to the name, it is restricted from opening locations in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and a section of Pennsylvania — the rights of which continue to be held by the City of New York.

Crain’s New York Business this week said the city Parks Department is exploring options for the Central Park space, which could entail finding an operator who would reopen and run the original restaurant, which has been shuttered since 2010.

At its peak, Tavern on the Green was said to be the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States, generating annual sales in excess of $38 million.

Bivona — who has had a license to distribute Tavern on the Green-branded salad dressings, oils and marinades under the name Tavern Direct since 2007 — said he also plans to bid on the operating rights for the New York City restaurant.

Meanwhile, Bivona is working with Michael Desidero, formerly Tavern on the Green’s chief operating officer, to chart the brand’s growth. Desidero, who spent 13 years working for Tavern’s previous operator, Warner LeRoy and later his family, said the company already has been contacted by potential licensees in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, California and Las Vegas.