The Palm (restaurant)

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The Palm Restaurant logo

The Palm is a famous high end steakhouse located in New York City on 837 Second Ave and opened in 1926. Since opening, management has opened additional restaurants throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Palm is notable for high-quality steak, lobster and the caricatures of individuals sketched on its walls.

1 History
2 The Palm today
3 Trivia
4 Locations
5 External links

[edit] History

The original Palm at 837 2nd Avenue, New York

Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm restaurant in 1926. It was originally intended to be named La Parma but a city licensing clerk misunderstood the thick Italian accent of the founders. The owners found it was easier to change the name than to get the license reissued.

After the Palm was opened it operated as a conventional Italian restaurant offering fare similar to that found in New York's Little Italy neighborhood. Early in its history, Bozzi and Ganzi fielded a request for steak and the owners broiled it after retrieving meat from a Second Avenue butcher. As related in the Palm cook book, the first request led to others and the items were put on the menu. Later, the Palm became famous for flown-in Nova Scotia lobsters weighing in at three pounds (1.3 kg) and carefully-selected hand-trimmed aged prime beef, served bone-in, and its selection of salads.

[edit] The Palm today

Wally Ganzi, the grandson of John Ganzi, and Bruce Bozzi, grandson of Pio Bozzi, are third generation members of the family to operate The Palm. Under their watch the brand has grown into the international restaurant chain we see today.

The Palm opened its second location in Washington, D.C. in 1972. According to the company's web site, the prodding of former president George H.W. Bush, then US Ambassador to the United Nations, encouraged the families to open the second location. Bush often quipped that there was a "lack of good American fare" in the capital city. The restaurant's third location, the "Palm Too" opened across the street from the original New York location in the Turtle Bay area of New York City in 1973 in order to keep up with customer demand. Through the 1970's the restaurants expanded to three other cities, Los Angeles, Houston and East Hampton, NY.

With the continued success of the restaurant the brand continued to expand throughout the US in the 1980's and beyond. With the solid restaurant business the company branched out into the hospitality industry. In 1980, the company took over management of two historic hotels, the Huntting Inn and the Hedges Inn both located in East Hampton, New York. The company also operates its own wholesale meat company to ensure the quality of its steaks.

Today The Palm has over 25 locations in cities throughout the United States as well as locations in Puerto Rico and Mexico. The company is the largest family-owned, U.S.-based chain of "fine dining" restaurants.

The restaurants are known not only for their excellent fare, but also for the caricatures that cover the walls at every Palm location. Those depicted in the murals are celebrities, famous politicians, sports and media figures as well as community celebrities from where the restaurant is located bringing a local flavor and individuality to each location in the chain. The Palm's historical materials contends that the caricature tradition began as a twist on the phrase "sing for your meal" where an artist who enjoyed the fare would pay for his meal by drawing a portrait on the wall. If a featured celebrity comes in to the restaurant, he or she will be asked to provide an autograph next to their portrait.

For frequent guests, the Palm has established a loyalty program called the "837 Club," which gets its name from the street number of the original Palm. Member benefits include discounts on meals, "points" accumulation that can be used to purchase meals, a free lobster on the member's birthday and other special offers.

The restaurant's motto is "the place to see and to be seen."

[edit] Trivia

The Palm is occasionally referenced in the television drama, The West Wing. The name is usually mentioned as an example of an exclusive dining venue. Toby Ziegler, a native of Brooklyn, refers to The Palm as a source of "well-prepared steak" in the episode Isaac and Ishmael.