This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Palm | |
---|---|
Restaurant information | |
Established | 1926[1] |
Owner(s) | Landry's, Inc. |
Food type | Steakhouse |
Street address | 837 Second Avenue (between East 44th Street and East 45th Street) in Manhattan |
City | New York City |
State | New York |
Coordinates | 40°45′06″N73°58′16″W / 40.751642°N 73.971087°W |
Other locations | United States (various), Mexico City |
Website | www |
The Palm is an international chain of American fine-dining steakhouses that began in 1926. The original location was in New York City at 837 Second Avenue (between East 44th Street and East 45th Street) in Manhattan. [2]
Since its beginnings, management has opened additional restaurants throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The Palm is notable for steak, lobster, traditional Italian dishes, and the caricatures of celebrities on its walls.
Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm restaurant in 1926. [1] 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.[ citation needed ]
The Palm served as a luncheon and dinner club for members of the city's newspapers for many years. The New York Daily Mirror and King Features (cartoon syndicated) were located on 45th Street between Second and Third Avenues; the Daily News , United Press (later United Press International) and United Features (cartoon syndicate) were located in the Daily News Building on 42nd Street and Second Avenue. The Herald Tribune was on 41st Street and Third Avenue and the World Telegram was on 49th Street and Third Avenue. The proximity of the cartoon syndicates led to the colorful caricatures on the walls. The original Palm consisted of one room at 837 Second Avenue, then it expanded to the second room and eventually to the second floor before opening across the street.
When the Palm 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, however, 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 added Nova Scotia lobsters and aged USDA Prime beef, often served bone-in, as well as a selection of salads.
It opened a restaurant in London employing Jason Wallis as executive head chef in 2009. [3] It has since closed. [4] It was opened on the site of Drones, [5] a former Marco Pierre White restaurant. [6]
A defining feature of the restaurant's brand has been the celebrity walls of caricatures drawn directly on the walls. Those depicted include celebrities, politicians, and sports and media figures.
The Palm's historical materials contend 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. Featured celebrities have often provided an autograph next to their portrait.
Later, as the brand expanded, this tradition continued at other locations.
The Palm opened its second location in Washington, D.C. in December 1972. [7] According to the company's web site, the prodding of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, then U.S. 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. [8]
In 1973, the restaurant's third location, the "Palm Too," opened across the street from the original New York location. During the 1970s the restaurants also expanded to three other cities, Los Angeles, Houston and East Hampton, NY.
In 2000, The Palm opened a location in downtown Nashville, TN, situated across from the Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena.
During the summer of 2011, the Palm underwent a brand refresh, which included new tableware, uniforms, signage, and an updated visual identity manifested in a new website and a new ad campaign. The chain incorporated a number of new dishes into its menu to coincide with the brand refresh. [9] The restaurant's motto is "the place to see and to be seen."
In 1980, the company took over the management of two historic hotels, the Huntting Inn and the Hedges Inn, both located in East Hampton, New York. The company also operated its own wholesale meat company, JORM, though now the Company purchases meat from a third party.
In February 2020, Houston-based restaurant operator Landry's acquired The Palm steakhouse chain out of bankruptcy for $50 million. [10]
Today The Palm has approximately 30 locations in cities throughout the United States as well as locations in Puerto Rico and Mexico. [11]
In 2020, Landry's began the process of terminating The Palm's previous loyalty program, the 837 Club, and replacing it with Landry's own program which is in place at all of their restaurants. Landry's program only provides a cash reward program, which essentially awards 10% of a guest check toward future meals (redeemable in $25 increments). The 837 Club generally provided 7.5% of a guest check toward future meals, but also included more valuable awards at higher redemption levels, including a caricature and party at the Palm to unveil it, and vacation escapes. In addition, guests who spent at least $1,000 at the Palm annually received a free 3lb lobster for their birthday. Landry's is eliminating these longstanding traditions—their own birthday award is simply a $25 credit—which has upset many 837 Club members (many of whom have been members and customers for decades).
Tony Kornheiser, co-anchor of ESPN's Emmy-winning sports television show Pardon the Interruption and former journalist for Newsday , The New York Times , and The Washington Post , visits the Washington location frequently. [12] In recent[ when? ] years, fans of his eponymous D.C. radio show—who refer to themselves as "Littles" [13] —have been known to send or leave notes for Kornheiser at the restaurant, many of which he reads on the air. [14] [15] [16] Additionally, several of the fan-written parody songs that Kornheiser has featured as part of the show's mailbag segment have centered around the Palm and its prominent role in the host's life. [17]
Red Lobster Hospitality, LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates; as of June 23, 2020, the company had 719 locations worldwide. Golden Gate Capital became Red Lobster's parent company when it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014. Seafood supplier Thai Union acquired a 25 percent stake in the company in 2016 for a reported $575 million, and in 2020 purchased the remaining portion from GGC.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando, Florida. As of May 2023, the firm owns three fine dining restaurant chains: Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Eddie V's and The Capital Grille; and six casual dining restaurant chains: Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Yard House and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen. Until July 28, 2014, Darden also owned Red Lobster. Darden has more than 1,800 restaurant locations and more than 175,000 employees, making it the world's largest full-service restaurant company.
Landry's, Inc., is an American, privately owned, multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment destinations in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company also owns and operates numerous international locations. The company is owned by President & CEO Tilman Fertitta.
Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants that are a part of Homestyle Dining LLC based in Plano, Texas. Its menu includes steaks, seafood, and chicken entrées, all of which come with their buffet. A lunch menu is also served.
Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caricatures of Broadway celebrities on its walls, of which there are over a thousand.
William Todd English is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He hosted the TV cooking show, Food Trip with Todd English, on PBS. In 2005 he was a judge on the PBS show Cooking Under Fire.
Bloomin' Brands, Inc. is a restaurant holding company that owns several American casual dining restaurant chains. The company was established in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, where it is headquartered.
Delmonico's is the name of a series of restaurants that operated in New York City, and Greenwich, Connecticut with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. The original version was widely recognized as the America's first fine dining restaurant. Beginning as a small cafe and pastry shop in 1827 at 23 William Street, Delmonico's eventually grew into a hospitality empire that encompassed several luxury restaurants catering to titans of industry, the political elite and cultural luminaries. In many respects, Delmonico's represented the genesis of American fine dining cuisine, pioneering numerous restaurant innovations, developing iconic American dishes, and setting a standard for dining excellence. Delmonico's shuttered all locations by 1923. In 1926, Delmonico's under new ownership by Italian immigrant Oscar Tucci reopened at 56 Beaver Street.
Houlihan's is an American casual restaurant and bar chain with locations operating throughout the country, 60% of which are franchised. It is headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. The first Houlihan's opened on April 1, 1972, in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza, and there are now 35 restaurants in 15 states. It was originally named Houlihan's Old Place because it was first located in the space of Houlihans Clothing Store.
Morton's The Steakhouse is a chain of steak restaurants with locations in the United States and franchised abroad, founded in Chicago in 1978. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landry's.
José Ramón Andrés Puerta is a Spanish-American chef and restaurateur. He owns restaurants in several cities around the United States, and has won a number of awards, both for his cooking, and for his humanitarian work. He is a professor and the founder of the Global Food Institute at George Washington University.
Smith & Wollensky is the name of several high-end American steakhouses, with locations in New York, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Houston, Miami Beach, Las Vegas, London, and the most recently opened, Taipei. The first Smith and Wollensky steakhouse was founded in 1977 by Alan Stillman, best known for creating T.G.I. Friday's, and Ben Benson, in a distinctive building on 49th Street and 3rd Avenue in New York, once occupied by Manny Wolf's Steakhouse. Many of the restaurants have a wooden exterior with its trademark green and white colors. The individual Smith and Wollensky restaurants operate using slightly varied menus. In 1997, Ruth Reichl, then-restaurant reviewer for The New York Times, called Smith & Wollensky "A steakhouse to end all arguments." Smith & Wollensky is owned by the Patina Restaurant Group.
Ratner's was a famous Jewish kosher dairy (milkhik) restaurant on the Lower East Side of New York City. It did not serve meat in deference to the kosher prohibition against mixing milk and meat products.
Alex Gard was a Russian American cartoonist. He was a regular cartoonist for newspapers, magazines and books, but is most well known for his celebrity caricatures at Sardi's restaurant in New York City.
Moishe's Steakhouse, in its original incarnation, was one of the oldest restaurants in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1938 by Moishe Lighter, it ran in Montreal's The Main district for 83 years. The restaurant had been in its location at 3961 Saint Laurent Boulevard since its founding, in an area that was the historic Jewish quarter.
Vic & Anthony's is an American steakhouse restaurant chain with locations in Downtown Houston, and inside the Golden Nugget Casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lake Charles. Vic & Anthony's is owned and operated by Landry's, Inc.
Mastro's Restaurants is an American fine dining steakhouse chain known for its ultra-high prices, selective locations, and celebrity clientele. Ever since 2013, the restaurant is part of the Landry's, Inc. portfolio.
A celebrity wall, caricature wall, or wall of fame is a gallery of photographs or caricatures of celebrities, typically found on the wall of restaurants and bars. They suggest that celebrities are liable to be encountered there, and also function as publicity for the celebrities. The portraits are often signed by their subject, showing that the portraits were "made from life, a document of an authentic celebrity encounter between artist and subject".