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The Palm -- Backgrounder
The Palm restaurant is the oldest family-owned white tablecloth restaurant to expand across the United States and still maintain family ownership. Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi’s original New York City steak house on Second Avenue is now a thriving empire of 18 restaurants spanning the Americas from East Hampton, New York, to Los Angeles.
From Italian Fare to Steak and Seafood
The Northern Italian entrepreneurs who began the Palm tradition in 1926 originally intended it to be a restaurant specializing in cuisine from their native home of Parma, Italy. According to Palm folklore, the name “Palm” originated when the proprietors obtained a business license. They wanted to call it “Parma,” but because of their Italian accent, it translated into “Palm.”
Steaks and seafood were not part of the original concept of the Palm but began out of an effort to cater to its clientele of artists and writers. Every time a customer asked for a steak, John Ganzi ran up Second Avenue to a nearby butcher shop, bought a steak, and cooked to order. Today, the Palm runs its own meat wholesale company to insure the quality of its steaks.
The Palm’s reputation for seafood was originated by third generation owners Wally Ganzi and Bruce Bozzi who pioneered the gargantuan four to eight pound lobsters in the 1970s and disproved the theory that large lobsters are tough. Almost overnight the Palm went from selling 150 pounds of lobster per week to 25,000 pounds per week. But tradition at the Palm remains -- some of John Ganzi’s original Italian dishes are still on the menu today -- reinforcing the Palm’s reputation as the Italian steak house.
A New York Heritage Goes National
Wally Ganzi and Bruce Bozzi took over for their fathers in the early sixties when the Palm was still a single restaurant. Since then, they have expanded to 17 other locations. First, upon the suggestion of then Ambassador to the United Nations, George Bush, to Washington, DC; and then Palm Too, located across Second Avenue to accommodate the high volume of customers; and then a third move to Los Angeles.
Today, the empire includes Palm Restaurants in Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Charlotte, and two inns in East Hampton, NY.
Catering to Celebrities and “Civilians” Alike
Over the past 72 years, the Palm has become a place “to see and be seen.” Celebrities frequent all Palm locations because of its fine food, casual setting, and accommodating service. All Palm properties are located in major metropolitan markets and have built a core of “regular” customers supplemented by convention-goers, business travelers, and tourists.
A Historical Landmark
The walls of each Palm are covered with caricatures of local notables and national celebrities. The tradition started when John and Pio had no money to decorate. In a twist on the old saying “sing for your supper,” local newspapermen would draw a cartoon in exchange for a plate of spaghetti.
To read more about the legend of the Palm walls,
click here.
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