Twenty-six years after the Palm opened its second New York City location right across the street from the original, the Palm has come full circle with the opening of its Times Square location. Right in the heart of the theatre district, the Westside Palm has become a hotspot for theatre-goers, celebrities, tourists and Palm regulars alike. Superb as ever, this spacious steak and seafood heaven lives up to the original.

From coast to coast, people know that The Palm is synonymous with prime steaks and outrageously outsized lobsters. What many don`t realize is that The Palm is thoroughly family-bred. It has been run by the sons and now by the grandsons of both founding partners.

In fact, 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 steakhouse on Second Avenue has grown into a thriving empire of over 25 restaurants spanning the continent from Boston to Los Angeles.

The northern Italian entrepreneurs who began The Palm tradition in 1926 intended it to be a restaurant specializing in cuisine from their native 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 accents, 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 ensure the quality of its steaks.

The Palm`s reputation for seafood started with third generation owners Wally Ganzi and Bruce Bozzi who introduced 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. Even with these signature additions, tradition at The Palm honors its roots. Some of John Ganzi's original Italian dishes are still on the menu!