Palm Restaurant Group, a case study

The Palm’s philosophy is simple: Treat guests like family, serve great food, and always exceed expectations.

That philosophy was born in 1926, when Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm in New York City. From day one, Pio and John shared their commitment to quality and generosity of spirit with every guest who walked through their doors.

What began as a restaurant became a legend – a place to not only enjoy an excellent meal but also catch up with old friends, meet new ones, close business deals, and celebrate family milestones.

Still owned and operated by members of the Bozzi and Ganzi families, The Palm continues to serve as a second home for countless patrons, thanks to the exceptional standard of hospitality established by our founders.

Today The Palm boasts 23 locations in major cities across the United States as well as international locations in Mexico City, and is continuing to grow.

At the heart of The Palm’s long-running success is a tradition of strong leadership, including guidance from three generations of the Bozzi and Ganzi families, who value integrity as much as business acumen.

When the company began its search for a recruiting partner, it was clear that finding someone with the right combination of recruiting expertise, industry network, character, and influence was paramount to ensuring the delivery of the right talent that would be charged with continuing the company’s legacy.

Challenge

Previous to working with TalentServed, Palm Restaurant Group meandered through short term relationships with several recruiting firms resulting in mixed results. The group sought a single, professional recruiting partner to discreetly produce top restaurant industry talent when faced with the need to conduct confidential unit level searches, replace key corporate leaders as attrition occurred, and to ensure proper staffing levels for new restaurant growth. As a nationwide industry icon, Palm Restaurant Group demanded a polished recruiting partner that would represent them professionally with the ability to penetrate major markets across the country.

Solution

Palm Restaurant Group enlisted TalentServed Hospitality Management Recruiters to assist with identifying correct management leaders for several open positions. TalentServed specializes in all functional areas of food and beverage organizations ranging from restaurant management to executive leaders, so the team has a comprehensive perspective on the challenges, trends and opportunities facing the restaurant industry. In addition, TalentServed maintains a recruiting team that is strategically placed in key locations across the United States, providing deep networks in most major
metropolitan areas. “TalentServed’s understanding of our industry, our competitors and our unique culture has been a critical element driving the success of our relationship,” Phillips says. “With one point of contact and a team of recruiters backing him up, we’ve been able to accomplish much more and with much less effort on our part than we had to expend with other firms in the past”.

Results

Throughout the course of their 7 year ongoing relationship, TalentServed has guided over 40 properly experienced restaurant leaders into management roles with Palm Restaurant Group nationwide. Among the positions placed have been Executive Chefs, General Managers, Corporate Marketing Managers, a National Beverage Director and Regional Managers. “Teaming up with TalentServed has meant that we can continue to stay relevant in a marketplace where restaurant concepts come and go. It’s essential for us to inject new talent into our company at all levels to stay ahead of our competitors and TalentServed continues to be a key contributor to our success,” concludes Phillips.