The Palm is as famous for its caricatures festooning the
walls of its restaurants throughout the country as it is for its renowned gourmet meats and
lobster.
Welcome to the March edition of Not Your Usual Caricature Artist.
According to Wikipedia, here's the background on that curious marriage
of cartoon and culinary arts:
"When Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened The Palm
Restaurant in 1926, they had no money to decorate. Luckily, their location on
Manhattan’s Second Avenue was in close proximity to the headquarters of King
Features Syndicate and attracted a large clientele of cartoonists. In exchange
for their meals, artists would often draw their own creations on the walls of
The Palm.
"Over the years, the tradition of decorating our locations with caricatures has continued as we’ve expanded across the country and internationally. Before a new restaurant opens, 200 to 300 local notables' likenesses are placed on the walls, and new caricatures of regulars and celebrities are added regularly. Not surprisingly, the most in-demand wall space is at the original Second Avenue location, where only five caricatures are added each year due to space constraints."
"Over the years, the tradition of decorating our locations with caricatures has continued as we’ve expanded across the country and internationally. Before a new restaurant opens, 200 to 300 local notables' likenesses are placed on the walls, and new caricatures of regulars and celebrities are added regularly. Not surprisingly, the most in-demand wall space is at the original Second Avenue location, where only five caricatures are added each year due to space constraints."
Here in Charlotte, where we also have a Palm, sits Harry's
Tavern & Grille, in the Ayrsley community, on S. Hwy 49, near I-485. The management
enlisted me to draw some famous "Harrys" to carry through with their
name, which now hang on the back wall of the restaurant. Among them are:
You may not have a restaurant, but I'd be happy to help you
adorn an office wall with fun pix of you, your staff, whomever...
See you again the first Tuesday of next month with an
un-harried look at caricatures via Not Your Usual Caricature Artist.
