Nation’s Restaurant News takes a look at efforts by owners of The Palm to try to shed the 85-year-old D.C. restaurant’s “corporate and stale” image. Last year, the stodgy old eatery updated its logo, revamped its web site, ordered new plate ware and staff uniforms, revamped the menu, and overall rethought ways to project a more “fresh, warm image.” The results, according to vice president Bruce Bozzi Jr., amount to modest gains in the revenue department:

Covers are up between 2 percent and 3 percent for 2011, and sales have been up the whole year, sometimes between 12 percent and 13 percent in a given month. 
In addition, after the refresh in the test stores, guest satisfaction scores ticked up, with the Washington location seeing customer survey scores increase from 75 to 91 in the “taste of food” category and from 67 to 78 in the “pace of dining” category.