What's next for Palio in Jericho?

It changed the menu, it changed the price point. Now Palio in Jericho may be changing ownership. Following up on a few reader tips, I called Palio’s owner, Tom Graziano, and he confirmed that, while the restaurant isn’t officially on the market, he is “talking to people who have expressed interest.”

Graziano is in the process of opening a restaurant in Brooklyn, where he lives, and says running two places would be stretching himself too thin.

Since it opened in October 2008 — and promptly earned three stars from Newsday’s Peter M. Gianotti — Palio has struggled to find an audience. Initially, executive chef Massimo Fedozzi was serving some of Long Island’s most modern and creative Italian food (e.g. risotto with blueberries and Dolcetto wine, baked polenta with truffled fonduta), but as the economy went into free-fall, Palio began to retool. In April 2009, Graziano took the unprecedented step of offering two nights of free dinners to attract new customers. Then the regular menu prices came down. For two weeks in August, Palio cut its food and wine prices by 50 percent.

In September, the restaurant rolled out a new, more moderately priced menu featuring clams oreganata — a dish Fedozzi once swore he’d never serve — spaghetti and meatballs, linguine and clam sauce and much more chicken.

Maybe a new owner will have better luck. Palio remains open at 399 Jericho Tpke., Jericho, 516-443-9100.

Newsday Photo / Ana P. Gutierrez