In July 2011, it was announced that work had begun on remodeling the restaurant for its reopening. On October 16, 2012, the Rainbow Room was declared a New York City landmark by the Landmarks Commission. The commission's change in decision stemmed from the fact that it had determined that some elements of the restaurant were old enough to be worthy of the historic status. It was later announced that the Rainbow Room would reopen in fall 2014 after undergoing a full restoration, and would include a new executive chef and management team.