Techo Palma is set to open later this month. | Chloe Swanson/rendering El Techo, Shaw’s leafy rooftop bar that suddenly closed last year after nearly a decade of business, makes a surprise comeback this month as Techo Palma.  In addition, it’ll reopen with a profit-sharing ownership model for front-of-house managing partners.  This past January, a month after co-founder Louie Hankins shut down the pioneering taco-and-tequila perch, Daniel Joseph Hatem took over the venue. Though he’s worn almost every operational hat at bars and clubs around the city since 2003, the D.C. hospitality vet has never called himself an owner — until now. “I didn’t want to see it close permanently,” Hatem tells Eater. The fact that D.C.’s hottest new bar, Eebee’s, shares the same Shaw corner was motivation to do the deal, which includes El Techo’s now-defunct burrito sibling, Rito Loco. Both now operate under the Techo Palma name, with the Rito Loco space below now serving only as the kitchen.  “I knew we needed a revamp and a refresh, because that was the one thing that was holding it back over the past couple of years,” he says. “As places get a little older, you need to re-inject capital into them.” The goal is to open at the end of April, ahead of Cinco de Mayo, one of its biggest sales days of the year (606 Florida Avenue NW). The Techo Palma makeover, which is still underway, plans to maintain the mini-vacation vibes its predecessor was known for. “El Techo itself has an already developed identity. So we’re not trying to squash that in any way. It’s still a tropical rooftop, and it always will be,” he says. The ongoing muse is Tulum, the coastal Mexican town on the Yucatán Peninsula famous for its preserved Mayan ruins and cliffside views of the Caribbean. Hatem’s visited frequently ever since 2005, back when the now-hot spot was “just dirt roads.” As for the profit-sharing, Hatem has had the idea ever since his Lima days in the early 2000s.  “I didn’t necessarily enter this business with a lot of money. I had minor or smaller percentages in the places that I built. It didn’t seem fair to me that, at the end of the day, ownership was based on how much money you had and not how much talent you had,” he says. Now he’s spreading the love amongst his new co-workers, which include both returning and fresh staff members. “It’s the people that are generating the sales, and doing a good job for the establishment and have a very high value,” he says. Newly named bar manager Jake Simpson – whose extensive D.C. resume includes stirring drinks at places like Chaplin’s, Bar Chinois, and Black Whiskey – has a stake in Techo Palma.  “He’s a great mixologist, and I’ve watched him grow over the years,” he says. “Techo was first and foremost a bar. So it was really important for me to have a mixologist on board who would manage that overall.” General manager Biagio Cepollaro is another local fixture in the scene and the founder of pizza standout Via Roma. While Mexican staples like tacos, fresh guacamole, nachos, and tostones will remain, Techo Palma will add Mediterranean-style tapas that speak to immigrant influences on the country. “We want to explore the history of Mexico a little bit more,” says Hatem, which includes nods to his own Lebanese heritage. All-new furniture, including dining tables and sofas, embraces an “eclectic poolside” aesthetic. Rotating DJs will spin downtempo music to include Afrobeats and Latin house. “We want people to groove and chill the way they did in the past,” he says. Brunch will also make a comeback, with hours going until as late as 3 a.m. on weekends. ...read more read less