Columbia Restaurant

Columbia Restaurant is a restaurant in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida,[2] as well as the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States[3]. With an expansive area of 52,000 square feet and the ability to seat up to 1,700 customers within 15 dining rooms, it stands as the largest Spanish restaurant in the world, covering an entire city block.[2][4] Founded in 1903 as Saloon Columbia, it was renamed in 1905 to Columbia Restaurant. The landmark has been owned by the Hernandez-Gonzmart family for five generations and serves Spanish and Cuban cuisine.[5]

Columbia Restaurant
TypePrivate
IndustryFoodservice
PredecessorSaloon Columbia (1903–1905)
Founded1905
FounderCasimiro Hernandez, Sr.[1]
HeadquartersYbor City, Tampa, Florida, United States
Number of locations
7
Area served
Florida
Revenue$42M (1991–last published)
Number of employees
1,200
Parent1905 Family Of Restaurants
Websitewww.columbiarestaurant.com

In addition to the original location in Ybor City, there are Columbia restaurants in Sarasota (opened in 1959);[6] in St. Augustine (opened in 1983); on Sand Key (1989); and in Celebration, Florida (1997).[6] There are also smaller Columbia Café restaurants located at the Tampa Bay History Center (opened in 2009) and at Tampa International Airport (opened in May 2012).[6]

Wine

The original restaurant's wine list contains more than 1,000 wines with an inventory exceeding 50,000 bottles.[7][8] The restaurant features several private-label wines created to honor family members. The popular house sangria is mixed table side.

Exterior from across 7th Avenue, Ybor City

Activities

Several nights a week, the restaurant features dinner show performances of flamenco, one of Spain's traditional dances.

Indoor courtyard dining room, Ybor City

Columbia Restaurant holds an Annual Community Harvest campaign in September. The chain donates 5% of all guests' lunch and dinner checks, allowing patrons to designate the charitable organizations their choice.[9] As of 2007, the event has generated more than $820,000 to Floridian nonprofits.[9]

The restaurant celebrated "1905 Day" from 1980 to 2013. On that day, a special menu with 1905 prices was in effect from noon to 7 p.m.[10][11] In 2014, the restaurant announced it would celebrate "1905 Day" in the future on significant anniversaries.

Cesar Gonzmart Memorial Golf Tournament
Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, 2007

The annual Cesar Gonzmart Memorial Golf Tournament (CGMGT) began in 1995 by Columbia Restaurant owners Richard and Casey Gonzmart in memory of their father, who died of pancreatic cancer.[12] Proceeds from the event are donated to a local charity or non-profit organization.

Columbia Restaurant, through funds raised during the 2001 CGMGT, and the Sant 'Yago Education Foundation gave $5,000 to support the American Heart Association's American Heart Heroes Week project, an initiative that provides camp experiences for children with cardiovascular disease.[13] The 2003 CGMGT raised over $55,000 for Moffitt Cancer & Research Institute, the University of South Florida Athletic Association, and a scholarship for the USF Latino Scholarship Program.[12]

Awards and recognitions

In 2009, the Columbia Restaurant was recognized as one of the 25 iconic restaurants of the Tampa-St.Petersburg area by the St. Petersburg Times.[14] It was also listed in Nation's Restaurant News in the "Top 50 All-American icon category."[15] The 2022 Michelin Guide for Florida rated Columbia as "Recommended".[16]

See also

References
  1. "Home | 1905 Family Of Restaurants". 1905 Family Website. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  2. Times Staff (2005-04-14). "State senators praise Columbia Restaurant's 100 years". St Petersburg Times Online. Archived from the original on 2005-05-31.
  3. Florida Heritage website: Great Floridians 2000 Program-Cesar Gonzmart Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Ybor City, Tampa". Columbia Restaurant. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. www.visavismag.com http://www.visavismag.com/content/view/307/78/. Retrieved 2023-03-01. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "The Columbia Experience — View All Locations". columbiarestaurant.com. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  7. Wine Spectator Online: Columbia Restaurant, Tampa Florida
  8. Wine Enthusiast Magazine: America’s Best Wine-Driven Restaurants of 2007-Columbia Restaurant
  9. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/10/08/daily36.html. Retrieved 2023-03-01. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Events Calendar: Sunday, September 20, 2009" (PDF). Pinellas News. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  11. Keith Morelli (2012-09-16). "Columbia Restaurant rolls back prices 107 years". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  12. Tampa Chamber of Commerce/Inside View: September/October 2003-The Cesar Gonzmart 8th Annual Memorial Golf Tournament Archived 2007-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Columbia Restaurant helps boost Heart Heroes Week". Nation's Restaurant News. 2001-10-01. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
  14. Laura Reiley (2009-06-10). "These favorite Tampa Bay restaurants have been around over 25 years". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2009-06-13.
  15. "Nation's Restaurant News - January 25, 2010 - (Page 3)". www.nationsrestaurantnews-digital.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. Freund, Helen (2022-06-09). "No stars for Tampa as Michelin Guide honors Florida restaurants for the first time". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.