Columbia Restaurant facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Foodservice |
| Predecessor | Saloon Columbia (1903–1905) |
| Founded | 1905 |
| Founder | Casimiro Hernandez, Sr. |
| Headquarters | Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States |
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Number of locations
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7 |
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Area served
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Florida |
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Key people
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Richard Gonzmart, President/CEO |
| Revenue | $42M (1991–last published) |
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Number of employees
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1,200 |
| Parent | 1905 Family Of Restaurants |
The Columbia Restaurant is a famous restaurant located in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. It holds a special record as the oldest restaurant in Florida that has been open without ever closing. It is also the oldest Spanish restaurant in the entire United States.
The original restaurant is huge! It takes up a whole city block and has 15 different dining rooms. Inside, it can seat 1,700 people, making it the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. It first opened in 1903 as a small cafe called Saloon Columbia. In 1905, it was renamed the Columbia Restaurant. For over 100 years, the same family, the Hernandez-Gonzmarts, has owned it. They serve delicious Spanish and Cuban cuisine.
Besides the main location, there are other Columbia restaurants across Florida. You can find them in Sarasota, St. Augustine, Sand Key, and Celebration. There are also smaller Columbia Cafés at the Tampa Bay History Center and Tampa International Airport.
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Fun and Entertainment
The Columbia Restaurant is known for more than just its food. It offers a unique dining experience with music and dancing.
Live Music
In the 1950s, a family member named César Gonzmart took over managing the restaurant. He used to be a professional musician. He loved to play his violin for the guests while they ate, often with his orchestra. Music has always been an important part of the restaurant, and you can still enjoy live music there on the weekends.
Flamenco Dancing
Since 1988, the restaurant has hosted amazing flamenco dance shows. Flamenco is a passionate and artistic style of dance from Spain. The dancers use their movements, hand claps, and special footwork to tell stories about Spanish culture.
Maria Esparza, the show's director, says flamenco is very difficult. "The coordination is like no other," she explains. "We work with our hands and the footwork, we're doing percussion with our footwork." You can watch these exciting dinner shows from Tuesday to Saturday.
Special Events and Giving Back
The restaurant is also famous for its community events and charity work.
Community Harvest
Every September since 1997, the restaurant holds a "Community Harvest" event. During this month, they donate 5% of the money from every customer's bill to charity. Customers even get to help choose which local non-profit groups receive the money. This event has raised millions of dollars for good causes in Florida.
1905 Day
To celebrate its 75th anniversary in 1980, the restaurant threw a big street party. They had an art show, flamenco dancing, and food at "prices of yesterday." This started a tradition called "1905 Day," named after the year the restaurant was founded.
On a surprise day in the fall, the restaurant would offer a special menu with 1905 prices. This meant people could enjoy a meal for just a few cents! Hundreds of people would line up for hours to get this amazing deal. The restaurant now saves this special event for major anniversaries, like its 120th birthday in 2025.
Cesar Gonzmart Memorial Golf Tournament
The owners, Richard and Casey Gonzmart, started a yearly golf tournament in 1995. They created it to remember their father, Cesar Gonzmart. The money raised from the tournament helps support education for students in the communities where the restaurants are located.
For example, the tournament has helped send children with heart conditions to a special camp through the American Heart Association. It has also raised money for cancer research and for scholarships at the University of South Florida.
Awards and Recognition
The Columbia Restaurant has won many awards for its food and history.
- In 2009, the St. Petersburg Times newspaper named it one of the 25 most iconic, or famous, restaurants in the Tampa Bay area.
- Nation's Restaurant News, a major food industry magazine, listed it as a "Top 50 All-American icon."
- The famous Michelin Guide recommended the restaurant in its 2022 guide for Florida.
Special Drinks and Collections
The restaurant has a famous collection of over 1,000 different types of drinks and keeps more than 50,000 bottles in its cellar. Some of these were created specially for the restaurant to honor members of the family. The restaurant is also known for its house sangria, a type of fruit punch that is mixed right at your table.
Books
- The Columbia Restaurant: Celebrating a Century of History, Culture, and Cuisine (2009)
- Best-Loved Recipes from the Columbia Restaurant (2014)
See also
- List of restaurants in Tampa, Florida
- List of Spanish restaurants
