Maybe it’s the collection of guitars or the enormous number of awards and newspaper clippings surrounding his office, but walking into Richard Gonzmart’s world is telling.
His mind darts around, and his ideas are large and vivid.
He’s a passionate philanthropist, a devoted father and husband and a genius restaurateur. We all know this already.
It’s a challenge to find stories untold about him at Columbia Restaurant, especially in Ybor City, where the family legacy began.
He loves his German shepherds and takes them nearly everywhere. He doesn’t sleep a lot. He doesn’t need to, he says. The story of the Columbia is well documented.
What else could we possibly uncover in the two hours we spoke with him?
The tender and humorous relationship he has with his daughter, Andrea Gonzmart Williams. She, along with her cousin Casey Gonzmart Jr., stands ready to take the reins when Richard someday reduces his daily workload.
CHECK OUT ANDREA AND RICHARD’S TBBW COVER
Together, they are leading the charge for the Columbia Restaurant and the other family of restaurants under its roster. The Columbia is among 14 restaurants and six brands under the umbrella of the 1905 Family of Restaurants, which had more than 2.4 million customers in 2022.
The latest in the lineup of dining properties is the soon-to-come Buccaneer, which is a concept near and dear to the Gonzmart family’s heart. The previous iteration, which closed in 1992, was Richard’s parents’ favorite restaurant.
It’s Richard’s last major restaurant project, he says. Andrea just smiles knowingly when he says these things. The beauty of the father-daughter dynamic.
The 1905 Story
It would be unfitting not to recap the rich history of the Columbia Restaurant in a story about the fourth and now fifth-generation leadership.
RELATED: A torch passed: Columbia’s fifth generation steps forward
Richard Gonzmart’s great grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. a Spanish Cuban immigrant arrived in Tampa in 1902 with his family including his four young sons searching for a better life.
“I wonder what my great-grandfather was thinking when he left his native country of Cuba in the late 1890s with four sons, not knowing the language and having little education, to come here looking for an opportunity,” says Richard.
In 1903, Hernandez helped establish the Columbia Saloon, which later became the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City in 1905. A number that comes up a lot in the Columbia lexicon.
Now, 120 years later, the 1905 Family of Restaurants has expanded its footprint to include Ulele Tampa, Casa Santo Stefano, Goody Goody Burgers, Cha Cha Coconuts, and Café Con Leche at Tampa Airport. In 2022, the collective group of restaurants surpassed $100 million in annual sales.
The Columbia now has seven locations in Florida, including:
- Columbia Restaurant Tampa
- Columbia Restaurant Ybor
- Columbia Restaurant St Augustine
- Columbia Restaurant Sarasota
- Columbia Restaurant Clearwater
- Columbia Restaurant Sand Key,
They all remain family-owned.
On some accounts, it is said to be the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.
But it all started with a saloon in Ybor City at the turn of the century.
The story goes that in December 1903, Hernandez opened a small saloon on the corner of 22nd St. and Broadway, now Seventh Avenue, which quickly became a local watering hole for cigar workers in Tampa’s Latin Quarter.
Richard’s grandfather, Casimiro Jr., was part of the second generation that worked for the family business.
“My grandfather was known to work 24 hours a day and would be found taking naps standing up,” Richard recalls.
The third generation included Richard’s parents, Cesar Gonzmart and Adela Hernandez Gonzmart.
Richard remembers spending a lot of time at the restaurant when he was a child.
“I have these fun memories. The Columbia kitchen was our playground,” he says.
He recounts being frightened, as a three-year-old, by a whole fish in the walk-in refrigerator.
“I ran out screaming, and the chef started laughing at me,” Richard says, laughing at the memory.
“Then he takes me back and explains to me that you need to look in the eyes for clarity. The gills should be dark red and moist and the flesh should be firm.”
Richard’s new job may be his first: checking the fish for freshness every Friday.
“Honest to goodness, I thought it was really my job,” he says. “I felt like such a big boy.”
One day, Richard made his way to the kitchen to do his job and found a bunch of fish missing their heads.
“I started crying, I can’t tell if the fish are fresh, there are no heads,” he says, laughing now. “Everybody laughed at me. I remember that so well.”
Watch Andrea and Richard’s CEO Connect
The 5th Generation
Andrea describes her childhood as very normal. Unlike her father, she didn’t spend much time at the restaurant during her early years.
“I really didn’t have a relationship with my father until I was older,” she says.
At 10 years old, she began spending more time at the business, starting with filing paperwork.
The family lived in St Augustine while Richard opened the Columbia location in 1983.
Now, as a mother, Andrea encourages her daughter to roam the halls at Columbia to create memories.
Andrea eventually became a hostess at the Columbia every summer.
“I would work three to four weeks, then ask if I could quit,” she says, laughing.
She later ran the cashier booth while still in high school.
Andrea studied business management at the University of South Florida and joined the company full-time after graduation.
“I didn’t want to waste time not learning my own company,” she says.
The Goat of Gonzmart
“There are specific ways of doing things at the Columbia,” Richard says.
More than 80% of the business comes from locals who treat the Columbia as their go-to restaurant near me and one of the best restaurants in Tampa.
“It’s about the memories,” Richard says. “Whether that is sharing a 1905 salad, pouring sangria or watching a flamenco dancer for the first time.”
Philanthropy runs deep for the Gonzmart family.
Richard’s Father’s Day Walk & Jog has raised more than $915,000 for Moffitt Cancer Center, with the next event expected to push the total past $1M.
During Covid, the Columbia helped employees cover rent and expenses, and later formalized an internal assistance fund.
Andrea pushed to make it permanent.
A Running Legacy
Richard and Andrea run marathons together. They have completed nine.
“It gives us time together,” Andrea says.
Richard plans to step away at age 72, though Andrea remains skeptical.
He hopes to dedicate more time to helping children with learning disabilities.
Toward the end of our time, Richard shares a quote he reads daily from George Bernard Shaw.
“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,” he says.
The Columbia runs through the veins of the Gonzmarts and through the story of Tampa restaurants themselves.
It is not a job. It is a way of life.
And it all started with a small saloon in Ybor City, renamed Columbia Restaurant in 1905.
Photos by PamElla Lee
