Columbia Restaurant, 2117 E. 7th Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, USA / Founded: 1905 / Industry: Food Service / Number of Locations: 7 / Number of Employees: 1,200 / Founder: Casimiro Hernandez, Sr.

Columbia Restaurant is a restaurant in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida, as well as the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States. 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. 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.

In addition to the original location in Ybor City, there are Columbia restaurants in Sarasota (opened in 1959); in St. Augustine (opened in 1983); on Sand Key (1989); and in Celebration, Florida (1997). 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).

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

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

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. As of 2007, the event has generated more than $820,000 to Floridian nonprofits.

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. In 2014, the restaurant announced it would celebrate "1905 Day" in the future on significant anniversaries.

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. 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. 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.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Restaurant
www.columbiarestaurant.com/
theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/florida/articles/a-w...

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Taken in: United States / Florida / Loveras (show map)

Taken on: October 10, 2023

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Columbia Restaurant

2117 E. 7th Avenue

Tampa

Florida

USA

Founded: 1905

Food Service

Number of Locations: 7

Number of Employees: 1200

Casimiro Hernandez

Sr.

historic neighborhood

City of Tampa

Hillsborough County

building

architecture

Cuban heritage

Spanish heritage

urban

northest of downtown Tampa

Tampa Bay

west central Florida

Sunshine State

Cigar City

historic Florida

old Florida

city

cityscape

real estate

commercial property

street photography

Cuban American

oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida

the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States

seat up to 1700 customers within 15 dining rooms

52000 square feet

covering an entire city block

Hernandez-Gonzmart family

Spanish and Cuban cuisine

1000 wines with an inventory exceeding 50000 bottles

dinner show performances of flamenco

Annual Community Harvest campaign in September

1905 Day

annual Cesar Gonzmart Memorial Golf Tournament

CGMGT

Richard and Casey Gonzmart

USF Latino Scholarship Program

ornate building

Spanish tile

National Register of Historic Places

Ybor City Historic Neighborhood

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Sets appears in: • Urban Florida V • Ybor City historic neighborhood, City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA more » • Greater Tampa, Florida, USA, Metropolitan Area « less

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