Columbia Restaurant

27°57′36″N 82°26′6″W / 27.96000°N 82.43500°W / 27.96000; -82.43500

Columbia Restaurant
Company typePrivate
IndustryFoodservice
PredecessorSaloon Columbia (1903–1905)
Founded1905
FounderCasimiro Hernandez, Sr.[1]
HeadquartersYbor City, Tampa, Florida, United States
Number of locations
7
Area served
Florida
Key people
Richard Gonzmart, President/CEO
Revenue$42M (1991–last published[when?])[citation needed]
Number of employees
1,200[citation needed]
Parent1905 Family Of Restaurants
Websitewww.columbiarestaurant.com Edit this at Wikidata

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] The 15 dining rooms cover 52,000 ft seating 1,700 customers. It is the largest Spanish restaurant in the world and occupies 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]

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]

  1. ^ "Home | 1905 Family Of Restaurants". 1905 Family Website. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SPT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FLH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Ybor City, Tampa". Columbia Restaurant. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. ^ Martinez, Erica (2023-03-01). "Florida's Oldest Restaurant Is Also The World's Largest Spanish Restaurant". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).