Columbia Restaurant / Gonzmart family collection
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No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of historical records, newspaper clippings, financial records, event information, interviews, albums, Gonzmart family records, photographs, and ephemera.
Dates
- Created: 1903-2005
- Other: Date acquired: 00/00/2005
Creator
- Gonzmart Family (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
The contents of this collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.
Biographical or Historical Information
Columbia Restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants in Florida. Created by the Hernandez and Gonzmart families, the restaurant slowly expanded, first into adjacent space on its city block, and later opened restaurants around the state. During the 1950s and 60s, the Columbia became a regular stop on the Latin American entertainment circuit with the help of violinist Cesar Gonzmart, who joined the Hernandez family with his marriage to Adela Hernandez. Expansion began with a Sarasota Columbia in the 1950s. Adela Gonzmart and Ferdie Pacheco’s Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook (University Press of Florida, 1995) brought acclaim in the mid 1990s. After the death of Cesar Gonzmart in 1992, his sons Richard and Casey took over the operations of the Columbia Restaurant Group. The restaurant celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2005. The Columbia Restaurant Centennial Museum opened in a nearby property in 2004, showcasing the Gonzmart family’s extensive antique collection until 2006. In 2009, the comprehensive history of the restaurant was published (University Press of Florida), authored by USF Special Collections Archivist Andrew Huse.
Extent
12.5 Linear Feet
29 boxes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection consists of records related to the Columbia Restaurant, owned and operated by the Gonzmart family. Also included are personal records related to the Gonzmart family.
Arrangement Note
Materials are arranged according to type and chronology.
Source of Acquisition
Richard and Melanie Gonzmart
Method of Acquisition
Donation.
- Columbia Restaurant (Fla.)
- Columbia Restaurant (Fla.) -- History Subject Source: Local sources
- Gonzmart, Adela Hernandez (1920-2001)
- Gonzmart, Cesar (1920-1992)
- Krewe of the Knights of Sant' Yago
- Restaurants—Florida—Tampa Subject Source: Local sources
- Restaurateurs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ybor City (Tampa, Fla.) Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Title
- Columbia Restaurant / Gonzmart family collection
- Author
- Andrew Huse, 2007
- Date
- 00/00/2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the USF Libraries - Special Collections Repository
4202 East Fowler Ave.
LIB122
Tampa FL 33620-5400 US
813-974-2731