Skip to main content

Columbia Restaurant / Gonzmart family collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2005-02
  • No requestable containers

  • Staff Only

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

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.

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

Contact:
4202 East Fowler Ave.
LIB122
Tampa FL 33620-5400 US
813-974-2731