Sep 01 2023 35 mins 1
In 1905, Saloon Columbia in Tampa, FL officially became Columbia Restaurant, a place helmed by Casimiro Hernandez Sr. where cigar workers in Ybor City could rest and enjoy Spanish and Cuban food, or snag a sandwich to eat on the job. Through the years, the restaurant grew to envelop the entire city block, and today, the family-owned landmark is Florida’s oldest restaurant and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world with 15 dining rooms and 1,700 seats. Andrea Gonzmart Williams is the great-great-granddaughter of Casimiro Hernandez Sr., and she began working at Columbia at the age of 10 by doing filing in the corporate office. She continued working in various positions through high school and then after graduating from the University of South Florida, joined the family business full-time as the fifth generation of the 1905 Family of Restaurants. She is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of not only the flagship Ybor City location but also the other Columbia Restaurant locations in Florida, the Columbia Cafes at Tampa Bay History Center and Tampa International Airport, and other restaurant concepts within the company. But the Columbia isn’t just a family tradition for those who work there and grow up in the business; it’s also a traditional place of celebration for countless Florida families throughout the last 117 years.
