Richard Gonzmart
Owner, Columbia Restaurant
Richard Gonzmart, fourth-generation caretaker of the 1905 Family of Restaurants, shares how each generation of his family-owned business has met challenges that threatened the survival of Florida’s oldest restaurant, the Columbia in Ybor City, and persevered to create a company with six brands and 14 locations throughout the state. Born into the legacy of the world-renowned Columbia Restaurant, founded by his great-grandfather in 1905, Richard’s journey began at a tender age when he learned the art of identifying fresh fish from his grandfather. This early immersion laid the foundation for his lifelong dedication to storytelling through the art of food. Richard is a graduate of Tampa’s Jesuit High School and continued his education at the University of Denver School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He later attended the Escuela de Turismo y Hosteleria in Madrid, Spain, and in 2022, he received an honorary doctorate in business administration conferred by the University of South Florida.
