TAMPA — The Columbia Restaurant Group, family-owned for five generations and more than 117 years, is among five international finalists for the prestigious “Family is Sustainability” Prize given by the Primum Familiae Vini.
Primum Familiae Vini is an invitation-only organization of 12 of the world’s most historic and lauded wine producers.
“This is the first time that a company from the United States has been nominated,” said Columbia Restaurant Group President and CEO Richard Gonzmart, the fourth generation to run the restaurant who refers to himself as the legacy’s “caretaker”.
The Columbia Restaurant is a member of Florida Trend’s Golden Spoons Hall of Fame having earned a place on the list since its founding in 1967.
In February, the 12 PFV families will select the winner of the €100,000 PFV Prize from these five finalists. Their decision will be announced in March 2022.
“We had a wonderful selection of independent family companies applying for the 2022 prize and were able to select five that stood out for having successfully guided their family projects through multiple generations while remaining focused on excellence and positive values, something that we in the PFV wish to encourage,” said PFV President Priscilla Incisa of Tenuta san Guido.
Founded by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez, Sr., the Columbia is America’s 10th oldest restaurant still owned by the founding family. It’s the oldest restaurant in Florida and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world. The family business began on Dec. 17, 1903 – the same day the Wright Brothers took flight – with Saloon Columbia. The iconic restaurant followed in 1905.
The Columbia began in Tampa’s Ybor City as a small, 60-seat corner cafe known for its Cuban coffee and “mixto” sandwiches (today called Cubans) frequented by local cigar factory workers. In 1935, the family opened the first air-conditioned dining room in Tampa. Today, the Columbia in Ybor City seats 1,700 and has 15 dining rooms.
There are now seven Columbia restaurants across Florida as well as five other brands in the company, including restaurants Ulele, Goody Goody, Cha Cha Coconuts and Casa Santo Stefano.
The PFV shortlist also includes:
BRUN DE VIAN-TIRAN – FRANCE: An eight-generation family business manufacturing fine cloth in L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence. They use traditional production methods and are noted for working with local shepherds to encourage them to raise historic breeds of sheep and revive the French wool industry.
TSUTSUMI – JAPAN: A four-generation family business founded in 1909 in Kyoto that is fighting to revive the ancient Japanese tradition of lacquer use for tableware and artwork.
GIULIO GIANNINI E FIGLIO – ITALY: A bookbinding and hand decorated paper business founded in the Piazza Pitti, Florence, in 1856 by the Giannini family. The family was instrumental in creating the famous Florentine style in the 19th century.
BUSATTI – ITALY: In 1842 the Busatti family took back their Tuscan villa after it was occupied by Napoleon’s troops, where it was used to make uniforms for the French army. The family decided to continue making textiles and have done so for eight generations. Now they are the producers of some of Italy’s finest fabrics.
The Columbia Restaurant was featured on this weekend’s CBS Saturday Morning. Watch the video here.