Columbia Restaurant and Gonzmart Family collection, 1903-2005, Date acquired: 00/00/2005
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Gonzmart Family
- 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.
- Extent:
- 12.5 Linear Feet
- 29 boxes
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Columbia Restaurant / Gonzmart Family Collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Background
- Scope and content:
This collection consists of historical records, newspaper clippings, financial records, event information, interviews, albums, Gonzmart family records, photographs, and ephemera.
- Biographical / historical:
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.
- Acquisition information:
Richard and Melanie Gonzmart
Donation.
- Arrangement:
Materials are arranged according to type and chronology.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Terms of access:
None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.
- Preferred citation:
Columbia Restaurant / Gonzmart Family Collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
- Location of this collection:
-
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122TampaFL33620-5400USA
