- May 3, 2026
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The Rotary Club of Sarasota is among Sarasota's local institutions with a long history, having celebrated its 100th anniversary in April.
At its April 29 meeting, it had the chance to connect with another local long-lived establishment.
The club hosted Casey Gonzmar Jr., a fifth-generation owner of the 1905 Family of Restaurants, which owns the historic Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle.
Although the restaurant is the oldest in Sarasota, having opened in 1959, it grew from another even older establishment.
The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, Tampa, established in 1905, was originally opened on Dec. 17, 1903 as the Columbia Saloon — the same day the Wright Brothers made the first flight, Gonzmart noted.
“We're talking about going to Mars, and we're circling the moon, and we're doing all this amazing stuff, and there's like thousands of satellites up in the air, and we are still serving beans, rice and beer, doing kind of the same thing that we've been doing, just trying to get better every year,” he said.
The Ybor City location was founded by Gonzmart’s great, great grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr., who came from Cuba in 1895 with four sons.
It is both the oldest operating restaurant in Florida and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world, occupying a full city block with 15 dining rooms and 1,700 seats.
However, the location started small as a corner cafe, Gonzmart said.
He said over the years, the menu expanded, while the restaurant incorporated entertainment like flamenco dancers, ice skating and his musician grandfather, César Gonzmart.
César Gonzmart was responsible for hiring someone to place the elaborate tile outside the Ybor City location, crediting him with a focus on making the restaurant experience appealing for guests.
He said his father, Casey Gonzmart Sr., would ask César Gonzmart for the money to buy an oven for the St. Armands Circle location, but César Gonzmart would decline, saying, "That oven will be gone in a couple years, but this chandelier, this chandelier will last."
The restaurant has indeed endured.
Challenges have included COVID-19 pandemic, when it closed for two months while compensating its team and providing meals, as well as the hurricanes of 2024, when it dealt with the surge of Hurricane Helene only to halt its reopening efforts as Milton neared.
The restaurant ultimately reopened six weeks after Hurricane Milton, a proud accomplishment.
"We know that we're a beacon over in St. Armands Circle, and we knew that we needed to be the first one to open, and let people know that there was hope, and so we did that. We opened and we were really proud of what we were able to do there," he said.
Gonzmart said he has also had the chance to break a cycle in his family, stating he is now over 12 years sober.
His mother died as a result of alcoholism when he was 14. He credits his wife with helping him to realize the impact alcohol was having on his life as the company was taking shape.
He says being sober has allowed him to do activities he could not do if he were still drinking.
“To this day, I have never taken an Uber. I drive my kids everywhere. They're in the car with me. I love it... so, that's allowed me to break cycles in my family that I didn't know, really, that it was a cycle, until I broke it," he said.
Gonzmart said the company's longevity is not just "because we care about the community" but also because it has avoided common operational pitfalls.
“Most family businesses fail for a couple reasons," he said. "One, there's too many family members who try to get their hands in, or there's too many directions, and no one knows who to take direction from."
He noted the business did not split into two branches until its fourth generation. Currently, he owns one half, while his uncle Richard Gonzmart and cousin Andrea Gonzmart Williams own the other.
Club President Pam Akins said the meeting was a chance to complement the club's energy.
"We bring a lot of activity and impact in our community, and we like to have speakers that embody that too," she said.
