About our Honoree - Richard Gonzmart

RICHARD GONZMART
President – Columbia Restaurant
4th Generation Family Member

Richard Gonzmart’s education in food preparation began when he was born. He is the great-grandson of Casimiro Hernandez, Sr., the founder of the world-famous Columbia Restaurant in Tampa’s Historic Ybor City. The Columbia was founded in 1905 and is the oldest restaurant in Florida, and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.

Richard’s practical experience in the food industry began at the early age of 12, when he started spending summers as an apprentice cook in the Columbia kitchen. He graduated high school from Tampa’s Jesuit High School in 1971 and continued at the University of Denver School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and attended the University of Madrid, Escuela de Hosteleria. He is now president of the Columbia Restaurant Group, which includes six Columbia Restaurants, one Columbia Cafe and two Cha Cha Coconuts, a tropical bar and grill.

Gonzmart has lectured extensively on Spanish food and wine. In 2006 he was selected to represent the State of Florida to prepare a few of his family restaurant’s award-winning dishes for media representatives at the Bon Appetit Magazine Dining Room in New York City. The event honored Visit Florida’s 10th Anniversary Celebration. In 2005 he was a guest speaker at the National CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization) Annual Conference.

In 1985, he toured Canada for two weeks, representing the state of Florida, and was a keynote speaker at the 1992 Pillsbury Cookoff. His more noteworthy culinary presentations include the preparation and serving of a giant Paella, Spain’s national dish, for the luncheons and dinners including 1,200 members of the National Tour Operators Association at the Lexington, Kentucky Rupp Arena, again the NTA for 1,800 members at the Minneapolis, Minnesota Convention Center, and for 1,400 members of the American Bus Operators Association meeting in Orlando. He was also selected to represent the Lucky Food Store chain in a national promotion featuring “Five Star World of Fine Cooking.”

Gonzmart currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Inaugural Florida Entrepreneur & Family Business Advisory Board at the University of Tampa, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Hospital Foundation Board, Moffitt’s Advanced Prostate Cancer Coalition board, Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk, Secretary of the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council Executive Board of Directors, Hillsborough County Commission Tourist Development Council, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Board of Directors, the University of South Florida Foundation, and the University of South Florida Athletic Task Force. He is also on the Advisory Committee for the Culinary Operations Academy for Hillsborough High Schools and the St. Petersburg Pier Advisory Task Force and a member of the Tampa Bay Humane Society Advisory Board.

In 1982, Gonzmart was appointed by President Reagan to the Selective Service Board serving 20 years as chairman of Tampa’s District 30 until the mandatory retirement in 2002.

Gonzmart’s professional memberships include the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, an organization founded in 1248 for the great chefs of Europe and L’Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateurs, promoting the culinary arts and wine while preserving the camaraderie and pleasures of the table.

In 1995, Richard implemented the Cesar Gonzmart Annual Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit educational programs throughout the communities in which the Columbia Restaurant serves. The tournament proceeds go toward the fully-funded Cesar and Adela Gonzmart Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund, along with the Columbia Centenario Endowment at the University of South Florida for financially challenged Hispanic students. Proceeds also benefit the University of South Florida Foundation and USF athletics.

In 1998 Richard created the Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest program which has raised over $1,060,000 in twelve years for charity organizations in communities where the Columbia Restaurants are located. Through this program, each of the seven Columbia Restaurants donates 5% of guests’ checks during the month of September to local charitable organizations chosen by their guests.

In 2001 Richard established the Columbia Restaurant Endowment for research at Moffitt Cancer & Research Center. Using his passion for running, he created “Richard’s Run For Life,” a tax exempt charity dedicated to raising funds for cancer research and to raise awareness of what this research will mean to the future under the Gonzmart Family Foundation.

Richard’s motivation to create events to help fund the research needed to find a cure for cancer comes from friends and family who have been affected by cancer and one young boy in particular, Mark Desmarais. Mark was a friend and inspiration to Richard, and he was the official starter for the “Annual Richard’s Run For Life” 5K race that was created nine years ago and has raised over $375,000. Gonzmart and his staff donate time to this event and others to raise funds for this cause. Richard was greatly saddened when 10-year-old Mark passed away from cancer in February of 2007. Mark’s spirit will continue to inspire Richard.

In 2007 Richard created “Andrea’s Sip for Life,” which has raised over $185,000 in four years for Moffitt Cancer & Research Center. This year, over 300 people enjoyed 250 premium wines from Spain, California and South America, along with food prepared by The Columbia Cafe. The event was named after Andrea Dicks Hartley, a young Mother and Moffitt patient who lost her battle to sarcoma cancer in August 2006 at the age of 30, leaving behind her 2 1/2-year-old daughter.

In 2010 Richard created the 2K “Riverwalk for Dads.” The event raised over $10,000 for the Advanced Prostate Cancer Collaboration conducted by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Over 300 participants enjoyed the family-friendly, slow-paced walk along the Riverwalk in Downtown Tampa, and afterward enjoyed a hot breakfast prepared by the Columbia Café on the terrace of the Tampa Bay History Center.

Under Richard’s leadership, The Columbia has been honored with several prestigious awards including:

• Named an All-American Icon by Nation’s Restaurant News, one of only fifty restaurants in the U.S. chosen for this honor in 2010.

• Earned the “Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) Award of Excellence” 2010 - 2005 -- One of the most prestigious awards in the fine dining industry. An anonymous, independent 75-point inspection of the property is conducted to review the quality of the food, wine, service, physical property and décor.

• Named to Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame.

• Named to Florida Trend Magazine’s Golden Spoon Hall of Fame in 2005 – the industry’s highest regional award as “One of the Top 25 Restaurants in Florida.” Named “One of Florida’s Top Restaurants” since 1967.

• Winner of Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, for an outstanding collection of Spanish wines (over 850 wines, inventory exceeds 50,000 bottles).

• Columbia awarded the Celebration of Free Enterprise Award in 2007 from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

• Winner of the 2001-2002 MassMutual National Family Business of the Year award.

Richard has received many honors and awards. In 2010, he was recognized by the Lion''s Eye Institute with their Person of Vision Award; he was honored by the American Association of State Troopers with the Spirit of the Trooper Award, and he was inducted into the Academy of the Holy Names Hall of Fame -- he was a member of its first graduating glass in 1967. In 2009 he received the Vicente Martinez Ybor Legacy Award bestowed upon those visionaries who have made a lasting impact on Ybor City from the Ybor City Museum Society.

In 2008, Richard Gonzmart’s Family was honored with the Spirit of Philanthropy Award after being nominated by Moffitt Cancer Center and Meals on Wheels in conjunction with National Philanthropy Day. In 2007 St. Joseph’s Hospitals named him Community Benefactor. In 2006, he was inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame by the Florida Commission on Tourism. He was also named the Hispanic Man of the Year by Tampa Hispanic Heritage, Inc.

In 2005, he was awarded the National Restaurant Association’s Humanitarian of the Year Award for the State of Florida, was named one of the Top 20 Chefs in Florida by Restaurant Forum magazine, and was the Overall Winner - Minority Business Person of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. He was also named the Father of the Year by the Diabetes Foundation.

In 2004, he received the Class of 1956 Award from the University of South Florida, the highest award available to a non-graduate of the University and received the prestigious Citizen of the Year Award by the Tampa Sports Club.

In 2003 he was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame, and was named Businessman of the Year by Magellan Media’s Que Pasa Hispanic Magazine.

In 2001 Gonzmart was inducted into the inaugural Florida State University Dedman School of Hospitality Hall of Fame, and received the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Optimist Club of Ybor City in 2001.

Richard felt particularly honored when he was named the Alumni of the Year in 2000 by Jesuit High School and was inducted into the Jesuit Athletic Hall of Fame. He was also named Alumni of the Year in 2001 by the Academy of the Holy Names. He also received the Hero Award from the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization and the Dr. Martin Luther King Drum Major Awardin 1996

He served on the Board of Directors as Chairman for Tampa Bay & Company, two terms on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the United Way, J. Clifford McDonald Center, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Board of Fellows at the University of Tampa, was appointed to one term on the Florida Arts Council and served two terms on the Board for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. He also served on the Board for the Jesuit High School Foundation and the Board of Trustees, as a trustee of the Academy of the Holy Names and as president of the Ybor City (Tampa) Chamber of Commerce.

Family & Personal Interests

Richard has been married to Melanie Heiny Gonzmart since 1973. They have two daughters, Lauren Gonzmart Schellman and Andrea Gonzmart Turner; and both work for the family business at the corporate office. He has five grandchildren: twins Isabella and Michael, Maximilian, Alexander and Amelia. He is passionate about German Shepherds and breeds and shows world-class German Shepherd dogs around the world. In addition, he is a marathon runner and has run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain on two occasions.

He also enjoys working with young people, and has previously served as a volunteer coach for the Jesuit High School JV football and track teams. He also coached the Academy of the Holy Names girls track team for three years. In 2006, he created “Richard’s Team for Kids,” a program to inspire elementary children to learn about running, developing self-confidence and self-esteem, while at the same time, promoting a habit of a healthy lifestyle. There are over 700 children participating in the program that in now called the “Let Me Play” program.

He was a guest teacher for Durant High School’s hospitality course for two years. Richard also has lectured at both USF and UCF to students taking entry level courses on Hospitality and to USF’s Executive Business MBA class. He also gave the commencement exercise speech to the University of South Florida Sarasota campus in 2005. Richard is invited to lecture annually at Babson College’s Family Business course and also the University of Tampa’s Family Business Course.