This week's guest is Richard Gonzmart, fourth generation owner of the Columbia Restaurant with its original location in Ybor City. Richard explains how the two sides of his family - one from Cuba, one from Spain - came to America and opened the restaurant which has survived Prohibition, the Great Depression, World Wars and, most recently, Covid. From the original, the Columbia Restaurant has branched out to open locations across the state including St. Armands Circle in Sarasota. The Columbia Restaurant is the oldest eatery on St. Armands - and is part of a perfect day spent exploring this unique shopping, dining, history attraction.
Craig Pittman is the award-winning author of Oh, Florida!: How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, The Scent of Scandal, Cat Tale, Manatee Insanity and The State You’re In, and co-author of Paving Paradise. Born in Pensacola, he graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him “the most destructive force on campus.” Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature.
