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Columbia gives $1M to charities

To celebrate 100 years, the restaurant donates $100,000 for every decade that the original in Ybor City has been in business.

By BRADY DENNIS
Published January 10, 2006

TAMPA - Richard Gonzmart thought long and hard about how to leave a lasting mark during the 100th anniversary of the Columbia Restaurant, the family business his great-grandfather founded in 1905.

"I really wanted to do something that would make my parents, grandparents and great-grandfather proud," the restaurant's president and co-owner said. "We're successful because of the community that has supported us."

So he decided to thank the community by giving $1-million to local charities - $100,000 for each decade the Columbia has been in business.

"That's a lot of rice and beans," Gonzmart said.

Half of that money will go toward Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute to fund a study of pediatric sarcoma, which attacks bones and tissue. Gonzmart lost his grandfather, father and father-in-law to cancer and said his mission is to find a cure.

The remaining donations will help fund the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the local Boys & Girls Clubs and Villa Madonna school, the University of South Florida Athletic Foundation, a scholarship endowment for Latinos at USF, an Ybor City middle school for promising inner-city children, and other local and state charities.

Gonzmart has become one of the area's leading philanthropists, donating money to community causes and even raising charity funds by competing in marathons.

The Columbia holds an annual Community Harvest program at its seven restaurants throughout Florida, during which 5 percent of all lunch and dinner checks goes to charities. It has given money to schools like Jesuit High School and the Academy of the Holy Names.

Gonzmart explained the 100th anniversary donation: "It would be easy to keep our money. But that's not the responsible thing. That's not what my parents and grandparents would do. That's not what I want my kids to do."

He said he hopes that future generations of his family will continue to give back to a community that has given them so much.

"We're thankful we're here. What an honor," he said. "I hope we're here 100 more years."

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:51:15]