About Us
It all began in 1905 when Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez, Sr., founded the Columbia Restaurant in Florida.
An ambitious young Spaniard, Casimiro Sr., left Cuba with his family and dreams in 1902.
Inspired by the opportunities in Ybor City, Tampa's cigar-producing Latin Quarter, he saw a prosperous future in the Florida sunshine. No stranger to hard work, Casimiro Sr. spent years working at the Florida Brewery on Fifth Avenue, until he glimpsed a new opportunity to sell beer at an Ybor City spot called Saloon Columbia.
In 1905, the original Columbia Restaurant opened on the corner of 22nd Street and 7th Avenue (then Broadway). The restaurant now seats 1,700 guests in 15 dining rooms across an entire city block. As the oldest restaurant in Florida, it is also the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.
