Question: What is the oldest restaurant in Florida, founded in Tampa in 1905?
Answer: Columbia Restaurant
Spanish-Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez Sr. arrived in Tampa with his four young sons and helped open the Columbia Saloon in 1903, which became the Columbia Restaurant in 1905. Over more than 120 years, the original Ybor City restaurant expanded to cover an entire city block and is recognized as the world’s largest Spanish restaurant. The Columbia remains Florida’s oldest restaurant, with seven locations statewide, and is still owned and operated by the Hernandez-Gonzmart family.
