Pictured: The oldest restaurant in Sarasota, Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle is a legendary local landmark.

Since 1959, Columbia Restaurant has stood as a beloved landmark in St. Armands Circle, drawing in locals and visitors alike with its timeless Spanish-Cuban flavors and grand, old-word charm. With its century-old recipes and storied family legacy, Columbia is as much a part of the Sarasota landscape as the sand and the sea. But like many other local businesses, that legacy was at risk of being swept away by back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Being on St. Armands Circle, we’re used to a certain degree of flooding, but only inches,” says Andrea Gonzmart Williams. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for our family that we took on three to four feet of water in the restaurant.”

Gonzmart Williams is the great-great granddaughter of Casimiro Hernandez Sr. who founded the original Columbia restaurant in Ybor City in 1905. Along with other family members, she serves as a caretaker of the Columbia Restaurant tradition. While there was a rumor that the St. Armands location might not be able to reopen after the storms, it was just that--a rumor.

“The thought of not reopening was never an option. We knew we could get there,” Gonzmart Williams says. “We work with a great family-owned construction company that’s based out of Tampa and they had their people there almost immediately starting work. It was important to us to be able to get our employees back to work.”

When it came to repairs, there was quite a bit of drywall removal that needed to be done, and the restaurant lost all of its food product. While closed, they took the opportunity to replace the flooring in one of the rooms. But the biggest loss was kitchen appliances which are expensive and can take weeks to replace. The team repaired what they could, and on Saturday, October 26th, Columbia was able to reopen in a limited capacity. Gonzmart Williams estimates that they may be fully open as early next week, and will certainly reach that benchmark before Thanksgiving.

“The Columbia Restaurant is open 365 days and we’re excited we’re going to be open for all the holidays again,” says Gonzmart Williams. “We have great Thanksgiving takeout options because we know there are still so many people in Sarasota that are struggling and rebuilding. Taking the pressure of the holidays off of them is something that we’re more than happy to do.”

Pictured: The oldest restaurant in Sarasota, Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle is a legendary local landmark.