Counsel to Counsel - September 2008 - (Page 21) 1996: Lauren Gonzmart becomes the first member of the fifth generation to join the company full time. 1956: Cesar builds a 300-seat showroom. 1997: Sixth restaurant opens near Orlando. 3 rd 4 th Photos courtesy of Columbia Restaurant 5 th 2001: Massive new kitchen is built in Ybor City. 2005: The Gonzmart family and the Columbia Restaurant celebrate 100 years. 1970s: Richard and Casey Gonzmart become the fourth generation to manage the Columbia. 1958: Fowler White Boggs Banker begins working with Columbia. 1983: Third restaurant opens in St. Augustine (pictured above). 1988: Fourth location opens in St. Petersburg. 1959: Columbia opens a second restaurant in Sarasota. 1989: Fifth restaurant debuts at Sand Key on Clearwater Beach. “A lot of restaurants, our competition, didn’t make it through to the ’90s,” Gonzmart recalls. “That history is gone forever.” Of course, expanding the Columbia from a single corner storefront to the sprawling complex it is today was not without challenges, and Fowler White was there to help. “It was a gradual, organic growth pattern,” Shannon explains. “With the addition of each new dining room, the permitting issues had changed; the zoning requirements had changed as they evolved in the city of Tampa. The restaurant needed some legal expertise to wade through those things.” “I just went and bought a new 7-foot-6-inch Yamaha grand on Friday,” Gonzmart says. “I haven’t told my CFO yet. We had my mom’s 1920 Steinway, but the thing was shot. I felt it was time to find the best piano around.” That’s not the only contribution his generation has made to the business. Eight years ago they completed a new, 5,000-plussquare-foot kitchen with better access to all the sprawling restaurant’s dining rooms. The current challenge is not survival. Ybor City has experienced a renewal in the last 20 years, as the Columbia brand has spread throughout Florida. Instead, the Gonzmarts are planning for the next generation. “You have to have faith in the people you work with,” Gonzmart says. “I have nothing but trust in Fowler White. They’re not just our attorneys, they’ve become our friends. When I saw Mr. Boggs at the table last week, as we planned to be sure we could pass the business on to the sixth generation, it gave me a sense of confidence. It’s not often a gentleman who has been there for over 50 years and accomplished so much would take the time to sit down in a meeting like that. Would another big law firm really care? I don’t know if they would. They’ve always been there for us.” partnership at a glance Fowler White Boggs Banker Fowler White Boggs Banker is a full-service law firm serving Florida with offices in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Tallahassee, Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale. With more than 200 lawyers, the firm is organized into industry and client teams to best track legislation, monitor market competition, and watch legal and regulatory trends in the service of their clients. The Next Generation Today the Gonzmarts—Richard’s brother Casey is company chairman—run Columbia Restaurant Group with an attention to detail that seems to be a family trait. “I learned lessons early on,” Richard Gonzmart says. “I was probably 3½ when my grandfather taught me how to tell fresh fish in the cooler. I watched him throw out 60 gallons of our famous bean soup because it was too salty. I learned a lot from his commitment to quality.” That commitment has allowed the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City to reach its present stature: 1,700 seats in 15 dining rooms with live entertainment six nights a week, including flamenco dancing and jazz bands. www.martindale.com/c2c Jeffrey C. Shannon is a shareholder in Fowler White’s Tampa office. His practice includes real estate, partnership and deal structures and other transactional matters. He has worked with Columbia Restaurant Group for more than 25 years. He can be reached at jshannon@fowlerwhite.com. SEptEmbEr 2008 21 http://www.martindale.com/c2c
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