Stetson Honors Cesar Gonzmart

Stetson Honors Cesar Gonzmart

Stetson University officials honored the late Ybor City restaurateur Cesar Gonzmart during the school's annual trustee dinner May 19 at the original Columbia Restaurant.

University President H. Douglas Lee presented the school's 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award to Gonzmart's family as a tribute to the life of the man who died in 1992. His sons, Casey and Richard Gonzmart, were among the family present to receive the posthumous award. The Gonzmart family still owns and manages the restaurant.

The award recognizes Gonzmart's accomplishments, including his appointment as a Knight of Sant'Yago, an honor bestowed on him in 1971 by the king of Spain. In 1995, the Florida Restaurant Association awarded Gonzmart its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Under his management, Gonzmart expanded the restaurant into six other Florida communities. This year the family celebrated the restaurant's 100th anniversary by opening a seventh restaurant in West Palm Beach.

- David R. Corder