Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands reopens after storms

After nearly a month of work to repair damage from back-to-back hurricanes, two cornerstone restaurants on St. Armands Circle have reopened. 

Columbia Restaurant and Cha Cha Coconuts opened the doors at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, the 1905 Family Of Restaurants announced.

“Everyone could use some comfort right now,” says Richard Gonzmart,  fourth-generation caretaker of the businesses, in the statement. “We look forward to welcoming our guests back.”

The restaurants closed in advance of Hurricane Helene, which on Sept. 26 brought more than three feet of storm-surge flooding into the dining rooms and kitchens. 

Repairs already were underway by the time Hurricane Milton made landfall Oct. 9 on Siesta Key. After that storm passed and power returned, renovation work resumed seven days a week.

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Nearly all of the kitchen equipment in Columbia and Cha Cha Coconuts has been replaced with new equipment, in addition to new drywall, electronics, furniture and food.

The Columbia, which was opened in 1905 by Gonzmart’s great-grandfather in Tampa’s Ybor City, is generally regarded at Florida’s oldest continuing restaurant. 

In December, the Columbia on St. Armands will celebrate its 65th anniversary and Cha Cha Coconuts will celebrate 35 years of operation next door.

The reopenings fully restore operations to all of the company’s locations, including Columbia Restaurants in St. Augustine, on Sand Key in Clearwater Beach and Celebration near Orlando; Columbia Cafes at the Tampa Bay History Center and in Tampa International Airport; and Ulele and Casa Santo Stefano in Tampa. 

All of the brands were interrupted for different durations of time by either evacuations, power outages, damage or a combination of factors.

“Our family continues to pray for our neighbors who are recovering in the aftermath of the storms,” Gonzmart says. “We’ll get through this by being stronger together.”

This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.