TAMPA, Fla. — Andrea Gonzmart Williams got her start in the family business at just 10 years old. She would work her way up at the Columbia, eventually becoming the first woman to work in the kitchen.
Today, she is the fifth-generation caretaker of the Columbia and keeping her family’s legacy alive. Over the last couple decades, her work has taken her outside of the kitchen.
On Saturday, Gonzmart Williams will be honored as the 2024 Hispanic Woman of the Year at Tampa Hispanic Heritage’s annual gala.
“It is an honor that I almost feel I am undeserving of,” Gonzmart Williams said. “I feel like all the people that came before me, all their achievements, to be put up there with them, it’s amazing. It’s shocking. I feel so honored.”
For her interview with ABC Action News, Gonzmart Williams arrived with a flower in her hair – a fashion statement she is known for. But many people may not know the reason why.
The flower, much like flamenco dancers wear, is paying homage to her abuela, or grandmother.
“I feel confident that she is smiling down and that she is with me every inch of the way and I always try to wear something that reminds me of her whenever I do something special like this.”
Watching Gonzmart Williams speak about her grandmother, who she called Lala, it is easy to see that they had a special relationship.
“The opportunity, if I could have just hugged her one more time. I spent so much time with her growing up. I would just love to have five minutes with her.”
Her grandmother didn’t play an active role in the restaurant until she was older, because her own father wouldn’t allow her.
Both the restaurant business and Hispanic culture are very male dominant, and a woman didn’t work at the Columbia until 1975. At that time, Richard Gonzmart, Andrea’s father, hired the first woman to work in the front of the house.
But in 2001, at the age of 21 years old and having just graduated from the University of South Florida, Gonzmart Williams became the first woman to work in the kitchen.
“It was intimidating being in that kitchen, but honestly I was so excited,” Gonzmart said beaming with pride.
But two staffers took her under their wing. Today, they both still work at the Columbia.
“At that point, I knew I was going to have to start breaking the barriers, proving myself. I was proving myself, not only because I was a woman, but I was proving myself because I was the owner’s daughter. So, I had to work harder, I had to work longer and I loved every moment of it.”
Growing up, the restaurant was like a playground for her and her sister. With her own daughter, Amelia, she has encouraged her to explore from when she was little.
“Unless she forms those memories for herself, she’s not going to be able to pass it along for my next generation, to the seventh generation.”
Amelia has been known to give tours, and Gonzmart Williams shared how she would love to be a fly on the wall for one of those tours.
She considers it a blessing, that today is it so common to see women in business.
“I am raising this daughter that is probably too empowered. She doesn’t think twice that she is a woman. She doesn’t think twice that she is Latin. She is just Amelia.”
Gonzmart Williams keeps encouraging her, letting her daughter know she can do whatever she wants.
Being involved in the community is something that her grandmother instilled in her father, and later her father instilled in her. Over the last couple decades, she has served on many boards including the Ybor Chamber of Commerce, the University of South Florida Foundation, Florida Aquarium and The Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
“Giving back to your community is the best thing by getting involved. It is the community that has supported us for 120 years,” Gonzmart Williams said.
She feels like she’s making a change, even if a small one, and it’s important to her to lead by example for her daughter.
“There are so many worthy causes and I love every single one that I am involved in.”
Throughout her own life, she has watched Ybor city go through so many changes, from walking down the street at midnight when she was younger to walking down the street at noon now, as a businesswoman. She calls these little renaissances.
She is excited to see Ybor returning to it’s roots, where people can live and enjoy shopping and dining out in their own neighborhood.
“I am so excited, and I get goosebumps thinking about it, what Ybor is going to be like for my daughter, when she is 40 years old, when she walks down 7th Avenue.”
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