George Guito is more than just the general manager of the Columbia Restaurant. He's a legend and the only original employee still working at the restaurant.
"I was 15 years old when I first came to work here. Cleaning the restaurant making $35 a week," Guito said.
That was 61 years ago. He's 76 now and still works five days a week.
"He is a Columbia Restaurant icon. I have known him, obviously, since I was born. And that's why he's Uncle George. I couldn't imagine this restaurant without him walking about the hallways and the dining rooms because he is here at all hours. I feel like 365 days a year, sometimes we have to send him away on a vacation. Because if he's just on vacation, and he's home, he still comes in," said Andrea Gonzmart Williams, a fifth-generation family owner and operator of the restaurant.
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George has done it all here at the Columbia.
Cesar Gonzmart, the third-generation founder of the Columbia, hired George in 1962 and took good care of him.
"They paid for me to go to school, and I became a certified butcher. At that time, I cut all that meat for the restaurant," he said.
He worked in the kitchen for 30 years.
"I really, really enjoy working here and coming to work every morning and do whatever needs to be done," he said.
For Guito, the Columbia is more than just a job. The Gonzmarts are more than just his employers.
"I thought I was just gonna be here til I get on my feet. But the Gonzmarts treated me so well. Even the boys, Richard's nephew and nieces, and the daughter, they all call me Uncle George. They treat me like family," he said.
It's why he's been around for so long.
"I could have retired a long time ago. You know, because I'm 76 years old," he said.
He added, "I talk to all the customers that come in. I know the tables they like to be seated at. So I got a fairly good relationship with people."
He doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.
"I been around for a while, and I want to continue to be around for a while."
