Gonzmart buys former Naviera Coffee Mills building in Ybor City, reveals opening plan for new Sicilian restaurant
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 16, 2020

Tampa restaurateur Richard Gonzmart has acquired the historic Naviera Coffee Mills property in Ybor City.

The property — which Naviera vacated for a larger facility more than two years ago — includes both a 5,650-square-foot processing facility at 2008 E. 7th Ave. and the adjacent 3,536-square-foot warehouse at 2004 E. 7th Ave.

An entity linked to Gonzmart, who is president of Columbia Restaurant Group, paid nearly $1.7 million for both in a transaction that closed March 6, according to Hillsborough County property records. On April 10, Valley National Bank provided a $1.36 million mortgage for the property.

The purchase is an investment in Ybor City, a spokesman for Columbia Restaurant Group said, and there are no definitive plans for the property. Gonzmart has long floated the idea of a market, complete with a butcher and fishmonger, for Ybor City.

Gonzmart is known to take his time with new businesses and development. His new Sicilian restaurant, Casa Santo Stefano, has been in the works for years. He bought the historic Ferlita Macaroni Factory that will house the restaurant in 2014 and hired its chef in 2017.

And while he's also known for his reluctance to reveal opening dates — "we'll open when we're ready" was a frequent refrain leading up to the unveiling of Ulele and Goody Goody — he has a plan for Santo Stefano.

"My goal would be the end of August," Gonzmart told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "I believe the end of August is when we opened Goody Goody and Ulele, and I’m hoping the end of August is when we’re going to see there wasn’t a spike in cases and that there’s a sense of security."