The District Magazine Vol. 2 Issue 3, Fall 2017 | Page 33

I’m working on the menu for Casa Santo Stefano,
opening in Ybor City in the first half of 2018. 60 percent
of the Sicilian immigrants to Tampa came from this one
small town. I’m also working on a new concept for a
property we own on Longboat Key, likely opening in
2019.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with my family. I like to play
electric guitar (although I say play at it perhaps is more
like it). I like to run. I’ve completed more than 26 full
marathons, although I’m taking a bit of a break right
now. And I love to travel because I get so many ideas.
Where do you see Tampa ten years from now?
I’m hopeful we’ll be well on the way to a better regional
transportation network. More and more people will
move downtown, creating even more need for a
walkable city. Water Street Tampa, the 50-acre, mixed-
use project of Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates, will be nearing
completion. Our residents and guests will expect to
move easily around the city from SoHo to Ybor and from
the Heights to Harbour Island. The Tampa Riverwalk will
be even more active. The food and craft beer scene will
have been long established in national awareness. The
Bucs will have won another Super Bowl, the Lightning
a Stanley Cup. The Rays, playing in a new stadium in
Tampa, will have won a World Series. And the Columbia
and all our restaurants still will be serving great food
and at great value, just as we did when we began 112
years ago.
How important is it for leaders to be involved with
their communities and how important is it to you
personally?
It’s vital for business leaders to give back to the
communities that have supported them. That’s why we
do Community Harvest every September and give five
percent of every guest check to local non-profits in that
community. Over 20 years, that’s meant $2 million to
those charities. We also have donated millions more to
Moffitt Cancer Center, the Academy of Holy Names, the
University of South Florida and Jesuit High School.
It’s equally important to donate time and ideas. That’s
why I have been privileged to serve on more than 50
area boards and leadership groups, including Visit
Florida, Visit Tampa Bay, the Tampa Bay Regional
Partnership and the Straz Center. Right now, my focus is
on transportation and how we can encourage functional,
practical and affordable mass transit in this region. At
some point soon, our progress will stop because of our
shortcomings.
Knowing yourself, if you could go back in time and
provide your younger self advice, what would it be?
“Don’t worry. It will all work out.” Times were hard there
for a while, especially in the 90s, and I worried constantly
about preserving this family business. Fortunately, we’re
now thriving with all of our restaurants. Also, “Always
address problems immediately. You have to be honest
and not be afraid to confront issues face to face.”
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