It’s a relationship that has made us both world famous.” “We serve it at all seven of our Columbia restaurants. “The More family and my family have been friends and business partners for more than 100 years, ever since the bakery opened in Ybor City in 1915,” says Gonzmart, 65. ![]() If all things go right, five years from now we can have a facility that can handle more output from the wholesale side and then also the production for the pastries and retail side.” "So what we really need is a new facility - that's the long-term plan. "We’re pretty tight, at full capacity at our wholesale facility," More says. What’s the biggest manufacturing challenge you’ve had to overcome?Ĭopeland More with La Segunda Bakery says one of the company's toughest challenges is distribution between stores - logistics and production. Like La Segunda, the Gonzmart Restaurant Group is operated by a fourth-generation scion, Richard Gonzmart, who refers to himself not as president or CEO but “caretaker” of the family business. The two companies and the families who run them have much in common. La Segunda’s bread is also featured in other Gonzmart Restaurant Group properties, including Ulele in Tampa and Café Con Leche in Ybor City. Owned and operated for generations by the Gonzmart family, The Columbia has multiple locations, including Ybor City, around the Tampa Bay area as well as restaurants in Sarasota, St. One of those restaurants is The Columbia - the oldest restaurant in Florida known for its iconic “1905” salad and Cuban sandwich featuring freshly baked La Segunda bread. “There are only so many restaurants in the world that have an actual Cuban sandwich on their menu.” “There’s more growth potential in a retail, fast-casual concept,” More says. Not only is it a tactical effort to extend the brand, it’s also a long-term strategic initiative. But having grown up in south Tampa, he was familiar with the local demographics and believed it would behoove La Segunda to make a move into the area. More says he “wasn’t in love” with the prospective new location - which is right next to another lunch spot, The Metro Diner - at first, fearing it was too big. Company officials decline to disclose specific revenue figures for the business. ![]() Copeland More is bullish on the café’s prospects, projecting it will generate $1.2-$1.6 million in revenue in its first year of business. The Mores spent about $800,000 to open the bakery café and hired three new full-time bakers along with 25 other employees to perform retail operations like running the coffee bar, taking food orders and cleaning. Kennedy Blvd., a high-traffic location in south Tampa that should make for an ideal lunch spot in the bustling Westshore business district. ![]() Retail example one: on July 18, La Segunda Bakery & Café opened for business at 4015 W. The younger More took over from his father, Anthony More, who at 75 remains actively involved in the business.īut “you can’t grow without risk,” says Copeland More, who has engineered a major strategy shift for the company into the retail bakery-café space. Wholesale operations account for about 75% of the company’s revenue, says Copeland More, 38, who now runs La Segunda. Iconic wholesale bread maker pivots to retail with new bakery cafe. Producing some 18,000 loaves per day, La Segunda Central Bakery is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of Cuban bread.įounded in 1915 in Ybor City, Tampa’s historic Cuban district, the company is now in the hands of a fourth-generation descendant of founder Juan Moré, an immigrant from Spain who fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba and developed an affinity for the island’s unique, crusty bread.
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