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81-631: Columbia Restaurant is a restaurant in Ybor City , Tampa, Florida . It is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida, as well as the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States. The 15 dining rooms cover 52,000 ft seating 1,700 customers. It is the largest Spanish restaurant in the world and occupies an entire city block. Founded in 1903 as Saloon Columbia, it was renamed in 1905 to Columbia Restaurant. The landmark has been owned by

162-586: A Hong Kong and Macau volume was added. As of 2013, the guide is published in 14 editions covering 23 countries. In 2008, the German restaurateur Juliane Caspar was appointed the first woman and first non-French national editor-in-chief of the French edition of the guide. She had previously been responsible for the Michelin guides to Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The German newspaper Die Welt commented on

243-661: A National Historic Landmark District , and several structures in the area are listed in the National Register of Historic Places . In 2008, 7th Avenue, Ybor City's main commercial thoroughfare, was recognized as one of the "10 Great Streets in America" by the American Planning Association . In 2010 Columbia Restaurant , which is Florida's oldest restaurant, was named a "Top 50 All-American icon" by Nation's Restaurant News magazine. In

324-423: A "fork and spoon" designation, as a subjective reflection of the overall comfort and quality of the restaurant. Rankings range from one to five: one fork and spoon represents a "comfortable restaurant" and five signifies a "luxurious restaurant". Forks and spoons colored red designate a restaurant that is considered "pleasant" as well. Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive

405-498: A bid to bring the Michelin guide to their country in return for a payment of €1.5 million. In 2023, the guide expanded to several cities in Colorado ( Aspen , Beaver Creek Resort , Boulder , Denver , Snowmass Village , and Vail ) that paid between US$ 70,000 and US$ 100,000 on top of a state contribution; other cities ( Aurora , Colorado Springs , Fort Collins , and Grand Junction ) declined to participate. In September 2023

486-585: A community that combined Cuban, Spanish, Italian, and Jewish culture. "Ybor City is Tampa's Spanish India," observed a visitor to the area, "What a colorful, screaming, shrill, and turbulent world." An aspect of life were the mutual aid societies built and sustained mainly by ordinary citizens. These clubs were founded in Ybor's early days (the first was the Centro Español , established in 1891) and were run on dues collected from their members, usually 5% of

567-598: A court case for unfair dismissal, which was unsuccessful. Rémy described the French Michelin inspector's life as lonely, underpaid drudgery, driving around France for weeks on end, dining alone, under intense pressure to file detailed reports to strict deadlines. He maintained that the guide had become lax in its standards. Though Michelin states that its inspectors visited all 4,000 reviewed restaurants in France every 18 months, and all starred restaurants several times

648-564: A form of unpaid internship . At the three-star restaurant Noma , chef-owner René Redzepi yielded to public pressure in 2022 and began paying interns. After three months, Redzepi announced the restaurant was no longer financially sustainable and that the concept would close at the end of 2024. The power imbalance between chef-owners and staff has also resulted in workers at some fine-dining restaurants producing intricate dishes complaining of very long hours, difficulty affording food, physical and sexual abuse, refusal of permission to treat injuries at

729-425: A lack of funds, the redevelopment did not happen. The primary legacy of the program was blocks of vacant lots which remained empty for decades. The construction of Interstate 4 through the center of the neighborhood during this period also resulted in the destruction of many buildings and cut most of the north–south routes through the area. By the early 1970s, very few businesses and residents remained, most notably

810-407: A member's salary. In exchange, members and their whole family received services including free libraries, educational programs, sports teams, restaurants, numerous social functions like dances and picnics, and free medical services. Beyond the services, these clubs served as extended families and communal gathering places for generations of Ybor's citizens. There were clubs for each ethnic division in

891-938: A no-star rating from Michelin (he did, however, acknowledge that the restaurant received positive mention for its ambiance, and that two other restaurants owned by Meyer received stars). Kurutz also said the guide appeared to favour restaurants that "emphasized formality and presentation" rather than a "casual approach to fine dining". He said over half of the restaurants that received one or two stars "could be considered French". The Michelin Guide New York 2007 included 526 restaurants, compared to 2,014 in Zagat New York 2007; after The Four Seasons Restaurant received no stars in that edition, co-owner Julian Niccolini said Michelin "should stay in France, and they should keep their guide there". The 2007 guide does, however, include menus, recipes, and photographs, and descriptions of

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972-537: A number of other symbols next to their listing: The Michelin Green Guides review and rate attractions other than restaurants. There is a Green Guide for France as a whole, and a more detailed one for each of ten regions within France. Other Green Guides cover many countries, regions, and cities outside France. Many Green Guides are published in several languages. They include background information and an alphabetical section describing points of interest. Like

1053-501: A party destination, Ybor City is referenced extensively in the lyrics of Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady . The song "Killer Parties", for instance, contains the line "Ybor City is très speedy , but they throw such killer parties." In May 2009 Swedish super-retailer IKEA opened its long-awaited Tampa location in the southern edge of Ybor City. The local museum is the Ybor City Museum State Park in

1134-604: A proprietary app . This allowed Michelin to distribute the guide to a larger audience at no charge. However, as of 2024, a handful of popular regions, France , Italy , Japan and Spain , remain in printed publication. Red Guides have historically listed many more restaurants than rival guides, relying on an extensive system of symbols to describe each one in as little as two lines. Reviews of starred restaurants also include two to three culinary specialties. Short summaries (2–3 lines) were added in 2002/2003 to enhance descriptions of many establishments. These summaries are written in

1215-580: A random September or October day, a special menu with 1905 prices was in effect from noon to 7 p.m. Hundreds of diners lined up outside before the restaurant opened for the opportunity of a great bargain. In 2014, the restaurant announced it would celebrate "1905 Day" in the future on significant anniversaries. The next 1905 day may be in 2025 for their 120th anniversary. The annual Cesar Gonzmart Memorial Golf Tournament (CGMGT) began in 1995 by Columbia Restaurant owners Richard and Casey Gonzmart in memory of their father, who died of pancreatic cancer. Proceeds from

1296-468: A series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic areas. Michelin also publishes the Green Guides , a series of general guides to cities, regions, and countries. In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase

1377-432: A slow process of gentrification . In the 1990s and early 2000s, a portion of the original neighborhood around 7th Avenue developed into a nightclub and entertainment district, and many old buildings were renovated for new uses. Since then, the area's economy has diversified with more offices and residences, and the population has shown notable growth for the first time in over half a century. Ybor City has been designated as

1458-660: A two-course meal and either dessert or a glass of wine for less than $ 60 CAD per person. Bib ( Bibendum ) is the company's nickname for the Michelin Man , its corporate logo for over a century. Like Michelin stars, a restaurant can gain or lose a Bib Gourmand designation at Michelin's annual award ceremony for the region where it operates. In 2016, a new symbol, the Plate, was added to recognize restaurants that "simply serve good food". Michelin plans on awarding "keys" to hotels starting in 2024. Michelin states that

1539-454: A type of sameness, rewarding expensive fine dining attributes, luxury ingredients, expensive tableware, matching uniforms, many-course menus, small bites, and meticulously arranged plating. High-quality fine dining in Western countries is labor-intensive, putting downward pressure on line chef wages. Because of their high status, Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants often rely on staging ,

1620-582: A year, Rémy said only about one visit every 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 years was possible because there were only 11 inspectors in France when he was hired, rather than the 50 or more hinted by Michelin. That number, he said, had shrunk to five by the time he was fired in December 2003. Rémy also accused the guide of favouritism. He alleged that Michelin treated famous and influential chefs, such as Paul Bocuse and Alain Ducasse , as "untouchable" and not subject to

1701-498: Is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida , United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba , Spain , and Italy . For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually. The neighborhood had features unusual among contemporary communities in

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1782-527: Is given space on the Guide's website for the chef to describe the restaurant's vision. Since 1997, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "exceptionally good food at moderate prices", a feature now called " Bib Gourmand ". They must offer a combination of menu items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. For example, in Canada a Bib Gourmand restaurant must be able to offer

1863-477: Is mixed tableside, and the recipe has dozens of posts on the internet. In the early 1950s, César Gonzmart traded his career as a musician for one as a restaurateur, but after he became general manager, he regularly serenaded his guests with his violin and orchestra. Until illness prevented it, he performed regularly and music has always been key to the dining experience. There is still live music on weekends. Maria Esparza began performing flamenco dance shows at

1944-489: Is one of the oldest sections of Tampa and is almost entirely an urban, built-up area. Commercial property comprises almost 50% of the land, institutional use (including the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Operations Center and a satellite campus of Hillsborough Community College ) 16%, residential use about 23%, and industrial use about 7% According to a 2003 survey, the top five business types in

2025-479: Is rife, and TV and newspapers discuss which restaurant might lose and which might gain a Michelin star. The Michelin Guide also awards "Rising Stars", an indication that a restaurant has the potential to qualify for a star, or an additional star. In 2020, the Michelin Guide launched a sustainability emblem to symbolise excellence in sustainable gastronomy . An establishment awarded this green star

2106-510: The Columbia Restaurant and a few other businesses along 7th Avenue. In the early 1980s, an influx of artists seeking interesting and inexpensive studio quarters started a slow recovery, followed by a period of commercial gentrification . By the early 1990s, many of the old long-empty brick buildings on 7th Avenue had been converted into bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other nightlife attractions. Traffic grew so much that

2187-928: The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute , the University of South Florida Athletic Association, and a donation to the USF Latino Scholarship Program. In 2009, the Columbia Restaurant was recognized as one of the 25 iconic restaurants of the Tampa-St.Petersburg area by the St. Petersburg Times . It was also listed in Nation's Restaurant News in the "Top 50 All-American icon category." The 2022 Michelin Guide for Florida rated Columbia as "Recommended". Ybor City Ybor City ( / ˈ iː b ɔːr / EE -bor )

2268-458: The Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau introduced an overview of notable street-food establishments. In the same year, the Singapore guide introduced the first Michelin stars for street-food locations, for Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle . All listed restaurants, regardless of their star, Bib Gourmand , or Plate status, also receive

2349-590: The Red Guides , they use a three-star system for recommending sites, ranging from "worth a trip" to "worth a detour", and "interesting". Pascal Rémy, a veteran France-based Michelin inspector, and also a former Gault Millau employee, wrote a tell-all book , L'Inspecteur se met à table ( The Inspector Sits Down at the Table) , published in 2004. Rémy's employment was terminated in December 2003 when he informed Michelin of his plans to publish his book. He brought

2430-542: The Tourism Authority of Thailand agreed to pay 144 million Thai baht (US$ 4.4 million) over five years for the inclusion of their country. In 2022, the guide expanded to Canada, with guides covering Toronto and Vancouver in return for undisclosed payments from each city's local chapter of Destination Canada . The guide announced its first list of restaurants in the US state of Florida on 9 June 2022, after

2511-432: The 1930s as the remaining cigar factories gradually switched from traditional hand-rolled manufacturing to cheaper mechanized methods, further reducing the number of jobs and the salaries paid to workers. After World War II , many returning veterans chose to leave Ybor City due to a lack of well-paying jobs and a US Veterans Administration home loan program that was only applicable to new homes, of which there were few in

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2592-548: The Columbia Restaurant has held a monthly Community Harvest campaign during September. The chain donates 5% of all guests' lunch and dinner checks, allowing patrons to designate the charitable organizations of their choice. As of 2015, the event had generated more than $ 1.8 million for Florida nonprofits. For Columbia's 75th anniversary in 1980, they held a street festival, "Back to Ybor City" with an art show, entertainment with flamenco dancing and "food prices of yesterday". The restaurant celebrated "1905 Day" from 1980 to 2013. On

2673-442: The Columbia Restaurant in 1988. She has been the show's director since 2008. She says that flamenco is not only a dance, but also art. The dancers tell the story of Spain's culture through their dancing. Esparza explains, "It's really hard what we do. The coordination is like no other. We work with our hands and the footwork, we're doing percussion with our footwork." There are dinner shows Tuesday through Saturday. Beginning in 1997,

2754-596: The Deutsch Amerikanischer Verein. The club building is still standing on Nebraska and 11th Avenue . It contained a restaurant open to the public that served German food. In 1919, because of anti-German feelings from World War I, they sold the building to the Young Men's Hebrew Association. The building is now used as offices for the City of Tampa. In 1887, Tampa annexed the neighborhood. By 1900,

2835-1015: The Hernandez-Gonzmart family for five generations and serves Spanish and Cuban cuisine . In addition to the original location in Ybor City, there are Columbia restaurants in Sarasota (opened in 1959); in St. Augustine (opened in 1983); on Sand Key (1989); and in Celebration, Florida (1997). There are also smaller Columbia Café restaurants located at the Tampa Bay History Center (opened in 2009) and at Tampa International Airport (opened in May 2012). The original restaurant's wine list contains more than 1,000 wines with an inventory exceeding 50,000 bottles. The restaurant features several private-label wines and liquors created to honor family members. The popular house sangria

2916-492: The Historic Ybor neighborhood are I-4 to the north, 22nd Street to the east, Adamo Drive to the south, and Nebraska Avenue to the west. The area of this district is about 1 square mile (about 2.6 km ). Though modern Ybor City also includes some of the surrounding area, its exact dimensions are loosely defined and subject to debate. At the height of its life as a thriving immigrant community, Ybor City's population

2997-458: The Italian women worked as cigar strippers in 1900, an undesirable position mainly held by women who could find nothing else. However, eventually many of them became skilled cigar makers, earning more than the male Italian cigar makers. Other Italian immigrants started small businesses built around the cigar industry, such as cafés, food stores, restaurants, and boardinghouses. The least known of

3078-574: The Michelin Guide also expanded to Atlanta , in return for a payment of US$ 1 million over three years. In the early 2020s, Michelin began requiring certain countries which had previously received reviews to pay for continued coverage. Hungary , Slovenia , and the Czech Republic agreed to do so. 2021 marked the end of printed copies of the Michelin Guide. After 121 years, Michelin transitioned to digital publication and released

3159-443: The anonymity of its inspectors. Many of the company's top executives have never met an inspector; inspectors themselves are advised not to disclose their line of work, even to their parents (who might be tempted to boast about it); and, in all the years that it has been putting out the guide, Michelin has refused to allow its inspectors to speak to journalists. The inspectors write reports that are distilled, in annual "stars meetings" at

3240-529: The appointment, "In view of the fact German cuisine is regarded as a lethal weapon in most parts of France, this decision is like Mercedes announcing that its new director of product development is a Martian." The Korea Tourism Organization commissioned Michelin to include South Korea in its 2016 edition at a cost of 3.2 billion won (over US$ 1 million), but government officials were unhappy with resulting inaccuracies such as typos, translation errors, and description errors regarding seating options. In 2017,

3321-411: The area were professional services (22.8%), retail (18.4%), manufacturing (14.0%), wholesale/distribution (13.2%), and restaurants & bars (11.4%). For the most part, Ybor City still uses the gridded street system laid out by Gavino Guiterrez in 1885. Many roadways are now paved with modern materials, though a few brick streets remain. Because 21st and 22nd Streets, which cut north–south through

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3402-452: The area, were once the main traffic routes between Interstate 4 and the Port of Tampa Bay , there was a large volume of semi-trailer truck traffic funneling through the historic district for many years. This caused damage to narrow city roads, was a danger to pedestrians, and sometimes resulted in trucks colliding with historic buildings. In 2014, the elevated I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector

3483-435: The atmosphere of starred restaurants. In 2007, Tokyo 's restaurants were awarded with the most stars and in 2010 other Japanese cities like Kyoto and Osaka also received many stars. At the time this sparked questions from some over whether these high ratings were merited for Japanese restaurants, or whether the Michelin Guide was too generous in giving out stars to gain an acceptance with Japanese customers and to enable

3564-679: The brothers published a guide for Belgium, and then for Algeria and Tunisia (1907); the Alps and the Rhine ( northern Italy , Switzerland, Bavaria , and the Netherlands) (1908); Germany, Spain, and Portugal (1910); the British Isles (1911); and "The Countries of the Sun" ( Les Pays du Soleil ) ( Northern Africa , Southern Italy and Corsica ) (1911). In 1909, an English-language version of

3645-549: The city built parking garages and closed 7th Ave. to traffic to deal with the visitors. Since around 2000, the city of Tampa and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce have encouraged a broader emphasis in development. With financial help from the city, Centro Ybor, a family-oriented shopping complex and movie theater, opened in the former home of the Centro Español social club. The Florida Brewing Company building

3726-544: The community – the Deutscher-Americaner Club (for German and eastern Europeans), L'Unione Italiana (for Italians), El Circulo Cubano (for light-skinned Cubans), La Union Marti-Maceo (for Afro-Cubans), El Centro Español (for Spaniards), and the largest, El Centro Asturiano , which accepted members from any ethnic group Though there was little overt racism inside the diverse neighborhood, Florida's Jim Crow laws forbade Afro-Cubans from belonging to

3807-427: The deal went forward from there, the birth of Ybor City. Cigar making was a specialized trade, and Tampa did not possess a workforce able to man the new factories. To attract employees, Ybor built hundreds of small houses for the coming influx of mainly Cuban and Spanish cigar workers, many of whom followed him from Key West and Cuba. Other cigar manufacturers, drawn by incentives provided by Ybor to further increase

3888-556: The demand for cars and, accordingly, car tyres, the car tyre manufacturers and brothers Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Guide Michelin (Michelin Guide). Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition were distributed. It provided information to motorists such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France. In 1904,

3969-415: The early 1880s, Tampa was an isolated village with a population of less than 1000 and a struggling economy. However, its combination of a good port, Henry Plant's new railroad line, and humid climate attracted the attention of Vicente Martinez Ybor , a prominent Spanish cigar manufacturer. Ybor had moved his cigar-making operation from Cuba to Key West, Florida , in 1869, due to political turmoil in

4050-642: The eastern and southern fringes of the city. The area was referred to as La Pachata, after a Cuban rent collector in that area. It was also called "Little Italy". Unlike Cubans and Spaniards, the Italians arrived in the cigar town without cigar-making skills. When the early Italians entered the factories, it was at the bottom of the ladder, positions which did not involve handling tobacco. Working beside unskilled Cubans, mainly Afro-Cubans, they swept and hauled and were porters and doorkeepers. In time, many did become cigar workers, including Italian women. The majority of

4131-628: The event benefit educational programs in communities where the Columbia Restaurants are located. Columbia Restaurant, through funds raised during the 2001 CGMGT, and the Sant 'Yago Education Foundation gave $ 5,000 to support the American Heart Association 's American Heart Heroes Week project, an initiative that provides camp experiences for children with cardiovascular disease . The 2003 CGMGT raised over $ 55,000 for

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4212-650: The factories of Ybor City. Not coincidentally, that was also the year that the Great Depression began. During the 1920s, organized crime families thrived in both Tampa and Ybor. Aside from bootlegging, the Ybor mafia ran numerous numbers rackets, called bolita . By 1927, there were over 300 bolita houses in Ybor City. The Depression was a major blow to cigar manufacturers. Worldwide demand plummeted as consumers sought to cut costs by switching to less-expensive cigarettes, and factories responded by laying off workers or shutting down. This trend continued throughout

4293-517: The former Ferlita Bakery building (originally La Joven Francesca) building on 9th Avenue. Tours of the gardens and the "casitas" (small homes of cigar company workers) are provided by a ranger. Exhibits, period photos and a video cover the founding of Ybor City and the cigar making industry. Historically, the boundaries of "Greater Ybor City" stretched from Tampa Bay on the south to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly Buffalo Avenue) on

4374-417: The guide began to award stars for restaurants in 1926. Initially, there was only a single star awarded. Then, in 1931, the hierarchy of zero, one, two, and three stars was introduced. Finally, in 1936, the criteria for the rankings were published: In 1931 the cover was changed from blue to red and has remained so in all subsequent editions. During World War II , publication was again suspended. In 1944, at

4455-413: The guide to France was published. During World War I , publication of the guide was suspended. After the war, revised editions of the guide continued to be given away until 1920. It is said that André Michelin, while visiting a tyre merchant, noticed copies of the guide being used to prop up a workbench. Based on the principle that "man only truly respects what he pays for", Michelin decided to charge for

4536-535: The guide's various national offices, into the ranking of three stars, two stars, or one star—or no stars (establishments that Michelin deems unworthy of a visit are not included in the guide). The French chef Paul Bocuse , one of the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine in the 1960s, said, "Michelin is the only guide that counts." In France, when the guide is published each year, it sparks a media frenzy which has been compared to that for annual Academy Awards for films. Media and others debate likely winners, speculation

4617-483: The guide, about 7.50 francs or US$ 2.15 in 1922. They also made several changes, notably listing restaurants by specific categories, adding hotel listings (initially only for Paris), and removing advertisements. Recognizing the growing popularity of the restaurant section, the brothers recruited a team of anonymous inspectors to visit and review restaurants. Following the usage of the Murray's and Baedeker guides ,

4698-641: The immigrants that came to Ybor City are the Germans, the Romanian Jews, and the Chinese. The Chinese and Jews were employed mainly in service trades and retail businesses. The Germans arrived after the 1890s, and most were businessmen. In the cigar factories, they worked as managers, bookkeepers, and supervisors. Cigar boxes were made by German-owned factories. Several early cigar box labels were made by German lithographers. The Germans formed their own club,

4779-466: The key award will "distinguish exceptional establishments led by teams with unique forms of knowledge" and that awards will be given after stays conducted anonymously by Michelin Guide selection teams. Note: the information below is based on the number listed on Michelin Guide official website, up to May 21, 2024. In 2014, Michelin introduced a separate listing for gastropubs in Ireland. In 2016,

4860-439: The labor pool, also moved in, quickly making Tampa a major cigar production center. Italians were also among the early settlers of Ybor City. Most of them came from a few villages in southwestern Sicily. The villages were Santo Stefano Quisquina , Alessandria della Rocca , Bivona , Cianciana , and Contessa Entellina . Sixty percent of them came from Santo Stefano Quisquina. Before settling in Ybor City, many first worked in

4941-583: The language of the country for which the guide is published (though the Spain and Portugal volume is in Spanish only) but the symbols are the same throughout all editions. Michelin inspectors (reviewers) visit restaurants anonymously, and they award one, two, or three stars for those considered at least very good: Inspectors' meals and expenses are paid for by Michelin, never by a restaurant being reviewed: Michelin has gone to extraordinary lengths to maintain

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5022-437: The neighborhood. In fact, the home stock was aging poorly, as many of the structures built in the early days of Ybor City were still in use. As the historic neighborhood continued to empty out and deteriorate through the 1950s and 1960s, the federal Urban Renewal program sought to revitalize the area by demolishing older structures and encouraging new residential and commercial development. The demolition took place, but due to

5103-418: The north, and from Nebraska Avenue on the west to 40th Street on the east. This eventually included all of today's neighborhoods of Historic Ybor, East Ybor , VM Ybor , and Ybor Heights plus a portion of East Tampa . The Ybor City Historic District encompasses the central portion of that area, approximately straddling Interstate 4 , which bisected the neighborhood in the 1960s. The official boundaries of

5184-419: The number of cigar factories and mechanization in the cigar industry greatly reduced employment opportunities in the neighborhood. This process accelerated after World War II , and a steady exodus of residents and businesses continued until large areas of the formerly vibrant neighborhood were virtually abandoned by the late 1970s. Attempts at redevelopment failed until the 1980s, when an influx of artists began

5265-475: The owner of the 40 acre parcel. The Tampa Board of Trade was horrified to find that the purchase had failed and hatched a plan to get the buyer and seller back together. Vicente Ybor was sitting in the train station on his way to Jacksonville to look at more property when the Board of Trade (a group of five, one of whom was Frederick Salomonson, future 3-time mayor of Tampa) arrived and persuaded Ybor to reconsider and

5346-459: The quality of their dishes. Some restaurateurs have asked Michelin to revoke a star, because they felt that it created undesirable customer expectations or pressure to spend more on service and decor. Notable cases include: The pressure to retain Michelin stars can be immense, as the loss of a star will almost inevitably have a significant impact on business. It is widely believed that chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide in 2003 after hearing

5427-489: The rating system is biased in favour of French cuisine or French dining standards. The UK The Guardian commented in 1997 that "some people maintain the guide's principal purpose is as a tool of Gallic cultural imperialism". When Michelin published its first New York City Red Guide in 2005 Steven Kurutz of The New York Times noted that Danny Meyer 's Union Square Cafe , a restaurant rated highly by The New York Times , Zagat Survey , and other prominent guides, received

5508-551: The request of the Allied Forces , the 1939 guide to France was specially reprinted for military use; its maps were judged the best and most up-to-date available. Publication of the annual guide resumed on 16 May 1945, a week after VE Day . In the early post-war years, the lingering effects of wartime shortages led Michelin to impose an upper limit of two stars; by 1950 the French edition listed 38 establishments judged to meet this standard. The first Michelin Guide for Italy

5589-401: The rough frontier settlement of wooden buildings and sandy streets had been transformed into a bustling town with brick buildings and streets, a streetcar line, and many social and cultural opportunities. Largely due to the growth of Ybor City, Tampa's population had jumped to almost 16,000. Ybor City grew and prospered during the first decades of the 20th century. Thousands of residents built

5670-580: The rumor that his three-star restaurant, La Côte d'Or , would be demoted to two stars. In 2017, the Bouche à Oreille café in Bourges was accidentally given a star when it was confused with a restaurant of the same name in Boutervilliers , near Paris . In the 21st century, some American chefs, restaurant owners, and officials interviewed by The New York Times criticized the guide for creating

5751-464: The same rigorous standards as lesser-known chefs. Michelin denied Rémy's charges, but refused to say how many inspectors it actually employed in France. In response to Rémy's statement that certain three-star chefs were sacrosanct, Michelin said, "There would be little sense in saying a restaurant was worth three stars if it weren't true, if for no other reason than that the customer would write and tell us." Some non-French food critics have alleged that

5832-432: The same social organization as their more European-looking countrymen. Sometimes differences in skin color within the same family made joining the same Cuban club impossible. In general, the rivalries between all the clubs were friendly, and families were known to switch affiliations depending on which one offered preferred services and events. Cigar production reached its peak in 1929, when 500 million cigars were rolled in

5913-438: The south, most notably its multiethnic and multiracial population and their many mutual aid societies . The cigar industry employed thousands of well-paid workers, helping Tampa grow from an economically depressed village to a bustling city in about 20 years and giving it the nickname "Cigar City". Ybor City grew and flourished from the 1890s until the Great Depression of the 1930s, when a drop in demand for fine cigars reduced

5994-631: The state and city tourism boards in Miami , Orlando , and Tampa , agreed to collectively pay the company up to US$ 1.5 million. The guide awarded a single two-star ranking and fourteen one-star rankings, and 29 Bib Gourmands. In late 2022 the guide expanded to Vietnam , Malaysia , Estonia , and the United Arab Emirates in return for undisclosed payments. In February 2023, the Israeli Tourism Ministry announced

6075-479: The sugar cane plantations in St. Cloud, central Florida. Some came by way of Louisiana. A number of families migrated from New Orleans after the lynching of eleven Italians in 1891 during the "Mafia Riot". Italians mostly brought their entire families with them, unlike other immigrants. The foreign-born Italian population of Tampa grew from 56 in 1890 to 2,684 in 1940. Once arriving in Ybor City, Italians settled mainly in

6156-638: The then-Spanish colony. But, labor unrest and the lack of room for expansion had him looking for another base of operations, preferably in his own company town . Ybor considered several communities in the southern United States and decided that an area of sandy scrubland just northeast of Tampa would be the best location. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker an initial purchase of 40 acres (160,000 m ) of land, and Ybor quickly bought more. However, Ybor City very nearly didn't happen at all. Vicente Ybor initially failed to come to an agreement with

6237-578: The tyre-selling parent company to market itself in Japan. Some argued that the discrepency is explained by the difference in total restaurants in each city: Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants while Paris, for example, has just 40,000. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010 that some Japanese chefs were surprised at receiving a star and were reluctant to accept one because the publicity caused an unmanageable jump in booking, affecting their ability to serve their traditional customers without compromising on lowering

6318-852: Was built to siphon heavy truck traffic away from the historic district. The TECO Line Streetcar , which links Ybor City, the Channelside District and Downtown Tampa , began operating in October 2002. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority ( HARTline ) operates the streetcars as well as the bus system. Small startups have also begun utilizing NEVs to shuttle passengers between Tampa's core neighborhoods including Ybor. Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( / ˈ m ɪ ʃ əl ɪ n , ˈ m ɪ tʃ əl ɪ n / MISH -əl-in, MITCH -əl-in ; French : Guide Michelin [ɡid miʃlɛ̃] ) are

6399-403: Was numbered in the tens of thousands. In the lowest point in the late 1970s, perhaps 1000 residents called the neighborhood home. In recent years, the numbers have begun to climb once more. Ybor City's population grew an estimated 42.5% between 2000 and 2003, mainly as a result of new condominium and apartment construction. As of 2003, approximately 2,900 residents lived in the area. Ybor City

6480-479: Was published in 1956. It awarded no stars in the first edition. In 1974, the first guide to Britain since 1931 was published. Twenty-five stars were awarded. In 2005, Michelin published its first American guide, covering 500 restaurants in the five boroughs of New York City and 50 hotels in Manhattan. In 2007, a Tokyo guide was launched. In the same year, the guide introduced a magazine, Étoile . In 2008,

6561-410: Was restored into a commercial building in 2001. New apartments, condominiums and a hotel have been built on long-vacant lots, and old buildings have been restored and converted into residences and hotels. New residents began moving into Ybor City for the first time in many years. The blocks surrounding 7th Avenue also thrive with restaurants, nightlife and shopping. Reflecting the district's status as

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