Hello Stepp’n Out Members,
Join us for a Step back in time to Tampa’s Latin quarter of Ybor City, “Cigar Capital of the World”, With an exotic blend of aromas, flavors, sights, and sounds. Located in the historical landmark district with its red brick buildings, wrought iron balconies and narrow brick streets give it an old-world charm. You will experience the rich cultural heritage of one of only two National Historic Landmark Districts in Florida. We will have a guided tour of the Ybor City area, touring the Centro Asturiano de Tampa and making a stop in the culturally rich Jose Marti Park, which is Cuban territory. This afternoon we will enjoy lunch at Florida’s oldest restaurant founded in 1905, The Columbia Restaurant. After a delicious lunch, in this magnificent restaurant, you can experience the culture and dance traditions of Spain as you watch the Flamenco dancer’s special performance! Sign Up Now!!!
Date: May 30th,2025 (Friday)
Cost: $129.00 per person (Stepp’n Out Club Members receive $10.00 discount so only $119.00)
Location: Tampa’s Ybor City
Tour Includes:
* R/T transportation
* Docent guided tour of Historic Ybor
* Lunch, tax & gratuity
* Flamenco dancers show
* Driver gratuity
Motor Coach departs Del Webb clubhouse at 8:30am
and will return at 4:00pm.
Make checks payable to Small World Tours
No refunds after 05-16-25.Tickets are transferable.
Checks due by May 1st drop in basket in entryway at 508 San Sebastian Court.
If you wish to attend register on the HUB or email Barry Allan at allanbarry111@comcast.net
Columbia Restaurant
Since 1905 – Florida's Oldest Restaurant℠
The Hernandez-Gonzmart family opened this landmark Columbia Restaurant in Tampa's historic Ybor City in 1905. Today, it’s Florida’s Oldest Restaurant and the world's largest Spanish restaurant. Fourth and fifth generation family members work hard to preserve the family legacy that Casimiro Hernandez, Sr., created more than 115 years ago when he opened the Columbia as a corner cafe frequented by local cigar workers. Join the celebrities, tourists and locals who flock to the Columbia and make your next meal an experience to remember.
Flamenco tradition continues at Columbia Restaurant
“It’s a very passionate form of dance — with a lot of foot stomping and guitar and singing,” Jennifer Berrojo said. It’s the dance of the Roma of southern Spain — the flamenco. Berrojo is part of the troupe at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.
It’s a nod to the founding family’s journey from Spain to Cuba to the United States. Berrojo has been performing flamenco at the Columbia for more than 33 years.
The dance is also part of her family story. “Growing up, my grandmother and my aunt and uncle danced flamenco, and my father played guitar, so I had a love for it at a young age,” Berrojo said.
At 30 minutes to curtain, she moves through her pre-show routine — face, hair, and costuming. Performing in a restaurant the size of a city block makes for the most unique backstage in her family’s three generations of flamenco performers.
A stage is set up in one of the restaurant’s larger dining rooms. Berrojo stands outside the dining room, in a hallway just off the kitchen, moving her arms over her head to warm up.
The troupe joins her, and they begin their dance numbers. And they take the all-ages audience on a ride. “Oh, I love to see the children in the show," Berrojo said. "And sometimes they even come in their little flamenco dress."
It’s the next generation that will carry on the passion of flamenco.
Ybor City (/ˈiːbɔːr/ EE-bor)[2] 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 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 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 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 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.[4] In 2010 Columbia Restaurant, which is Florida's oldest restaurant, was named a "Top 50 All-American icon" by Nation's Restaurant News magazine.[5]
Barry Allan
President - Stepp'n out
Del Webb Orlando
cell# 847-867-7337
Emails: allanbarry111@comcast.net