"You could get Florida lobster for less money than you could chicken on the menu," Gonzmart said to a group of locals during the public Goody Goody tasting Thursday afternoon, referring to when his great grandfather started the Columbia in 1905. "It was a different world."
Now, with the push for fresh, local, responsibly sourced ingredients, the restaurant industry is having to evolve, or kick it old school rather, to survive.
"What I always say is we're going back to the future, to the past," he said.
That sentiment rang true as the group made up of Goody Goody newcomers, returning tasters and media sampled chocolate, vanilla and strawberry milkshakes, burgers, fries, and the new butterscotch pie recipe. Folks like Yvonne Freeman (who ran Goody Goody for 40 years) and a member of the Stayer family (owners of the Tampa icon before they sold it to Michael Wheeler) have also provided the restaurant group with feedback on their blasts from the past.
St. Petersburg resident Sherry Dye had never tasted Goody Goody before, but she was mostly there for one reason.
"The burgers. I love burgers. That's my mainstay of life," Dye told CL with a laugh.
Born and raised in Tampa, Dan Graves said his connection to Goody Goody was through law enforcement, adding that the last time he stopped in was around 1977 or 1978.
"My mother worked for the Tampa Police Department, so did my stepfather, so that's how I found out about Goody Goody as kids," Graves said. "I was excited when my mother told me they were coming back."
Gonzmart — who's downed shakes, breakfast sandwiches, you name it at these tastings — shared details about his resurrected restaurant's affordable menu throughout the event, calling it "more diverse than you think."
As CL's reported in the past, the celebrated burgers with special sauce will incorporate Strickland Ranch beef, and so will the frankfurters. House-made pies (coconut, chocolate and banana cream included) will be created with old recipes — in some cases, according to Gonzmart, maybe even recipes from the Stayer family. The fries and home fries at breakfast will call for fresh potatoes.
Speaking of, breakfast (Gonzmart's favorite meal of the day) is planned from open to close. Expect Amish farmer eggs, pancakes made from scratch that are bigger than your head, 8-ounce Strickland steak and eggs, bone-in ham steak, and country ham supplied by a family in Kentucky.
Gonzmart also discussed some of his other projects, including the 30,000-square-foot Florida Avenue building he bought to transform into a culinary school, and that he's considering reviving another longtime Tampa eatery that closed this week: the Colonnade Restaurant.
The return of Goody Goody was announced back in 2014. Tampa's quintessential drive-in will start its new life as a fast-casual, table-service joint on the corner of Swann and South Dakota avenues in Hyde Park Village, and its second location is slated to launch in August at the Tampa International Airport.
With a retro-looking menu, the Hyde Park Goody Goody will feature four school desk chairs from the original restaurant, plus aluminum Navy chairs outside and more comfortable indoor seating like booths and banquettes. Its tentative opening is "soon."
"It'll be open when its ready," Gonzmart said.
The group was asked to rank the fare on a scale of one to four, with one being an angry-looking emoji. Sally and Mario Núñez, a fourth-generation Tampa native who produces and hosts the Tampa Natives Show, said they saw improvements in items like the pie and shakes since their first tasting.
"Wow. OK, can I go out on a small branch and say I almost wish I had ordered vanilla? That bean just jumps out of that glass at you," Mario said after a sip of Sally's shake. "There must be a pint of ice cream in each one of these."
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2016.