I’m working on the menu for Casa Santo Stefano, �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 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, mixeduse 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 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ community. Over 20 years, that’s meant $2 million to those charities. We also have donated millions more to ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 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.” �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 33 CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
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