TAMPA — In 2007, Richard Gonzmart yanked red grouper from the menu at his family's six Columbia Restaurants.
At the time, Gonzmart was becoming more aware of the sustainability of fish populations and worried that demand from customers was contributing to overfishing of the popular species in the Gulf of Mexico. As the restaurant group's president, he also had concerns that the filets he was buying were imposters.
A letter from Florida's attorney general applauded his environmental awareness.
"It just wasn't worth it for our reputation, so I took it off," he said.
That hiatus is over. This week, red grouper returned to the Columbia's menu after the four-year absence. Customers can order it five ways at dinner: grilled; stuffed with lump blue crab meat; baked in a casserole; Russian-style; and smothered with olive oil, onions and garlic in a Greek-flavored presentation.
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