Richard Gonzmart with his dog, Quentin.
Richard Gonzmart has a passion for life. A nurturing multigeneration family filled with love, children, grandchildren and pets is the heart of his life’s work. Through a fortuitous connection, he found the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital, a place where he could invest in the future health of pets — and children.
Established this year, the Gonzmart Family Oncology Research Fund is a meaningful extension of the support Gonzmart has given the UF College of Veterinary Medicine for more than a decade.
Growing up in his family’s renowned Ybor City restaurant, Gonzmart and his brother Casey eventually took the helm. The brothers successfully grew the Columbia Restaurants and added five other unique restaurant brands to create the 1905 Family of Restaurants in seven locations across Florida.
Following their fathers’ tradition, Gonzmart’s daughter Andrea Gonzmart Williams and nephew Casey Gonzmart, Jr. are assuming more duties as the fifth generation preparing to lead the business.
Gonzmart’s college education took him far from his Florida roots to Denver for hospitality business training. His father also sent him to Spain for a year of culinary immersion into authentic foods and fine wines.
His German shepherd, Rusty, eventually led him to UF by way of its renowned Small Animal Hospital. Rusty, at age 5, had developed pain and difficulty walking. His Tampa veterinarian suspected vertebrae cancer but warned Gonzmart that a biopsy could cause paralysis. Feeling hopeless, Gonzmart recalled a close friend who encouraged him to seek a second opinion from veterinary specialists at UF.
Making that trip, Gonzmart recalled thinking it might be his last drive with his beloved dog. But, after a thorough exam, the UF veterinary team discovered a rare fungal infection of the bone marrow that mimicked cancer.
Now with hope, he experienced Rusty’s joy on the drives back to UF for lifesaving treatments.
“What dog wants to go to a veterinarian? As soon as we reached the Gainesville exit, Rusty got so excited and happy because he remembered the attention, love and care from the doctors, and their students and technicians,” Gonzmart said.
In the years following Rusty’s recovery, Gonzmart’s daughter brought her dog, Enzi, to UF.
“Enzi was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in 2013,” said Gonzmart. “Again, the drive from Tampa was nothing compared to the wonderful care and attention to detail they provided.”
While Enzi and Rusty have since passed, they live on in the family’s hearts and minds as well as in the restaurant’s private label wines named for them, with donations from those sales going to UF.
Dogs are a Child’s Best Friend
Over the course of Enzi’s treatments, Gonzmart met Rowan J. Milner, BVSc., Ph.D., director of clinical and translation science at UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine. A board-certified medical oncologist, Milner also serves as an affiliated faculty in pediatric oncology at UF’s College of Medicine. His research investigates sarcomas in dogs that ultimately might benefit pediatric patients suffering from the condition.
Richard Gonzmart and his daughter, Andrea Gonzmart Williams.
“Dr. Milner invited me to meet researchers and doctors from Veterinary Medicine and also UF Health Shands Hospital,” said Gonzmart. “I was so impressed meeting them and hearing the excitement in their voices about the progress they were making to reduce a tumor’s size so it can be treated. With the progress being made today, Enzi might have been saved.”
Milner established a clinical trial for a vaccine to further advance research in immunotherapy in hopes of improving therapeutic outcomes for osteosarcoma in dogs like Enzi.
“And now they are in clinical trials with children,” said Gonzmart. “How can you not be excited to be part of something that’s making such a difference in the lives of not only dogs, but also our children!”
Current immunotherapy treatments for dogs have a 75% success rate in melanoma, according to Milner, but only 30-40% success in osteosarcoma. His study is looking at how the process works and how to leverage it for other cancers.
“Cancers have a kind of cloaking device called a checkpoint of immunity in the body,” Milner explains. “It hijacks the body’s natural defense by switching off inflammation cells that would otherwise kill cancer cells.”
Gonzmart Family Philanthropy
Sadly, children’s osteosarcoma studies are not well funded by federal grants as the condition is rarer for children than for adults. The advancement of research in dogs, which model human disease, is what Milner believes will help build evidence to gain increased funding for children with rare cancers.
“Nevertheless, children do get devastating cancers and osteosarcoma is one of them,” said Milner. “Mr. Gonzmart helps fund our D.V.M. medical oncology graduate students who are actively investigating this as part of their specialized oncology training.”
The technical skills and capability Milner will continue to build on through the Gonzmart Family Oncology Research Fund also supports questions being asked by pediatric cancer researchers.
Importantly, it has allowed Milner to supply the UF College of Medicine with preclinical data necessary to conduct its human clinical trials. Milner is part of a Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Initiative (PCI2) headed by Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., from the College of Medicine.
As an administrative lead on a clinical trial program in veterinary medicine, Milner processes data collected from dog patients with cancer, and then transfers the data over to the PCI2 team working with human patients.
Beyond the goal of improving patient outcomes, Gonzmart’s support for Milner’s lab research in osteosarcoma provides valuable clinical lab support and provides opportunities for other students to contribute to Milner’s important research efforts. The fund also supports Ph.D. students and undergraduate students preparing for medical school — as well as a pediatric fellow.
Milner, and the students he supervises, expressed deep gratitude for Gonzmart’s shared vision to save lives.
“Simply considering the costs of doing research nowadays, Mr. Gonzmart has supported that significantly over the years,” said Milner. “Students acknowledge his support when publishing their research in journals for pediatrics and oncology in animals.”
Richard’s Run for Life – November 3, 2023
Gonzmart established “Richard’s Run for Life,” a 5K race through the streets of Tampa’s Ybor City, 21 years ago with revenue dedicated to raising funds to find a cure for cancer. The run naturally includes families and dogs and features food from the Columbia Restaurant and others.
This year’s race, in honor of Rusty and Enzi, will benefit the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital and UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Gonzmart plans to donate up to $150,000 with 100% of the event revenue going to UF. He underwrites all expenses, including T-shirts, to maximize his family’s gift to a worthy cause — for dogs and kids.
“I want to raise awareness of the UF Small Animal Hospital and the care and research that helped save my dog,” said Gonzmart. “Dr. Milner and Dr. Sayour and their teams are not only making the difference in the life of your dog, but also the lives of children.”
