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City People

Serving a feeding frenzy

A family business will feed 10,000 during the Gasparilla parade, doling out thousands of pounds of chicken, rice and pork.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published January 20, 2006

NORTH HYDE PARK - They were sprucing up around Catering by the Family earlier this week, painting and tidying, getting ready for a food sampling for about 100 brides.

But for this sibling-owned catering business, that's merely a warmup.

For a single day at next weekend's Gasparilla parade, Catering by the Family will feed more than 10,000 people.

That keeps Steve Gonzalez, who co-owns the business with his sister Carol Guggino, on his toes. But this time of year, he's used to it.

"You really don't get a breather, because we had the holiday season and New Year's, and then the Gator Bowl alumni parties, and now Gasparilla," Gonzalez said.

"We really designed the kitchen here for Gasparilla. There's not any other time of the year when we do so many dishes in one day."

For Gasparilla, Catering by the Family's 4,000-square-foot kitchen will produce about 5,000 pounds of chicken and yellow rice, 4,000 pounds of pork, 3,000 pounds of empanadas and about 2,500 pounds each of hot dogs and hamburgers.

The 24-year-old business, on Cypress Street between Howard and Armenia avenues, has the catering contract for all of the tents in the corporate village along Bayshore Boulevard.

That requires not only plenty of food but about 100 servers, 30 bartenders and 15 "captains," onsite managers who each oversee several tents during the Jan. 28 parade.

Most of the staff will arrive on parade day at 4:30 a.m. A small staff will end shifts about that time and return at 6 that evening to help break down everything.

Though it's an enormous challenge, Tampa natives Gonzalez and Guggino feel honored to serve such a considerable number of Gasparilla attendees every year.

"I feel it's something that we put as our top priority, and we don't take it lightly, from the executive chef to the dishwashers," Gonzalez said.

"It takes everybody's support, and if I didn't have such wonderful employees, I don't think we could pull it off."

And there's always the family. One of Guggino's three children, 29-year-old Christina, helps out at the business. Guggino also has three grandchildren.

About 40 percent of Catering by the Family's business is catering for corporate events, but Gonzalez is proud to note that he has fed everyone from four-star generals to sports celebrities to blue-collar folk to brides looking for the perfect complement to the perfect wedding. That's the "great diversity" of people you meet in the business, he said.

Guggino, 56, said the business is "never boring. Every day it's something different."

Lately, Gonzalez has been going after something different: "I've kind of taken the business in a different direction."

Specifically, he has made some staff changes, including hiring James Ellison, former executive chef at Mangroves restaurant on Howard Avenue, as the executive sales manager.

Guggino said having a sales manager who understands the complexities of food makes it easier to sell the business's best dishes: "We think it's going to be a big help."

While Catering by the Family has seen increased competition over the years, Gonzalez believes his family is building a tradition that will last. "It's a business that will always be alive."

- Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 813 226-3431.

AGE: 46

JOB: Co-owner, Catering by the Family

HOME: Beach Park

FAMILY: Married with two sons; runs business with sister Carol Guggino

CHALLENGE: Feeding more than 10,000 people in one day

JOY IN HIS WORK: "Every day I get to meet all sorts of people from all ethnic groups. I get to meet all these different cultures and cook their food."

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 09:01:53]