Cuban sandwich born in Tampa, Florida, is now an American culinary classic

Tampa, Florida – The beloved Cuban sandwich is a delicious all-American culinary creation first served in Tampa, Florida, more than a century ago, according to proud local lore.

It’s a savory, mouthwatering mix — often called a “mixto” — of three kinds of pork, paired with cheese, pickles and mustard, on fresh-baked local bread. No wonder there’s a full day dedicated to it (August 23 is National Cuban Sandwich Day). 

It’s flavored by an array of cultures that helped build Tampa into a jewel of the Gulf of Mexico. 

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The sandwiches reportedly fueled the hard-working, and often Cuban-born, cigar factory workers in Tampa’s historic neighborhood of Ybor City in decades past. Cuban sandwiches are now served in takeout shops, delis, pubs and restaurants from coast to coast.

“There is a debate over who invented it first, Tampa or Miami,” Tampa food Instagram influencer Kiera Andrews (@thisbabeeats) told Fox News Digital. 

Others claim it originated in Havana or Key West. 

Cubans traditionally ate “mixto” sandwiches, but the version known today is a Tampa creation, according to experts.

“I will tell you this,” Andrews said. “I’ve had Cuban sandwiches in other cities. And there’s nothing that compares to a Cuban sandwich in Tampa.”

“There’s nothing that compares to a Cuban sandwich in Tampa.” 

One of the secrets, she said, is the traditional Cuban bread baked at La Segunda Central Bakery, which opened in Ybor City in 1915. 

It supplies restaurants and retailers throughout the region. 

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Bakeries, restaurants — even the museum of longtime Ybor City cigar-maker J.C. Newman — sport murals and billboards highlighting the global inspirations that make Tampa’s Cuban sandwiches a delicious example of America’s unique culinary melting pot. 

A sign at La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, touts the multicultural flavors found in the original Cuban sandwich, with influences from Cuba, Spain, Italy and Germany. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

They boast Cuban pork, Spanish ham, Italian salami, German pickles and mustard and Swiss cheese — all cultures that have a historic presence together in Tampa — served on soft, airy Cuban bread.

“It represents all the different cultures that make Ybor City such a great place,” Casey Gonzmart Jr., the fifth-generation owner of Tampa dining landmark Columbia Restaurant, told Fox News Digital. 

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The eatery was founded by his Spanish-Cuban immigrant great-great-grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. in 1905. 

Ybor City is best known for its Cuban-Spanish culture and cigar-making history. 

But it’s also the traditional home of Tampa’s Italian community. 

“The Cuban sandwich represents all the different cultures that make Ybor City such a great place.” 

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The L’Unione Italiana, the Italian Club of Tampa, traces its roots to 1894 and sits just three blocks from Columbia Restaurant. 

“We can’t tell the true history of the Ybor City without paying homage to the Italians,” Gonzmart said.

Casey Gonzmart Jr. is part of the fifth generation of owners of Tampa dining landmark Columbia Restaurant. His great-great-grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. founded the restaurant in 1905 — and is credited by many as the creator of the original Tampa Cuban sandwich. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

Columbia Restaurant features colorful murals of the sailing ships of Christopher Columbus — the Italian mariner who ventured to the New World on behalf of the Spanish crown. 

Food & Wine Magazine named Columbia Restaurant’s original Cuban the best sandwich in Florida. It even credits Columbia Restaurant founder Hernandez Sr. for inventing the multicultural American delicacy.

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“He hoped it would honor the contributions of the many immigrants who breathed life into the Ybor City neighborhood, where the restaurant was located, and the city of Tampa in general,” Food & Wine wrote in its coronation of the Columbia Cuban.

The restaurant still makes its Cuban sandwich the same way it has done at least since 1915, including using bread from nearby La Segunda Central Bakery, a company spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, was founded in 1915. Its fresh-baked Cuban bread is considered essential to the perfect traditional Cuban sandwich. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

Tampa Instagram foodie Andrews cites several other can’t-miss Cuban sandwiches in Tampa. 

No-frills, cash-only West Sandwich Tampa Shop “feels like one of the first places that would have served the Cuban,” she said. 

La Segunda, Tampa’s landmark bakery, has a take-out sandwich shop at its original Ybor City location.

Here, guests can order original Cubans and various versions of the original, along with amazing traditional Cuban pastries and sweets.

The Boozy Pig boasts a delicious Cuban breakfast sandwich served with eggs, while Wicked Oak Barbeque offers a “Que-ban” sandwich made with slow-smoked pulled pork and housemade mustard barbeque. 

La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, bakes bread for commercial and retail sale but also has a sandwich and pastry shop selling Cuban sandwiches.  (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

“Miami, for its part, added an innovation: the iron press, which gives the Cubano a thin look and crunchy feel that a lot of people now recognize it for,” NPR wrote in a 2022 interview with the authors of the book, “The Cuban Sandwich: A History In Layers.”

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Cuban sandwiches in Tampa traditionally come only on fresh bread — unpressed yet impressive in flavor and in American culinary lore. 

The Tampa City Council named the Cuban the city’s “signature sandwich” in a 2012 proclamation.