The Columbia Restaurant Group, which purchased the plot of land on Florida Avenue in Tampa in 2016, immediately halted any further production in the area following the discovery of the possible graves from the Zion Cemetery, believed to be the first black burial ground to exist in Tampa.

Instead, the group are hoping for a land swap or sale which would permanently ensure the protection and preservation of the cemetery.

“We said from the beginning that we would do the right thing,” Richard Gonzmart, president of the Columbia Restaurant Group said in a statement. “And this is the right thing. Let them rest in peace.”

The group’s decision to halt all development on the land where the graves were discovered has been praised.

“I’m very pleased with this quick decision by the Columbia Restaurant Group,” said Yvette Lewis, Hillsborough branch president of the NACCP. “It’s clear everyone wants the same thing: For this cemetery to be preserved and memorialized.”

The Zion Cemetery was believed to have been founded in 1901. The cemetery has since been built over and was erased from all city maps after 1925.

The cemetery was forgotten about until a Tampa Bay Times investigation examined what happened to it last June.

Since then, 314 graves have since been discovered underneath roads, houses and other businesses using radar technology.

Unmarked graves were previously discovered on nearby land owned by the Tampa Housing Authority and the Sunstate Wrecker Services, raising questions about whether there could be more in the surrounding area.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the two-and-a-half acre cemetery could hold as many as 800 graves.

“It seems like nearly everybody was left there,” said Rodney Kite-Powell with the Tampa Bay History Center. “It seems that Zion was purposely erased.”

The Columbia Restaurant Group previously planned to turn the land into a non-profit culinary school for at-risk high school students.

“Fortunately, though, we’re now working with Lena Young [founder and chair of] the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association’s upcoming Early Development Center on an educational culinary and nutrition project on Central and Lake,” Gonzmart said.

“We’re donating all the kitchen equipment. I believe with faith, opportunity, hard work and a bit of assistance, people can rise above their economic situation.”

Young added: “We are delighted that he is committed to and fully supporting the culinary training program at our new facility that will serve our residents in north Tampa Heights.”

The Columbia Restaurant Group has been contacted for further comment.