New Tampa tennis pro Allegra Campos wins national title

allegraHunter’s Green head tennis professional Allegra Campos was a two-time All-American at the University of Miami, and played professionally for a few seasons as well.

Helping win a United State Tennis Association (USTA) 40&over 4.5 adult league championship this past weekend at California’s Indian Wells Tennis Garden, however, will go down as one of her biggest career thrills.

Campos was one of the key players for Harbour Island — husband Jose, a former USF standout, is the head pro there — as it swept through the regular season, state sectionals and national championships with an unblemished record of 15-0, capping its run by defeating a team from Hawaii 3-2 in the final Sunday afternoon.

allegra2Campos, who earned her pro certification at Saddlebrook Resort and has been the head pro at Hunter’s Green since 2008, teamed up with Lisa Balsera to win 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles in the final against Hawaii, earning a vital point. Teams compete against each other in two lines of singles and three lines of doubles, in a best-of-five line competition.

Campos also posted a three-set win with Balsera in the final match of flight play against a Northern California team, and Harbour Island also defeated teams from Illinois, Colorado and Mississippi (in the semifinals) at Indian Wells.

 

 

 

Pollo Tropical on the way?

PolloTropicalPasco County’s planning staff is scheduled to meet next week with project engineers looking into building a Pollo Tropical restaurant at the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact (DRI, across from the new Tampa Premium Outlets mall) at the Northeast corner of State Road 56 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard.

The permit pre-submittal meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2. “Right now, it is just conceptual,” said project engineer Zach Thornton.

The permit proposal is looking at a 3,600-square-foot restaurant and a drive-through lane”. A pre-application conference was already held Feb. 18 regarding the site plan but, according to the meeting request form, changes have been made since that meeting.

The Pollo Tropical chain was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Kendall in Miami-Dade County, and is best known for its flame-grilled chicken.  It has more than 180 locations and more than 3,000 employees mostly across the southern United States.

Wesley Chapel man killed in crash

fhp-150x1501Robert Michael Rudman, 33, of Wesley Chapel was killed early Friday morning  when his 2006 Honda Civic collided head-on with a semitrailer truck on SR-50 (Cortezx Blvd.) west of Richloam Clay Sink Road in Hernando County.

Rudman was traveling westbound shortly after midnight when, for unknown reasons, he crossed into the wrong lane and into the path of 50-year-old Jose Antonio Moux Rivera of Orlando. The two vehicles collided into each other, proving fatal for Rudman who died at the scene of the crash. Rivera suffered serious injuries and was transported to Dade City Hospital..

 

2nd 'Trick's Kicks' Tourney Nets nearly $11K!

KICK2Kingshyre at Cross Creek residents Dick & Kathy Strom, who lost their son Patrick to a single-vehicle accident a little more than three years ago, are proud to report that the second annual “Trick’s Kicks” golf outing at Heritage Isles Country Club on Oct. 17 raised about $10,800.

Dick says that amount is about $3,500 more than last year, which will buy, “a lot of sneakers for a lot of needy kids in our area.”

Trick’s Kicks is a nonprofit organization started by the Stroms and their friends in honor of Patrick (who was called “Trick” for short), who loved to collect athletic shoes (“kicks”). Since starting the organization, Trick’s Kicks has donated dozens of pairs of sneakers to kids in need, including 35 pairs donated to the kids at the Everyday Blessings orphanage in Thonotosassa.

Dick says that a full field of golfers, increased sponsorships and promotion in the Neighborhood News all helped the second tourney beat last year’s total, and he says the hope is that “we can do even better again next year.”

Food was provided for the event by Hoosier’s Gille, the restaurant located inside Heritage Isles CC. Among the prizes given away was a 55-inch flat-screen TV, which was won by Kyle Taylor, the last entrant in the event’s putting contest and the only contestant to sink the 60-footer.

For more info, visit Facebook.com/Trick’s Kicks.

 

Neighborhood Nibbles and Business Bytes

Capital Tacos Opens, Kinda

CapitalTacologoWEBCapital Tacos, the hugely popular local eatery with an original location at 6765 Land O’Lakes Blvd. (U.S. 41) in Land O’Lakes, has opened its second restaurant in the former location of Café Fresco at 27209 SR 56, in the plaza next to Sports + Field.

As the budding business transitions to having two locations, the hours of the SR 56 location are currently from 2-8 p.m. Friday through Sunday until further notice. You can follow facebook.com/CapitalTacos for the latest changes in the new location’s schedule.

The Land O’Lakes location is always packed, even at night, and the buzz on the Wesley Chapel Community Facebook page is that most of the local community is ready to embrace Capital Tacos’ affordable, tasty fare.

For more information, visit CapitalTacos.com or call 973-3777.— GN

Russell’s Western Wear Coming to S.R. 54

RussellsWEBIf you’ve been looking for a place to stock up on all of your favorite western gear close to home, look no further than the former RaceTrac convenience store located just east of I-75 on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, which will become the fifth Florida location of Russell’s Western Wear.

Russell’s, a one-stop shop for cowboy boots, hats, jeans and apparel with stores in Ocala, Lakeland, Dover and on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Carrollwood, is expected to be open before the holidays, says marketing manager Chloe Gray. “We don’t have a specific date yet because we’re still working through the permitting and construction process,” Gray explains.

She says that a Wesley Chapel store made sense to reach the customers in between the Ocala store and the regional headquarters in Tampa.— MW & GN

Florida Orthopaedic Inst. Coming To Shoppes Of WC

Although the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel (on Bruce B. Downs {BBD} Blvd., across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel) doesn’t yet have a restaurant tenant to fill the former D’Alessio Restaurant location, Shoppes leasing agent Barry Jackson of Momenta Real Estate says that the Florida Orthopaedic Institute has leased the remaining 6,000 sq. ft. of space (everything not already leased by Samantha Taylor’s Pure Health Fitness Studio) on the second floor of the plaza.

“It’s official, and we’re really excited,” says Florida Orthopaedic Institute’s director of marketing Donna Bossuyt. “We plan to open sometime in December.”

The Shoppes of Wesley Chapel office will be the 10th location for the medical group and will feature state-of-the-art X-ray technology, physical therapy and rehabilitation treatment, as well as at least three sub-specialty surgeons. Surgeries will not be conducted at the new location.

For more information, please visit FloridaOrtho.com.

Señor T’s Taking Over  Macaroni Grill Location

SenorTsWEBThe long-vacant former New Tampa Macaroni Grill, located on BBD, in front of the also-vacant former Sweetbay Supermarket has not been occupied for more than a year, but that’s about to change, as Señor T’s Mexican Restaurant is getting ready to move in.

A Señor T’s spokesperson says the new Mexican eatery will be the first link in a small, planned start-up chain of about seven locations, with a second location rumored to be moving into the former Macaroni Grill location on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Carrollwood. While the inside of the restaurant still is being renovated at our press time, Señor T’s plans to open on November 15. Once open, the restaurant will feature indoor and outdoor seating, a full premium liquor bar and mid-priced Mexican fare. — MW & GN

VIP Elite Barbershop’s Community VIP Event

VIP_WEBIf you’re looking for a great haircut at a great price, I can personally recommend VIP Elite Barbershop (20309 BBD, next to Bruster’s Ice Cream), even though I’ve never personally had a “fade” or any other razor cut before.

I took part in VIP’s “Community VIP” event on October 14, when men’s and kids’ haircuts were just $10, and you could even get the VIP Elite logo design in your cut (photo below; although I chose to not have that done) at no extra charge.

“We had some guys get Tampa Bay Lightning bolts, too,” says VIP co-owner Joanne Rivera, whose husband and Master Barber Omar cut my hair. “We had free food and beverages, provided by a number of sponsors. It was just one of our ways of giving back to this community we love.”

VIP is open seven days a week, but you can get the same, outstanding haircut I got from Omar — or any of VIP’s well-trained barbers — for just $10 on any “Ten Dollar Tuesday.” You also can get $5 off any haircut or hot shave with the coupon from the VIP Elite ad on page 34 of this issue.

Walk-ins are always welcome at VIP, or you can make appointments at VIPEliteBarbershop.com or by calling 994-4057. — GN

Tarek’s Cafe & Grill

TareksGrilleWEBA new breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant is coming to the Shoppes at Amberly shopping plaza off Amberly Dr. in Tampa Palms, in the space we once called the Neighborhood News headquarters.

Tarek Elsayed, who has owned and operated Tarek’s Café & Grill on the University of South Florida (USF)’s Tampa campus for the past 23 years, is set to open a second location, which will take up not only our old offices, but also the former Spices of India market next door, totaling 4,300 sq. ft.

“I’ve been thinking about a second location for years,” Elsayed says. “The opportunity never came. But the location became available.”

Elsayed says the café at The Shops will serve all three meals in 150 seats and will feature an open-kitchen design. The restaurant also will offer vegan options, but will not serve alcohol. Elsayed says he hopes to officially open in early December.

For more information, please visit TareksCafe.com. — MW