Business Notes: Build-A-Bear’s UnBearable Promotion, BMW’s Plans

At 2 p.m. on July 12, more than four hours after it was cancelled, lines to take advantage of Build-A-Bear Workshop’s “Pay Your Age” promotion still stretched around the building. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

The longest lines in the history of the Shops at Wiregrass ended with sadness for many on July 12, as customers had to be turned away when the popular toy company was forced to abandon its “Pay Your Age” promotion in mid-stream.

The promotion sounded great on paper. For one day only, customers could purchase a stuffed animal for the price of their age. For a toy that can run from $15 and (much) higher, it sounded too good to be true.
And for many, it was.

All across the country, and at the Wiregrass location, the promotion had to be cut short, due to overwhelming demand. At Wiregrass, a line of more than 1,000 people stretched around the back of Build-A-Bear, around JCPenney and down past Moe’s SW Grill when the promotion was canceled at 10:30 a.m.

Those who were already there were allowed to stay, but no one else was allowed to get in line.
Even by 2 p.m., the line still went all the way behind Build-A-Bear. It was a sunny and blistering hot day, so the mall was nice enough to bring out a container of green-and-white umbrellas to help customers shield themselves from the elements.

Build-A-Bear has announced that those who join its free “Count Your Candles” program can still pay their age for a “Birthday Treat Bear,” which is usually $14, during their birthday month only.

VROOOM: BMW is hoping to open a showroom at S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd., after filing plans with Pasco County and having a pre-application meeting in July.

The BMW showroom would be 32,758 square feet, and bring another luxury auto dealership to Wesley Chapel.

In the last year alone, Wesley Chapel has seen Lexus and Audi luxury brands added to a three-year-old Mercedes-Benz dealership.

The plans filed with the county do not identify the dealership’s owner.

 

 

 

 

Wesley Chapel Schools Earn Top Marks In Latest School Grades Report

School grades for the 2017-18 school year were released by the Florida Department of Education on June 27, and Wesley Chapel’s schools continue to perform well, including a pair of schools that improved over last year.

Of the area’s 14 schools, only Weightman Middle and Wiregrass Ranch High scored better than they did last year, when both earned Bs. This year, however, they are both A schools.

“We are very excited to have earned an A rating this year,” says Robyn White, principal of Wiregrass Ranch High. “It is due to the hard work of the teachers, students, parents, and community. We really focused on our areas of weakness and worked toward students achieving mastery of the standards. While an A rating is great, we still have work to do and will continue to move forward in the 2018-19 school year.”

Of the nine elementary schools in Wesley Chapel, four received A ratings, four received a B, and just one — New River Elementary — received a C.

Both of Wesley Chapel’s middle schools earned As, while its combined middle/high school, Cypress Creek, received a B. Wiregrass Ranch High received an A, while Wesley Chapel High received an B. (See chart)

Most of the schools stayed the same from the previous school year, with only two schools dropping a grade. New River Elementary dropped from a B to a C, and Wesley Chapel earned its first B since 2010, after seven years in a row as an A school.

School letter grades are based on the compilation of individual scores on statewide tests, called Florida Standards Assessments (FSA), at each grade level. The letter grades are a snapshot of a wide variety of factors, with nuances that aren’t always apparent from the single letter assigned to each school.

“The Wesley Chapel schools traditionally are high performing, and the 2017-18 school grades continue to reflect their students’ success on state exams,” says Linda Cobbe, the public information officer for Pasco County Schools. “While a school’s state-assigned grade does not tell the whole story about its overall quality, we know that the combination of dedicated teachers, engaged students, and supportive parents in these schools is reflected in those outstanding grades.”

Cypress Creek Middle High, which opened for its inaugural school year last fall, received a B in its first year..

“We are incredibly pleased with our grade, and I am so proud of our faculty, staff and students,” says principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles. “As a staff, we are truly thrilled to get a great look at our data as a school as compared to other schools.”

Because Cypress Creek did not have seniors, the school’s graduation rate and college and career acceleration points were not factored into its grade for 2017-18. They will be factored in the upcoming school year and next year’s grade.

“Overall, our students made us proud,” said Pasco County Schools superintendent Kurt Browning in a media release. “Can we do better? Yes we can, and I expect to see continuous improvement every year, in every school, and at every grade level.”

The complete DOE report is online at FLDOE.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/.

Bahama Breeze Island Grille Opens With Caribbean Fare & Flair

OK, you long-time readers know I don’t get too excited about too many of our seemingly neverending supply of new chain restaurants opening here in Wesley Chapel.

But, this one’s different. I genuinely love the new Bahama Breeze Island Grille, which opened on July 16 on the north side of S.R. 56, between the soon-to-open Hyatt Place hotel and Chuy’s Tex-Mex.

And, it’s not just because general manager Jeannie LaFever is so awesome. It’s always great to meet nice, energetic people who obviously love what they do, but we’re talking about a restaurant here. No matter how nice the management, wait staff and bartenders may be, if the food isn’t great, at least one local publisher would not be a frequent customer.

Known for its Caribbean fare and flair, Bahama Breeze is a chain eatery that delivers on its promise of great island-inspired food and drinks in a tropical setting with live music every night (and all day Saturday and Sunday). And, even though I’ve heard a few locals complain about the early crowds and that the restaurant isn’t located on a body of water and faces a busy roadway (blah blah blah), I’m just glad the food is up to snuff.

“And, even though we’ve been slammed, everything’s been running pretty smoothly so far,” Jeannie says. “People are just really excited we’re here!”

Jeannie’s favorite dishes include the most popular jerk chicken pasta, the true fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs. the beef empanadas, the jerk chicken wings, the coconut shrimp and the braised short rib & oxtail.

To date, I can vouch for two different sauces on your “Market Catch” fresh fish, which has been redfish on both visits for me. On mine and Jannah’s first visit, we thoroughly enjoyed the almond-crusted redfish topped with lemon butter sauce (great mashed potatoes and green beans as the sides), as well as the mango glazed redfish with grilled pineapple salsa shown above right.

On our most recent visit, Jannah went a little less adventurous, with her tasty Cobb salad, but I really loved the chimichurri sauce on the skirt steak churrasco. Skirt steak isn’t as tender as, say, a filet, and Bahama Breeze’s only other steak is an 8-oz. top sirloin (which I may just try on my next visit), but wow, with that sauce and the outstanding yellow rice and black beans served as sides, this is my current favorite dish at “the Breeze.”

Jeannie also wants to make sure that locals dive headlong into Bahama Breeze’s exotic tropic drink menu.

“Our Bahamarita is the bomb,” Jeannie says. “But you can’t go wrong with a mango jalapeño mojito, a Goombay Smash or a pineapple-coconut martini, either.”

Bahama Breeze Island Grille (25830 Sierra Center Blvd.) is open every day for lunch & dinner. For more information, call (813) 949-0779 or visit BahamaBreeze.com. And please, make sure Jeannie and her outstanding staff know you read about them in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!

Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery Offers Specialized Care In Wesley Chapel

At Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery, Brian Hamilton, D.D.S., sees patients who need specialized care in the area of oral (mouth) and maxillofacial (face and jaws) dentistry.

Dr. Hamilton describes oral and maxillofacial dentistry as a specialty that combines dentistry and medicine, explaining that this includes dentistry for complex cases and those who have health issues, along with wisdom teeth extractions, dental implants, and many other procedures.

The Wesley Chapel office of Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery is located just off S.R. 54 in the Brookside Professional Park, just east of Saddlebrook resort.

Dr. Hamilton, who is originally from Jamaica, earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology from Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY, in 1999. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from the Howard University College of Dentistry in Washington, DC, in May 2003. After a general practice residency at the Miami Veteran’s Hospital in Miami, FL, he went on to complete his residency in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery from Columbia University at Harlem Hospital Center in New York, NY, in 2010.

He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons and a Fellow of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons.

The Wesley Chapel office of Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery is one of five locations, including Carrollwood, Dunedin, Bradenton, Sun City, plus another location is getting set to open in South Tampa soon. The practice is owned by Michael Barbick, D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine), M.D., who works primarily at the Carrollwood office.

The Wesley Chapel office of Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery has been open for about three years, originally opening on June 1, 2015. Dr. Hamilton has been with the practice for about a year. Prior to his current position, Dr. Hamilton was with a group in Daytona Beach.

Excellent Patient Care

“Patients are our number one priority,” explains Amanda Fraley, the practice’s office manager. “We are very appreciative of them choosing to come to us, and we want them to know how much we appreciate them.”

Dr. Hamilton says Amanda and the staff are one reason a patient should choose his practice. “The staff here is quite wonderful,” he says. “They are friendly and warm, and you are always greeted by a smiling face at the front desk.”

Although many patients are referred to Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery by other dentists, patients also can contact the office directly.
One reason you might want to see Dr. Hamilton is if you suspect a tooth needs to be removed. He will complete an evaluation and recommend a treatment plan. If it turns out a patient needs a general dentist instead, like if a tooth needs a root canal, Dr. Hamilton and his staff can help that patient find a dentist.

Many patients also come to Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery because they are missing teeth and have heard about dental implants, maybe through ads such as the one on page 37 of this issue, which offers a free consultation for patients considering dental implants to replace missing and broken teeth. The free consultation includes panoramic X-rays.

Dr. Hamilton also does oral pathology — removing cancerous and benign lesions — and treatment for disorders of the temporomandibular joint, which is the joint connecting the jaw to the skull, commonly known as TMJ.

Dr. Hamilton performs surgical corrections to the TMJ, but he says that surgery is always the last resort.

“The first option is always to treat conservatively,” he explains, with options such as an occlusal splint (or mouth guard), anti-inflammatory medication or muscle relaxers. “Then, we advance the treatment, if (it is still) needed.”

Amanda says the office is “completely electronic with state-of-the-art equipment. We only use digital X-rays and have a cone beam CT scanner.”

She says that the three-dimensional images from the CT scan give more detail than X-rays. “It is beneficial in more complex surgical cases or to rule out unnecessary surgical interventions,” she explains. “It also can aid as a surgical guide for dental implant cases, to ensure that the implants are properly angled.”

Amanda and the staff work with your Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) dental insurance to help you understand your coverage and what your treatment will cost.

“We always schedule a consultation and go over everything to make sure all your questions are answered,” she says, “and everything is clear.”

Always Available When You Need Them

Amanda and Dr. Hamilton agree that another advantage of coming to Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery for your wisdom teeth extractions and other needs is because of the office’s availability. They often schedule patients for next-day appointments.

“And, if there’s a patient in pain,” Dr. Hamilton says, “we’ll do what we can to see them the same day.”

Garland Davis recommends Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery for procedures like the one wisdom tooth he had extracted.

“It was a good experience,” he says. “I called them and they got me in the very next day. They handled everything for my insurance and I was in and out in probably an hour and a half, tops. The whole staff was really great.”

Dr. Hamilton says a high priority for him is ensuring that every patient is comfortable, so intravenous (IV) sedation is offered.
Alternatively, for those who don’t want complete sedation, other options are available, including nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, for his patients.

“So, whether they’re asleep or awake, they end up having a comfortable experience,” he explains.

“Some people have a fear of their dental experience, but IV sedation is a big part of what we do,” says Dr. Hamilton, who adds that he is ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)-certified to be able to offer the IV sedation.

While most procedures are done in the office if the patient is healthy, for more complex procedures or for patients who are in some way medically compromised, procedures also can be performed in a surgery center or hospital. Dr. Hamilton has admitting privileges at both Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, where he also is an on-call surgeon for cases of facial trauma.

The Wesley Chapel office of Tampa Bay Jaw & Facial Surgery is located at 29164 Chapel Park Dr. It is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information about the practice, call (813) 991-6886, or visit TBJAFS.com.

 

Business Notes: Blaze and Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar

Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar is coming to S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, part of an aggressive expansion by the sports bar franchise owned in part by New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees.

Permitting has been filed with Pasco County planning for a 15,664-sq.-ft. shell building that is expected to be a commercial strip center right off S.R. 56, in front of the soon-to-open Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center.

The strip center is expected to be home to a number of coming projects that have been previously reported, like Golf Galaxy, Total Wine & More and others.

But two highly-anticipated eateries, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar and Blaze Pizza, have already begun the permitting process, and won’t be headed to the new center as once-rumored.

Instead, both are beginning construction soon a little bit to the west, near the corner of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd. (S.R. 54). They will be located in the same center with Chipotle Mexican Grill, and a 3,000-sq.ft. Sleep Number store will also be on that parcel.

Pizza is the cover story in our upcoming Wesley Chapel issue hitting mailboxes on Friday, so you can read more about the emergence of the popular fast-casual chain.

Walk-On’s, a franchise with more than a dozen locations across Louisiana and Texas with an aggressive plan to expand into 11 other states this year, will be one of the few “pure” sports bars in the area.

Its founders, Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, met in 1997 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where both were walk-ons (hence the name) for the Tiger basketball team.

While they didn’t play much, they did get to travel the country with the Tigers and, along the way, visited enough sports bars that they formulated an idea for starting their own back in Baton Rouge.

According to the Walk-On’s website, in 2000, Landry and Warner sketched out their vision for a floor plan on a napkin from 35,000 feet above the earth, as they flew home from a road game at the University of Tennessee.

They opened their first location in 2003 and, in 2012, Walk On’s was named the No. 1 Sports Bar in America. Two years later, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees joined the business as a co-owner.

Walk-On’s menu is a little different than many sports bars, highlighted by some unique Cajun dishes, like po’boy sandwiches, gumbo, crawfish, fried Lousiana Alligator and Cajundillas (a tortilla stuffed with chicken, andouille, boudin sausage, caramelized onions and cheese).

All of it served by waitresses dressed as cheerleaders and televisions blaring the calls from your favorite sporting events.

While there are other sports-related options in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, Walk-On is likely to be a welcome addition for area sports fans.