School Notes: New Tampa’s Rowan Excels At King

Pebble Creek resident Adam Rowan was one of King High’s top students.

As Pebble Creek resident Adam Rowan graduates from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at King High on N. 56th St. in Tampa, he has a long list of accolades.

National Merit Scholarship Finalist.

National Hispanic Scholar.

Captain of the King soccer team.

Co-captain of the school’s tennis team.

Perfect score (36 out of 36) on the ACT.

Even with all of these accomplishments, the thing Rowan he says he’s most proud of is his role as the event lead for his school’s 2019 Relay For Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society, which he says, “raised just shy of $70,000 and had 500 students participating.”

Back when Rowan chose to go to the IB program at King, his dad, Mike Rowan, was the principal there.

“Him being there was a reason for me not to go there,” says Adam, “rather than a reason to go.”

Just about the time Rowan got used to seeing his dad walking the halls of his high school, his father became the principal at New Tampa’s Wharton High, just a quick ride from their Pebble Creek home.

Adam says it was an adjustment having his dad at a different school, but that he never reconsidered his decision to attend the King IB program.

“At that point, I was committed to the IB program and had done too much work to drop out,” he says.

However, Adam concedes he got the short end of the stick on commute times.

“I was leaving before him to drive to school, but he had to be at school before me,” he says. “I felt like I was getting no sleep compared to him.”

The lack of sleep and dedication to academics, sports and community service paid off when Rowan was accepted to prestigious Columbia University in New York City.

He says he toured the campus twice prior to applying and loved the feeling of it, the fact that it’s located in New York City, and that its Ivy League status means the curriculum will be rigorous.

“I liked being there,” he says. “I got a good vibe.”

That good vibe was so strong that he applied for early admission at Columbia. When he was accepted last fall, his decision to attend was binding and he had to decline his acceptance to University of South Florida and rescind the application he had submitted to the University of Florida. 

He knew he didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Now, Rowan hopes he’ll be able to be on campus at Columbia in the fall. He thinks he’ll study political science, but also says he might change his mind before he’s required to declare a major his sophomore year.

While he won’t be playing any NCAA sports, Rowan says he can’t imagine life without soccer — he is a defender/midfielder and last year helped King to a 13-6-5 record in Class 5A — and is hoping to play on an intramural team at Columbia.

That, of course, is contingent on intramural sports being offered, and the Columbia campus being re-opened for in-person classes.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to go yet,” Rowan says. He is currently awaiting the official plan for reopening the campus, which is expected to be released on July 1.

As he makes plans to attend college in the heart of a city that has been so harshly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Rowan  says he’s not too worried.

“I’m a little nervous, but I feel like going to college up there, or even if I went to college here in Florida, it’s still a risk,” he says. “I won’t let it stop me.”

Clark Gets New Principal

Delilah Rabeiro was named the new principal at Clark Elementary in West Meadows, replacing Paulette English, who moved to Pride Elementary in K-Bar Ranch earlier this school year.

Rabeiro’s appointment was approved at the Hillsborough County School Board meeting on June 9 and becomes effective on July 1. She was one of 34 principals given new assignments by new Hillsborough Superintendant of Schools Addison Davis.

Rabeiro was most recently the principal at Robles Elementary on E. Sligh Ave. in N. Tampa.

Cotey Repeats As Champ!

Jonathon Cotey, who attends Middleton High but lives in New Tampa, recently won the first-ever  ESports District Championship hosted by Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS).

The 16-player Super Smash Bros. tournament, completed online due to Covid-19, was the culmination of a year-long season in which players from nearly 20 high schools competed against each other at neutral sites. 

Cotey, who plays under the gaming tag BionicLettuce and was seeded No. 2, defeated top-seeded Nicholas Eisman (Nerva) of Plant High 3-2 in the best of five series, despite dropping the first two games.

“This has been a work in progress for five years,” said Robert Dodson, ESports Club Sponsor at Middleton High. “If it was this popular during quarantine, I can’t wait to see how big this can become in the future.”

Williams Ready For Latest Football Challenge

New Wharton High head football coach Mike Williams (back) met with some of the Wildcats before Covid-19 forced the cancellation of his first spring practices with his new team.

Mike Williams didn’t leave a job coaching football at Van Nuys High School in California just to win a few games in Tampa, his hometown.

He left to make a difference.

This fall, he will try to do so at New Tampa’s Wharton High. A former All-American wide receiver at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, and first-round NFL draft pick, Williams is Wharton’s choice to replace longtime head coach David Mitchell, who resigned after 15 seasons last fall but remains the school’s head wrestling coach and assistant track & field coach.

Williams, who is building a home close to the Wharton campus, said he wanted to be a Wildcat because of the challenge of coaching in the state’s highest classification, 8A, and because he wants to be able to mentor and mold his players to become disciplined, model young men.

Moved by the death last summer of Middleton High freshman Hezekiah Walters, who collapsed during summer workouts, Williams returned from Los Angeles to Tampa to train local youth players.

He applied at Middleton, and was quickly tabbed to replace the former Tigers head coach, Fred Reid, who was reassigned.

He was hired at Middleton at the end of July 2019, just a few weeks before the start of the season. He didn’t rush his mourning players to the field, instead taking his time to help repair the program’s damaged collective psyche. Williams’ wife, Giavonna, had passed away in her sleep two years prior, so the new coach understood all too well the pain of losing someone close to you.

The Tigers didn’t hold their first practice until July 23 and two weeks later, they opened their season with a 12-7 win over Alonso. 

The team finished with a 5-5 record and went from a team involved in a well-publicized bench clearing brawl in 2017 to being the least penalized team in the county in 2019.

Rewarding Job

The job he did at Middelton under trying circumstances, both on and off the field, made him an attractive candidate when Wharton went looking for a new coach.

“He was by far our best choice,” said Wharton athletic director Eddie Henderson, who convened a committee that included principal Michael Rowan, along with student and parent representatives, to find Mitchell’s replacement. “We liked the fact that he took Middleton and turned them around in two weeks. That’s what we were very impressed about — the relationship he had with those kids.”

Williams was able to meet his new team briefly for some workouts in the weight room shortly before Covid-19 closed down schools in March.

Workouts were finally okayed for June 15, which is when Williams would get to work trying to rebuild the Wildcats program into the district and state power it has been in years past.

When Williams and the Wildcats finally convened for workouts, they did so under new training and safety protocols named after Walters: the Hezekiah Walters Sports Medicine Educational Plan on Hydration and Heat Illness.

As a coach and mentor, Williams will have an office on campus but will not have to teach any classes at Wharton, so he can focus on imparting his can-do attitude into his players.

From The NFL To New Tampa

Tampa Bay-area football fans might recall the path that Williams took from Plant High standout to All-American wide receiver at USC and ultimately to the NFL, when the Detroit Lions made him the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

His journey to being named head football coach at Wharton this past January, however, is likely a road that is a lot less known.

Williams actually first began his coaching career way back in 2004, because the bigger story that year was that he declared himself eligible for the NFL draft – after amassing 2,579 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns in just two collegiate seasons — following the case of former Ohio State University running back Maurice Clarett that opened the door for underclassmen to leave school early to start their NFL careers.

When that door abruptly shut, and the NCAA didn’t restore Williams’ collegiate eligibility, he instead returned to his South Tampa roots while he waited for the NFL Draft.

“Coach” Williams helped the Interbay YMCA, where he spent countless hours as a youth, launch an 8-man tackle football team. That year, the Hammerheads went 7-0 and many of his youth players surrounded him at his 2005 draft party, appearing on ESPN when Detroit selected him.

Williams went on to play five NFL seasons with four different teams over a seven-year period.

“Going to the pros was extra,” says Williams, the second youngest of seven siblings, including a sister he lost a couple years ago. “I always, always wanted to be a coach. Everybody wants to make it to the pros. I’ve really been living my dream the last eight years coaching.”

Williams said he is ready for his latest challenges, including preparing for tough Class 8A competition without being able to gather his team on the field or in the weight room due to Covid-19. The new guidelines have been a challenge, and while Wharton has a 2020 schedule — it hosts a preseason game against Blake High on August 14 — the season itself still remains up in the air.

Lima Brings The ‘World’s Best Cuisine’ To New Tampa!

Even though I lived or worked in New York City — where you can get pretty much any type of food you like at almost any hour of the day or night — for more than a decade, I had never been told that of all the different types of Latin and South American cuisines out there, Peruvian food was among the best in the world — and actually was named #1 by Bloomberg.com in 2017.

It wasn’t until long after I first moved to Florida and met (and had dinner with) people from Peru or tried a Peruvian restaurant that I started to get the message. And, once I did sample the uniquely delicious cuisine of the Land of the Incas at an excellent Peruvian place in the Carrollwood area a few years ago, however, I realized that I had been missing out on something delicious all these years. 

What I didn’t know, however, was that New Tampa would soon have its own Peruvian restaurant — named Lima, for the capital of the seventh most populous metropolitan area in the Americas.

Lima Rotisserie Chicken & Peruvian Cuisine owner Oscar Escudero and his family have brought a truly unique gem to the Publix-anchored New Tampa center plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., in the location previously occupied by El Pescador Mexican Seafood, although they, of course, finally got the place open just a couple of weeks before Covid-19 shut down the local economy in March.

Peruvian rotisserie chicken.

Start With The Chicken?

Even so, Oscar and his family and staff have been able to recently reopen Lima with a loyal following of customers who can’t get enough of Lima’s signature dishes like the Peruvian rotisserie chicken, which can’t be compared with anything you’ll find at Publix or Costco for tenderness, taste or the crispy, amazing skin. Jannah and I had to avoid the skin one time during the pandemic because we were still in the weight-loss phase of our diet — and honestly, we regretted it. It’s a must-try and it definitely is at its crispy,  lip-smacking best when you dine-in.

Speaking of that, the inside of Lima is small, casual and appealing, and there are some other dishes that just can’t be as good for takeout or delivery as they are when you eat at the restaurant.

Conchitas Parmesana, or baked scallops on the half shell.

The one that springs instantly to mind are the uniquely beautiful and savory Conchitas Parmesana, or baked scallops on the half shell. It’s an order of four large sea scallops in butter, lemon juice and a thick topping of parmesan cheese.

I told Oscar that the only thing missing from this dish is a great, crispy bread or toast points because there’s enough cheese and butter left over after eating each scallop to make another whole appetizer.

Ceviche de Pescado

Another dish that traditionally is served as a starter (in Lima’s case, it’s a large, shareable dish) that I already can’t live without is the Ceviche de Pescado, or diced fresh fish of the day ceviche (snapper in the top photo on the next page), which is raw chunks of fish in a traditional marinade of seasoned lime, aji rocoto peppers, julienne red onions and lots of cilantro. It’s served with a side of traditional Incan corn (with those large, thick kernels that soak up the sauce and taste so yummy) and a couple of slices of sweet potatoes. 

The fish ceviche also is available as a trio, with the same amount of marinated fish divided into three smaller portions, each with its own delicious sauce — one with an aji Amarillo (pepper) cream, one with a rocoto cream and one with cilantro cream — all different and each so good in its own way. 

For those of you who don’t share my shellfish allergy, the ceviche also is available “de Mariscos,” or with mixed seafood (fish, shrimp, mussels and calamari).

Another favorite is the Lomo Saltado Lima, which is a hearty dish of beef tenderloin tips wok-sautéed with spices, sliced onions, fresh tomato wedges, cilantro and a touch of soy sauce and vinegar served over a bed of crispy French fries and with a side of white rice.

Peruvian Chinese?

What do the Peruvians know about wok-searing? Apparently, a lot! Peru is as far west as you can go in South America, so according to Oscar, when the country built its railroad to go from the desert coast of Lima on the Pacific Ocean to and through the Andes mountains that divide the north from the south of the country, many Chinese engineers and builders came across the Pacific and settled in Peru. 

They brought wok-fired cooking with them and Lima (the city) became a hotspot for dishes that look and taste a lot like your favorite Chinese lo mein and fried rice

Arroz Chaufa

The lo mein is called Tallarin Saltado de pollo (although you can have it with steak or seafood) and features pulled “a la brasa” (rotisserie) chicken, with sliced onions, tomatoes and cilantro blended with delicious lo mein noodles, soy sauce and vinegar. The Arroz Chaufa (fried rice) has scallions, egg and a distinctively nutty taste and is topped with crispy noodles.

Speaking of side dishes, the black beans and rice, salad and fried yuca all get high marks, especially the unique (there’s that word again) spicing of the black beans. 

And, while the rotisserie chicken (available in 1/4-, 1/2- and whole chicken portions, each with sides) is probably still the biggest draw at Lima, there also are other delicious starters, sandwiches and two kids platters for only $7 each. 

When you dine in, you also owe it to yourself to try the ice cold Cusqueña golden lager beer of Peru and/or the Inca Cola, even though Coca-Cola came in and bought out the original Peruvian company. I also can’t even tell you how good the Alfajores are, but they’re cookie sandwiches topped with chocolate and powdered sugar and filled with dulce de leche creme. Decadent.

Lima (19062 BBD) is offering 15% off any take-out or dine-in order with the coupon on page 35 of our latest New Tampa edition & offers delivery through Grubhub, UberEats & Doordash. For info, call (813) 304-0205.   

Nibbles & Bites: Oronzo and Grain & Berry!

Open To Rave Reviews!

Owner Dan Bavaro of Bavaro’s Pizza & Pastaria in South Tampa, as well as the new Oronzo Honest Italian in New Tampa, which recently opened.

There hadn’t been very many new businesses opening in either of our distribution areas until the last couple of weeks of May, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the OK  for the state to move into Phase 2 of his reopening plan. 

Since then, New Tampa has seen a nice little flurry of activity, with the Taaza Indian Mart, F45 Training at Highwoods Preserve and other finally getting to open their doors.

We also told you about Michi Ramen opening next to F45 in Highwoods last issue, and now, we’re also thrilled to announce that the fast-casual concept known as Oronzo Honest Italian has opened next to Michi Ramen in the former Men’s Wearhouse location facing Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., at 18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.

Oronzo is almost like a Chipotle or poké-bowl-style setup, but instead offers truly delicious, affordable Italian food, including some beautiful Neapolitan-style “piatto” pizzas, piadina bread sandwiches and even a delicious tomato basil soup. But, the thing that has me sold from Day One on Oronzo is the freshly-made pasta, which is served in dishes like the spaghetti with pesto and lots of grilled chicken shown far left. 

Owners Dan Bavaro of Bavaro’s Pizza & Pastaria in South Tampa and his partner Bob Johnston of Front Burner Brands (which owns The Melting Pot) also serve some delicious sausage and meatballs (managing editor John Cotey calls them “Amazeballs”) and a variety of sauces for the fresh pasta, as well as a signature orange juice drink. There’s even gluten-free, zucchini noodle and vegan options.

For more information, call (813) 405-4008 or visit Oronzo.com.

Meanwhile, perhaps the most anticipated variety of new eateries is coming to The Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza anchored by the new Sprouts Farmers Market. 

But, even though Sprouts won’t open until August, Grain & Berry has opened the tenth location of a growing Tampa Bay area-based chain in the same plaza.

If you love açai, spirulina or pitaya bowls served with incredibly fresh fruit and other toppings, Grain & Berry (8638 Hunters Village Dr.) is the place for you. I’ve only had a chance, so far, to sample the “Relax, Eat, Repeat” açai bowl with fresh bananas, strawberries, crunchy organic granola, peanut butter, Nutella, honey and crushed nuts, but it was so delicious and even though a little pricy ($10), it’s big enough for more like four servings.

For more info, call (813) 210-7569 or visit GrainandBerry.com. — GN  

Cruz Motorsports Fixes Just About Any Vehicle Make & Model!

Finding an auto mechanic you can trust is no easy job, which is why, typically, the first people you will ask for suggestions are your family members, friends and neighbors.

If word of mouth is a good way to find the perfect mechanic — knowledgeable, accommodating, trustworthy, affordable and earnest — it is also invaluable to a repair shop when it comes to building a large client base.

That explains why Wesley Chapel resident Christopher Cruz (above) outgrew his mother’s garage and now runs Cruz Motorsports on N. Nebraska Ave., between Fletcher and Bearss Aves. in Tampa, only a few minutes south and west of New Tampa.

“People trust me,” Cruz says. “I think that’s one of the most important things to building a business. I’m honest.”

After building a solid reputation in Wesley Chapel for his mobile services and honest repairs, Cruz opened his current location in 2016. 

With only $1,600 to his name, he moved into a reclamation project — a former stereo and audio shop in a shopping plaza that doesn’t look like your typical auto repair shop.

“The deal was that I would move in and fix it up and repaint it, and (the landlord) would waive my rent for the first month or two,” Cruz says. Since then, Cruz has rented the adjoining units, knocked down some walls, and now has four bays equipped with lifts for cars, and a lobby.

“I had to piece it together,” Cruz says. “It was a lot of work.”

It was, however, worth it, as Cruz has been able to expand his clientele beyond New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

Cruz Motorsports can fix virtually anything — from remote control cars (some that Cruz says he has modified to go 140 miles per hour) to jet skis and from boats to motorcycles, and all makes of cars.

The shop offers all basic auto repairs on both foreign and domestic makes and models, and Cruz Motorsports is one of the few local shops that will work on lowrider cars — “Many people won’t even touch the alignments on them,” he says.

Cruz Motorsports also does paint and body work, which many repair shops also won’t do.

J.R. (left) and Marck work on a customer’s CV axle, 
one of the many auto repairs available at Cruz Motorsports. 

Cruz says he and his staff of two, including his former supervisor from his first job, try to stay in touch with their customers, including sending out reminders about oil changes to some of the younger customers so they can avoid blowing their engines. They also take pictures of what they are fixing to provide to car owners.

Cruz says he has been repairing cars and motorcycles for seven years, since an accident gave him a firsthand look at how some mechanics take shortcuts.

After wrecking his 2007 Suzuki GSXR motorcycle and getting it repaired, Cruz had to deal with a litany of problems with the bike. When he took it to a different mechanic, they discovered that it had been repaired with used parts, even though he was charged new part prices. He says he decided to learn how to do his own repairs by taking courses at the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, and soon started fixing bikes for his friends.

That led Cruz to learn how to repair cars, landing jobs at a couple of shops, and picking up as much knowledge as he could. He wasn’t pleased with the business practices, however, at some of the places he worked, so he began running his own auto repair business out of his mother Ana Daniels’ garage in Wesley Chapel.

“When I started doing my own thing I started getting neighbors coming to me and got real busy,” Cruz says. “I started renting out another space because I needed more room. It was simple — I started taking care of people and being honest and business just started booming from there.”

Even though Cruz moved his shop to North Tampa, he says the majority of his customers are from Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, due to his years working in the area. Not only did he work out of a garage, but he did a large amount of his jobs in people’s own driveways as part of his mobile repair service.

New Tampa’s Heather Redlin says she doesn’t let anyone else touch her family’s cars.

Redlin discovered Cruz on the Wesley Chapel Community Facebook page, where he is a popular answer to questions from posters who are seeking car or motorcycle repairs.

Redlin says that when the engine and temperature gauge blew on her Ford Flex, Cruz replaced the engine for $6,000 and worked with her on paying it off.

“He has been my mechanic for five years,” Redlin says. “He’s always really straight with me and he doesn’t try to up-sell me. You can’t find a nicer guy.”

Cruz, who lives in Seven Oaks, has done other repairs on Redlin’s car, and also has worked on her husband’s and daughter’s vehicles. In fact, when Redlin was looking to buy a used car for her daughter, she drove one possibility to Cruz for an inspection. When she pulled in with the prospective car, Cruz shook his head no before she had even stopped the car, because he had seen it before.

How loyal is Redlin?

“If me and my husband split up,” she says, “I get the mechanic.”

While he has the benefit of garage space and lifts that can handle up to 12,000 pounds, Cruz says his popular mobile service continues to be a big part of his current business.

He does much of his local Wesley Chapel/New Tampa business — alternators, starters, oil changes, other less-messy repairs — using his mobile trailer, which is powered by solar panels, which charge two large 200-watt, 30-amp batteries the size of doors.

For larger jobs, cars are towed or driven to Cruz’s Nebraska Ave. shop.

Cruz says he hears many complaints from new customers about past work by other auto mechanics. His goal is to be the last stop for those customers.

“Everything we do, I try to keep it straightforward and honest,” Cruz says. “We’ll find the best prices on parts, we fix our mistakes, and we work with everyone.”

Cruz Motorsports is located 13787 N. Nebraska Ave. It is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, search “Cruz Motorsports” on Facebook.