Nibbles & Bytes: Sushi, Pizza and Healthy Items Highlight New Businesses

Pick Of The Week 1: Blue Fin Japanese Restaurant!
For those who complain about all of the chain restaurants that have opened in Wesley Chapel, one thing you should realize is that already we have quite a few excellent non-chain Japanese places — and you can add one more to that already-impressive list.

Blue Fin Japanese Restaurant has finally opened at 6034 Wesley Grove Blvd., next to Treble Makers in The Grove, and offers great Japanese specialties, from a huge assortment of sushi rolls to the excellent gyoza dumplings pictured top left (and other appetizers), to large portions of chicken teriyaki with fresh veggies, hibachi (but not prepared tableside) filet mignon and many more. It is open every day for lunch and dinner and serves beer, wine and sake.

For more info, call (813) 803-4709 and please tell Lawrence, the owner, that I sent you. — GN

Windy City Pizza Replaces Full Circle Pizza In Pebble Creek!
If you’re a fan of authentic deep-dish Chicago-style pizza but you haven’t yet tried the new Windy Cindy Pizza that opened recently in the former Pebble Creek Collection location (at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa, a mile or so south of the Pasco County line) of Full Circle Pizza — what are you waiting for? I brought the large Chicago deep dish pie with pepperoni & sausage pictured above to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus & everyone raved. I’m not from Chicago, but this deep dish is legit! 

Tim and Matt, the owners, are both originally from Chicago (and previously owned Windy City on N. 30th St., near USF, and promise that their deep-dish and thin-crust Chicago pizza is authentic, as are the Chicago Italian beef sandwich and Windy City nuggets (fried homemade pizza dough served with pizza dipping sauce) and more. 

For more info, call (813) 388-5844 or visit OrderWindyCityPizza.com. —  GN 

It’s Chick’n, Not Cluckin’
Last issue, we told you that the former location of Hardee’s on Wesley Chapel Blvd. (next to Goodyear Auto Service) was going to be come a new chicken restaurant called Cluckin’ Fun, but we were only half-right.

The banner sign that had been up came down because the building was being re-painted, but according to the leasing agent, the new non-chain fried chicken place will actually be called Chick’n Fun, and also said that it should be ready to open within the next 45 days. — GN

Lüfka Refillables Hosts A Chamber Ribbon Cutting!
Congratulations to co-owners Danielle Howard (right in photo) and her mom Gail Sickler (center), who hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 23 at their new Wesley Chapel location of Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store at 27221 S.R. 56. 

Lüfka, founded by Kelly Hawaii (left) and her husband Parosh in Seminole Heights in 2019, offers eco-friendly personal care (Jannah loved the handcrafted soap I bought for her) and cleaning products, including many refillable and zero-waste items.

For info, call (813) 596-9376 or visit lufka.com. — GN 

Pick Of The Week 2: Green Market Cafe!
Located next door to Lüfka (at 27225 S.R. 56) is the sixth location of a Tampa Bay-area chain called Green Market Cafe.

Green Market definitely could have been included in our most recent issue’s “Healthy Food & Drink” story, with its menu of salads (like the almond chicken salad in the first photo), healthy bowls, wrap and other sandwiches, house-made soups (like the excellent spinach feta soup Jannah and I sampled recently) and unique drink options like Kombucha and CBD-infused water.

Green Market Cafe makes it easy to order, whether online (with pick-up and delivery options), at the self-service kiosk inside the store or at the counter, and proudly proclaims that all locations buy their produce “directly from the source — our local farmers. We strive for balanced nutrition…and wholesome ingredients free of hormones and preservatives — all at affordable prices.” For more info, call (813) 803-4590 or visit visit GreenMarketCafe.com for the current specials. — GN

Trick Or …Truck? Lots Of Halloween Weekend Options!

The World’s Largest Food Truck Rally 12 may not break the all-time record for largest food truck parade Halloween weekend at the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO), but it will have enough food on hand that we can heartily suggest wearing stretchy pants.

The rally, according to organizer Jeremy Gomez, is expecting roughly 80 trucks for the Oct. 30-31 event, which will be held 11 a.m.-6 p.m. each day. That truck number was as of our press time, and is expected to grow.

The World’s Largest Food Truck Rally, a traveling caravan of cuisine, set the Guinness World Record for the largest food truck parade in 2014, with 125 food trucks at the Florida State Fairgrounds. It will headline the 17th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival, essentially taking the place of the usual carnival rides and turning the festival into a fall foodie-palooza.

Drew Cecere of Florida Penguin Productions, which is organizing the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival along with the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, says the change was made to mix things up this year, as well as to alleviate the event’s competition with other area fall festivals that rely on rides.

“We went in a totally different direction this year,” Cecere says. “This will help us reach a totally different demographic.”

The Wesley Chapel Fall Festival will still offer live music, kids activities like bounce houses and a host of local vendors. There will be a pumpkin patch, pet costume contest, face painting and a Miss and Mr. Pumpkin Patch pageant. On Sunday, the popular Trunk or Treat event will begin at 4 p.m., before regular trick-or-treating begins.  

Tickets to the event are $10, and can be purchased at eventbrite.com by searching “Wesley Chapel Fall Festival.” For more information, visit Facebook.com/WesleychapelFallFestival. 

As for the food vendors, there will be a variety of local trucks along with those that travel with the rally. Here’s some to check out, according to World’s Largest Food Truck Rally organizer Jeremy Gomez:

TACOS Y SNACKS EL INDIO: One of the most authentic Mexican trucks around, and the owners are the hardest working I know.
HORHAY’S MAC & CHEEZ: Absolutely amazing mac dishes. Comfort foods with a modern twist like their Ghost Pepper Mac N Cheez. RENEGADE BURGER COMPANY: Best burgers around.
RED ZEPPELIN ROCKING LOBSTER :Lobster Rolls from heaven. 
TRES SUSPIROS HANDMADE BRAZILIAN CHOCOLATE: The absolute best chocolate around. Works of art. Brigadeiro Chocolate is a skill that not everyone can master… and Chef Amy has done that. These are works of art and taste even better. 
HOTT MESS: Tater Tots like no other! Everyone does tots now… Hott Mess has been doing them always, they wrote the book. They also have some amazing giant breaded pork sandwiches that are really hard to find this far south.
SHEFU: Super authentic Chicago Style Dogs and more. And, they also are just amazing people. We know its “just” a small Chicago-style hotdog trailer, but the owners go out of their way to import everything from Chicago, making it truly authentic, and hard to find down here.
SMOKIN MOMMA LORA’S BBQ: Some serious serious BBQ glammed out to the hilt. Her BBQ is on another level.
TREE DOG ROOTS: Absolutely amazing mash, veggie dishes, and everything else. The owner is so sweet and has been at this for a long time…really knows her flavors. Her specialty is mashes and root vegetables,  which by itself is rare..  but what she does with them is amazing.
CHAZITO’S LATIN CUISINE: They make amazing food. They follow us all over the country, four generations work the truck…and they are all awesome. Their mix of Spanish/ Cuban/Puerto Rican style is super refined, and is hard to find at other places.
PHILLY T’S CHEESESTEAK AND PO’BOYS: His sandwiches (pictured) are just amazing.. and they also follow us all over the country
DAVIS ISLAND VIBES: Amazing tropical fruit beverages served inside a pineapple. They have been a major hit every year..and its because the drinks are fantastic. 
PAMZ PIZZA CONEZ: They take pizza and make them into these cones that you can hold… so they are like cups of amazing pizza goodness… that you can then eat…really clever.

Other Halloween Events In/Near Our Area:

The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center (6585 Simons Rd. in Zephyrhills) is hosting its first annual Halloween Dog Show (see ad, right) on Saturday, October 30, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. It costs $20 to enter your dog, and there will be prizes for the top 3 dogs, as well as raffles, gift doggie bags, a bounce castle and more. Plus, 25% of all proceeds will be donated to Allie Cares, a nonprofit organization which offers free medical care treatment options for animals and families in need. For more information, call (813) 361-6660.

The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is hosting its second annual “Halloween Hullabaloo” on Saturday, October 30, noon-4 p.m. The event will feature a 3v3 basketball tournament, a 5v5 indoor soccer tournament and a volleyball tournament. The cost is $100 to register each team. There also will be activities for kids in the lobby from 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for spectators. For more information, or to register, visit Wiregrass-Sports.com.

Fall Fest at The Grove is billing itself as Wesley Chapel’s biggest Halloween celebration, and it runs through Sunday, featuring amusement rides, a pumpkin patch, carnival food, Halloween activities and more. Plus, there is a Costume Contests at 4 p.m. on Halloween. You can buy ride tickets HERE.

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Quail Hollow Girl Donates 70 Backpacks To Local Shelter

Rachael Mendohlson, an 11-year-old who lives in Quail Hollow, says her life is pretty idyllic.

“I’m blessed and lucky to live on a beautiful ranch with my parents and sister,” she says, where she helps care for 40 chickens, 20 cows, five cats and two rabbits.

That’s why, when she heard about a kid her age in Kansas who provided gifts to children staying in a homeless shelter, she thought she could do something similar in her community.

Rachael asked her dad, Lane, to help her get started.

Lane sought out a family shelter in Pasco County and found out that Rachael’s timing couldn’t have been better, as the county’s very first shelter that accommodates families is opening this month in Port Richey.

Rachael’s plan was to pack new backpacks with toys and activities so that kids arriving at the shelter would be greeted with a bag full of new items just for them.

To fund her idea, she planned to use one dollar from every dozen eggs she and her sister sold from their egg business.

That’s where Lane stepped in again, offering that his company, Vantagepoint AI, would pay for the backpacks and toys so that Rachael could have enough funds to make an impact quickly, making a donation that would pay for 70 backpacks, along with toys and activities to fill the backpacks.

Rachael and her sister, 8-year-old Abby, sorted the toys by age and packed all of the bags themselves, including items such as coloring books, colored pencils, a book, fidget toys, and magnetic drawing toys for the younger kids, while choosing items such as a watch and a hat for older kids.

“Being a girl and going to school, I know Pop Its fidget toys are very popular,” she said, “so I made sure to include a lot of those.”

In early October, Rachael was invited to bring her donations to the new shelter and speak to invited guests at the shelter’s opening ceremony.

She said that if she can do something good to bring someone else happiness, that’s what she wants to do.

“I hope a kid will see the backpack and think, ‘Oh my gosh, someone really cares about me,’ and that will give a little spark to make someone happy,” Rachael says.

Lane says he wants to pass on what learned from his parents to the next generation. “I want to instill those values of gratitude and giving people a hand when they need it in my own daughters,” Lane says. “It’s so important that they grow up that way.”

It seems he’s doing just that, as Lane says that Abby has expressed interest in finding her own way to give back, thanks to her inspiring older sister.

“Giving back is my way of saying thank you,” Rachael says, “because I’m grateful that I have such an amazing life.”

Grand Hampton Residents Turn Community Into A Movie Set

The scene that started it all for “Grand Hampton: The Movie Series,” with Antony Capers and his son Merric.

A strange alien-like creature is chained to the wall. Four kids lay motionless on the floor, marked with blood. A menacing woman in a white lab coat steps over them to talk to a baby girl dangling from the ceiling. A light fog flows through the scene.

This is just a regular Wednesday or Thursday night in the Grand Hampton garage of 45-year-old Antony Capers, where, on this night, he is filming another episode of his quirky, campy, creepy — and even funny — web video series that has much of his community buzzing.

Capers, a freelance designer who owns his own production company, Reelistic Tales, is an accomplished painter, graphic designer and has even written and illustrated children’s books. He also is the creator of “Grand Hampton: The Movie Series.”

He says the series, which so far has posted 17 episodes and can be viewed on YouTube by searching for “Grand Hampton Movie,” has changed his life. The series has 151 subscribers, and roughly 6,000 total views. A party was held in the Grand Hampton clubhouse for the Season 2 premiere.

He doesn’t get paid to do the show — a new episode is posted each Monday — but he says it has brought him the kind of joy that is priceless.

“It’s really a labor of love for me,” Capers says. “I’ve met so many of my neighbors, and it’s become a close-knit production of new friends.” 

What began as a short 45-second clip morphed into a series of short episodes filmed exclusively in Grand Hampton, starring only the community’s residents.

“It’s like my Hollywood playground back here,” says Capers, a Queens, NY native.

Which is not how it all began. His initial 45-second clip of his son Merric staring out across a lake in a trance, pointing at something only he could see, was done for Capers’ portfolio.

But, he decided to post the clip on Grand Hampton’s community Facebook page for fun, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Everybody who commented  asked what Merric was looking at, and not to leave them hanging,” Capers said.

So, he didn’t. He shot two more episodes with his son, basing the story on an idea that has been bouncing around his head for years — where a community that is comprised entirely of people in the witness protection program is used to harvest the lungs of those who won’t be missed.

Antony recruits another neighbor to join the cast.

With requests for more episodes, Capers started asking for community volunteers to play roles in the production.

Richard Villarino was first, playing a neighbor in Episode 3 concerned that children were disappearing.

Another neighbor, Annette Simmons-Brown, sent in a head shot and, perhaps because her bald head (at the time) gave her a more minacious look, was pegged to be the evil Dr. Annette, the harvester of kids’ lungs, a few episodes later.

“I don’t know why he picked me…but I’m glad he did,” Simmons-Brown says. “It’s been so much fun. If I had to rate the whole experience on a scale of 1-to-10, I’d give it a 15.”

Taabish Ajaney, a 15-year-old North Tampa Christian Academy student, messaged Antony on Facebook looking for a role. He landed a part, but also has extensive editing experience and has taken on the role of intern, helping shoot many of the scenes.

Julia Rees, a 26-year-old medical school student, donned a red hood, black makeup streaked across her face and a 10-inch knife while emerging in the Season 1 finale as a mysterious hero…or perhaps a villain.

“He just said I’d be a bad ass,” says Rees. “I’m not sure where the character is going, but I’m along for the ride.”

Roughly 50 neighbors, many who gathered to watch the filming of the latest episode, have played roles. Kelly and Lura Mulroy and Latasha Scurry play television anchors, Henry Scurry is convincing — and arguably the best actor in the series — as the head bad guy, and Ishban Howard has played multiple roles, including one as the chained up alien. 

Nicole Reber is another bad guy who made her debut recently in Season 2, Episode 3, and her three children — Ashton, Dylan and Skyla — were all snatched by the aliens in the same episode. Others have helped build sets and set up other scenes, while Capers’ next door neighbor Chace Scurry not only played a part, but her infant daughter Jahnai was the one dangling from the ceiling while mom nervously looked on. “Can you believe she let me do that?,” Capers says, chuckling. 

Jordan Caviggia read about the show on Facebook, and brought his son Jaxon, 9, to the most recent shoot, where he played one of the children in the garage. 

“It sounded like it’s a fun time, and I thought Jaxon would enjoy it,” Jordan said.

Capers thanked him for showing up, and asked the elder Caviggia if he was interested in having a part, too. Five days later, Caviggia filmed a scene playing the head of a newsroom.

“This has really ended up being about bringing people together,” he says. “It’s not about the show. I mean, there’s a story there, but it’s about community. It’s weird, and it’s a weird thing that’s happening, and I love it.”

Would Capers love for his show to catch the eye of a Hollywood executive? Of course. 

“If not, I’ll just keep filming with my friends,” he says.

Visiting Angels Serves Families & The Community With Compassion

The local office of Visiting Angels on N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace includes (l.-r.) office assistant Yesenia Diaz, director Christal Becton, client coordinators Wendy Blackmon and Kim Robinson and billing specialist Kim Fair. (Photo: Charmaine George)

When families realize they need a helping hand with an aging parent or grandparent or a disabled family member, they want to turn to someone they can trust to provide care and share their burden.

In New Tampa, Temple Terrace and surrounding areas, that need is being met by Visiting Angels, located on N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace, only minutes from most of New Tampa.

Visiting Angels provides services as an alternative to moving into a nursing home, retirement center or assisted living facility, allowing people to maintain the independence of their daily routines in the comfort of their own homes.

A nationally branded company, headquartered in Pennsylvania, Visiting Angels has 600 locations across the U.S.

Franchise owner and director Christal Becton opened the local office of Visiting Angels in 2004. 

“We’ve been a staple in the community for 17 years now,” she says, adding that the close-knit group of five people who work in the office give personal attention and care to every family who reaches out to them when they need assistance.

“Most of our referrals are seniors who need some extra help,” Christal explains. “We also can help anyone over 18 who needs assistance. Younger people sometimes need help, too, due to their own physical challenges or health issues.”

Visiting Angels caregivers provide home care services, companion care, personal care and respite care. This can include anything from helping someone temporarily recover from an illness or surgery to providing ongoing companionship to a senior who just needs a friend.

The Visiting Angels home health care aides accommodate their clients’ schedules, whether they need a few hours of assistance a week or even 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-per-week care. Day or night, weekends or holidays, temporary or long-term, Visiting Angels can help.

Director Christal Becton

Caregivers include both Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and Home Health Assistants (HHAs). All caregivers have passed a background screening, and most are graduates of medical academies that specialize in home care and also have worked at assisted living facilities or in other health care environments.

Typical care might include grocery shopping and running errands, preparing meals, assisting with personal care and doing light housekeeping.

Christal says some clients require help with bathing or shaving, some just need a hand getting up in the morning and starting their day, while others may need their clothes laundered and linens changed.

Pandemic Assistance & More

With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, these continue to be unprecedented times. Over the past 18 months, Christal and the members of her office staff delivered essentials to seniors in New Tampa, even if they weren’t clients. They called it “no-contact Saturday,” delivering essentials without contact, to minimize any possibility of spreading the virus to someone who might be particularly vulnerable.

While the local Visiting Angels office is no longer doing no-contact Saturdays, calls from clients who are in need of food, meals, or shopping are still being accepted. The Visiting Angels often provide those services, but also are happy to refer families to services that may help them with these tasks, such as Instacart.

“We give a lot of advice to members of the community,” she says.

The office staff currently is getting ready for the annual Thanksgiving distribution, where staffers take meals from local restaurants and deliver them to everyone on the company’s registry who lives alone or has no family expected to join them for the holiday.

Getting Started

The first step to hiring Visiting Angels is a free, in-home assessment, which Christal personally handles. “I like to make a connection with the family. I get to see how they live and learn about their backgrounds, which makes it easier to connect them with the right caregiver.”

She says this is important to communicate to the family that she takes pride in her company and in the quality of care that will be provided.

“Most everyone has heard of Visiting Angels if they watch television, but people are often blown away that the owner of the company showed up in their home. They think that if the owner comes to my house to talk with me, then that’s a company I want to take care of my mom.”

During the in-home assessment, Christal reviews each client’s needs and asks about the types of services desired, noting the patient’s daily routine, meals, proximity to doctors’ offices and number of regularly scheduled appointments. She then prepares a care plan and selects the caregivers who are best suited to meet those needs.

Transportation To Appointments

In addition to in-home care, Visiting Angels provides transportation to doctor’s appointments and medical treatments.

Unlike other services, Visiting Angels caregivers do not leave the appointment, but will wait on-site until the appointment is concluded. Once the patient is delivered safely home, post-op care can be provided, as well, if desired.

Christal says this service is not typical, and that it relieves any stress someone may feel, wondering if a ride is coming to get them and how long they’ll have to wait. Having the Visiting Angels transportation waiting for them means patients don’t have to wait or wonder, or experience any undue anxiety about how to get to their medical appointment(s).

Visiting Angels’ transportation is not just for seniors. While seniors often take advantage of the services, anyone can use it.

Christal says many of the rides she gives are to and from plastic surgery appointments, anything from cosmetic facial surgeries, to tummy tucks and liposuction.

“Our office works very closely with a number of plastic surgery centers in the Tampa Bay area,” she says. “The patients or even the surgery centers call us to schedule and they tell me Visiting Angels is one of the few providing this service.”

Christal says many people don’t want to ask a friend or family member for a hand, especially when it comes to a plastic surgery appointment. She and her team are happy to help anyone who would prefer the discretion of using Visiting Angels if any post-appointment care or transportation is needed.

The Visiting Angels office serving New Tampa is at 9812 N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace. For more information, call (813) 929-7067 or visit VisitingAngels.com/Tampa or Facebook.com/VisitingAngelsTampaFL.