Do you already have plans for New Yearโs Eve? If not, may I suggest visiting spending the turn of the year at the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel?
Hear me out on this one: The Hyatt Place hosted three sittings for Thanksgiving Day and Jannah and I were among those who helped sell out the place, each of which offered a beautiful, sumptuous buffet dinner, including a fried turkey and slow-roasted prime rib carving station (photo), plus ham and citrus-glazed salmon, side dishes like sautรฉed green beans, garlic mashed potatoes and sweet & savory glazed carrots, plus desserts like traditional apple pie and sweet potato pie. There also was live music, unlimited mimosas and a full premium liquor bar.
Jannah and I so thoroughly enjoyed (and, OK, overstuffed) ourselves, we decided to sign up for the Hyatt Placeโs New Yearโs Eve celebration โ on Tuesday, December 31 (obviously), 8 p.m.-1 a.m.ย
Hereโs what we (and possibly, you) have to look forward to: More chef-prepared food stations, a live DJ, dancing, 4-hour open bar, a champagne toast at midnight and more. We signed up for the โpremiumโ experience and at our press time, there were still both reservations for the New Yearโs Eve event and room reservations available for that night.
Please call (813) 803-5600 to book your reservation. Weโll see you there! โ GN
Tampa Palms resident Scott Strunk (left) & his friend & partner Jorge Arroyo started Good 5 Golf to sell quality golf apparel to the average golfer.ย (All photos provided by Scott Strunk)ย
When I was a much younger man, I used to play some golf, but considering that my goal was to someday play bogey golf (one shot above par on every hole, or a score of 90 on a par-72 course), I clearly wasnโt very good. As my sons reached the age where they chose to play pretty much every team sport, even when I wasnโt one of the coaches, it still fell on me to drive them to and from every practice and most every game. Golf was the one thing in my life at the time that I felt comfortable giving up, because of how long it takes to play an entire round, much less practice or take enough lessons to improve.
When Tampa Palms resident Scott Strunk started advertising his company Good 5 Golf with us, it wasnโt 100% clear to me whether he was selling golf apparel or lessons or both or what the significance of โGood 5โ was โ at least until I read his explanation on Good5Golf.com.ย
For those of you who love to play the worldโs most humbling game, you may already be that bogey golfer I aspired to be, which likely means youโre hoping to play scratch golf someday.
If so, Iโm sure youโve experienced that feeling when you couldโve easily hit a double bogey, but you either hit a nice shot from out of the woods or sunk a long putt that allowed you to still hit a 5 on a hard par four and someone said to you, โGood 5.โ (Or, for me, โGreat 5.โ)
Good 5 has matching T-shirts for every cap color.
Well, Scott says that was the motivation for calling the LLC he founded with his childhood friend from rural New Jersey, Jorge Arroyo, in September of this year.
โI had just gotten a bogey on a par 4 and my friend said to me, โHey, Good 5,โ and that was it for me,โ Scott says. โI said, โIโm going to start a golf brand called Good 5.โโ
The companyโs motto on his ad, is โGood 5 is for the golfer who accepts bogey with grace, style and comfort. Itโs better than a double. Itโs a Good 5.โ
Nearly three short months later, Good 5 is the locally owned company that sells top-quality golf caps in a variety of styles โ from the super-popular โrope caps,โ with the rope crossing the top of the brim, to trucker-style and peached cotton twill caps, all embroidered here in Tampa with the unique Good 5 logo. The company also sells heavyweight golf T-shirts in all of the same colors as the hats, so you can mix and match them all.
โWe will be adding golf polo shirts, in both menโs and womenโs styles, in the future,โ Scott says, โbut right now, weโre just focusing on hats and T-shirts.โ
He adds that what he doesnโt want is to put his logo on โsome cheap polo shirts that fall apart after two washings. This brand is about quality, and weโre still looking for the right polo shirts at the right price.โ He also says he also plans to put the logo on ball markers and maybe even golf tees and golf balls in the future, โif things go well.โ
Scott notes, however, that Good 5 probably wonโt be getting into adding golf shorts or pants anytime soon, โbecause there are just too many sizes, fits and styles to deal with.โ
He also says that sales are going pretty well, but he started advertising Good 5 in these pages because, โI purchased quite a bit of inventory (from Oregon-based Richardson Sports), โmost of which is taking up most of the space in my office. In order to get hats of this quality at a reasonable price, you have to buy quite a few at a time. Letโs just say that my credit cards are all pretty much maxed out.โ
Fortunately for Scott, whose background is in computer sales and who still has his โday jobโ with a company that sells high-end gaming computers, โUnlike computers, shirts and caps kept in plastic wonโt go bad in six months or a year or become what I call โaged bananas.โ Itโs better to have too many than to run out of stock. We have a lot of friends whoโve bought them and everyone so far loves them.โ
โI Really Want To Do Thisโ
Scottโs daughter Ashley, who handles the companyโs social media, sports a Good 5 rope cap.ย
Scott says that when he first told Jorge, who still lives in New Jersey, that he was planning to start a golf apparel company, Jorge said, โYou do realize thatโs a really competitive business, right?โ
Scott countered, โI know, but Iโm at the age now where I donโt just want to think about doingย things in the future, I want to actually do them. I really want to do this and I really want it to do well. But, if it ends up not making money, I guess thatโs OK, too.โย
So, Jorge, who had sold a company and was always interested in a good idea, agreed to partner with his long-time friend. They purchased the domain name โGood5Golf.comโ and Scott says they realized, โWe need a really cool-looking logo โ which I think we have. โ and the right brand with the right marketing. I worked with a local company that I know from Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club to (he has lived in Tampa Palms since 2019) help me source some of the hats and T-shirts and I created the website. So, weโre going full steam ahead with this Good 5 Golf brand.โ
Scott then enlisted his 25-year-old daughter Ashley โ who was on the golf team at her high school in Boca Raton and then at Eckerd College โ to handle social media for the business and Good 5 Golf was born.
He notes that, โThe reason the logo only says โGood 5โ and not โGood 5 Golfโ is because I really want this to become a โlifestyle brand,โ not just a golf brand. Good 5 can be about anything.โ
A Military Tie-In?
Scott says that his father enlisted in the Navy and served as an intelligence officer in the Vietnam War. โI was born in Key West because my dad was stationed there,โ he says.
In addition, George Miragliuolo, another one of Scott & Jorgeโs friends from their K-12 school (which had only 23 kids in their graduating class), did multiple tours of combat duty in the military, so he hopes to someday have an opportunity to partner up with a charity that provides service to military veterans.
โWeโre trying to figure out how we can honor veterans in general,โ Scott says, โand we want to tie in with one of the great veteransโ charities going on out there. But we havenโt figured out how to do that yet.โ
For more info about Good 5 Golf, visit Good5Golf.com. You also can follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram @Good5Golf. And, if you use the code โNewTampaโ from the ad below, youโll save 25% off your purchase. So remember, โItโs better than a double. Itโs a Good 5.โย
Assuming new roles for AdventHealth are Erik Wangsness (above; photo by Charmaine George) and Ryan Quattlebaum (photo below). Wangsness, who had been serving as the president & CEO of Advent Health Wesley Chapel (AHWC), will assume the same position at AdventHealth Tampa.
News continues to be coming from AdventHealth, which has named Erik Wangsness as the new president & CEO of AdventHealth Tampa (located on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., north of E. Fletcher Ave.), which became effective on Dec. 15. Wangsness will report to David Otatti, president and CEO of AdventHealthโs West Florida Division.
โErik is a consummate servant leader who I believe will continue to enhance our quality of care, expanding access to services and building on the strong foundation established by the team at AdventHealth Tampa,โ Ottati said. โI know that Erik will uphold and build our mission, leading our teams to provide uncommon compassion and whole-person care to each person who walks through those doors.โ
Wangsness most recently served as president and CEO of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, where he guided the development of the facilityโs new Graduate Medical Education program and provided oversight of a major expansion project currently under way.
One of his last public appearances as AHWCโs leader was at the North Tampa Bay Chamber breakfast at Pasco Hernando State Collegeโs Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch on Nov. 5, where Wangsness was the featured speaker (top left photo).
โI am excited and honored for the opportunity to serve AdventHealth Tampa and the surrounding community, working alongside the incredible leaders, physicians and team members to provide whole-person care,โ Wangsness said. โTogether, we will make a profound difference in the lives of those we serve.โ
Wangsness earned his Bachelorโs degree in Economics and Masterโs degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC).
Good Luck, Ryan!
Quattlebaum (photo provided by AdventHealth) takes over for Wangsness at AHWC.ย
Taking over for Wangsness as the newย president and CEO of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, effective Dec. 29, will be Ryan Quattlebaum (right photo). Quattlebaum will report to Jennifer Wandersleben, Heartland Region president and CEO, who also provides market leadership for Hardee, Highlands, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.ย
โRyan is a passionate leader, and it is a joy to see him grow and step into this new role. His vision and leadership will be instrumental in driving our continued growthย and success in Wesley Chapel, which is one of the fastest-growing communities in the West Florida Division,โ Wandersleben said.ย
Since 2022, Quattlebaum has served as the president and CEO for AdventHealth North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs. Under Quattlebaumโs leadership, the facility earned national accreditation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), the bronze standard โ Level 3 Geriatric Emergency Department (GEDA) accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians and โAโ Hospital Safety Grades from the Leapfrog Group in 2023.
โIโm honored to return to AdventHealth Wesley Chapel and work with dedicated care teams, physicians and leaders who are committed to providing whole-person care,โ Quattlebaum said. โAs I step into this new role, I look forward to building and strengthening relationships in our Wesley Chapel facility and surrounding community to expand our faith-based care and services.โ
Quattlebaum has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida in Gainesville and a Bachelorโs degree in Finance from La Sierra University. Heโs an active member of his community, serving as a committee member for the workforce improvement committee for the Florida Hospital Association and currently serves on the Policy Council of the Pasco EDC. โ GN
The Townes at Cross Creek townhomes by Lennar Homes (on Cross Creek Blvd., across from the main entrance to Heritage Isles) offer a more affordable alternative then most single-family homes in the New Tampa area. (Photo by Joel Provenzano)ย
A little over a year ago, in our Sept. 23 New Tampa issue, we told you about an upcoming townhome community that Lennar was getting ready to build, called the Townes at Cross Creek.
The unique thing about this development is the fact that it is new residential construction, in the heart of what was otherwise an entirely built out and established Cross Creek Blvd. corridor, something that hadnโt been seen in years.
For the past couple of years, townhomes have been extremely popular with buyers โ especially with rising real estate prices โas a mostly less-expensive option to traditional single family-homes, while still offering the living space, garages and floorplan options buyers desire, just with less land.
And, thatโs been great for Lennar, as the construction giant has been actively building a large portion of the new townhome market around the Tampa Bay area, typically at the lowest price point compared with their competitors, with DR Horton being Lennarโs closest rival.
Keeping Pace
According to sales rep Carlos Torres and construction manager Fernando Ospina, the Townes have been going absolutely gangbusters since they began being built in June of this year. And, thatโs without even having an onsite sales office open yet!
The Townes at Cross Creek are divided into two phases. Although there is no โPhase Aโ or โPhase Cโ (and we have no idea why), โPhase Bโ consists of 60 units (located directly across the street from the entrance to the Heritage Isles community); and โPhase D,โ consists of 35 units further to the east, being built almost simultaneously together, but oddly about a half mile from each other on two completely separate parcels of land.
As of Nov 25, 27 of the 60 units in Phase B were already, according to Lennarโs website, and the Lennar team told us a few more were working towards closing, including the โmodel,โ where the garage space was actively being built into the on-site sales office for the development (but it was not yet open as of our press time).
We were told that the buyer for the model was itching to close because, when the model sells while still being used as a model, the builder will do a lease-back to the buyer, effectively paying the buyer rent until Lennar is done using it and will then convert the sales office back into a two-car garage.
When Ospina, was asked why the on-site sales office wasnโt finished yet, he explained that,ย โIt took longer than expected to get the needed permit, but it was received Nov. 16,โ where they promptly started the build-out, and are now close to adding furniture. He chuckled and said the delay was due to, โThe City of Tampa, you know, being the City of Tampa,โ eluding to the always- arduous permitting process.ย
Other than that, he said construction had been going really well, with the number of days for each townhome building completion (under his purview) being only about 129 days, a full month faster than the average for his company.
โEven though weโve been doing great, we could ideally use another construction manager to help keep pace,โ Ospina said as he flipped through the multi-page checklist he had in his hands, detailing inspection item after inspection item, everything that needed to be perfect before a unit could be finished.
Details & Pricing
The day we showed up to look at the community, three other groups of people also pulled up (one of whom had an appointment), but Torres was able to effectively split up his time, making sure everyoneโs questions were answered.
Torres said that theyโve been so busy that they wondered if they would really even need to open the on-site sales office at all. Heโs been driving out and meeting people with appointments on-site, and currently any customers who want to sit down and discuss numbers or go over paperwork have met him at Lennarโs Two Rivers office in Zephyrhills, about 10 minutes away, at: 35027 Brackett Bend Rd.
Ospina said that most of the buildings will be done over the next five months, with occupancy for Phase D being ready in March, April, and May. The very last building on the project schedule is actually a 6-unit building across from the future on-site sales office in Phase B, to be ready for occupancy before the fall of next year.
As construction progresses, units are only being released for sale in very small handfuls. Lennarโs online transparency makes seeing the inventory quick and straightforward. The website for the community actually shows which units have sold, which are currently for sale (with exact current prices) and which ones are upcoming on an interactive map, along with the floorplans.
All three floorplans feature 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with usable covered patios that can easily be screened. All units also have large kitchen islands (above), as well as a second-story loft, which even the in the small plan was still a usable size and layout. Here are the three units at the Townes:
Allegiance – 1,597 sq. ft., with a 1-car garage; being offered at $319,990
Constitution – 1,760 sq. ft., 1-car garage; being offered at $339,900
Declaration- 1,807 sq. ft., 2 car garage; being offered at $364,900 (this is the model and the end units on each building)
These were the advertised online prices at the time of writing the article and are subject to change), but Torres said that additional discounts may be offered at various times, and the prices for the Declaration plan may go all the way up to around $410,000, depending upon the lot.
The prices seem very competitive to whats being offered in other Lennar communities, especially considering these are being built in the desirable and geographically well-positioned New Tampa. Prices are even similar to what was being sold by Lennar up in Connerton, a community on the north end of Land Oโ Lakes, but these New Tampa units do come with some drawbacks.
The $384 monthly homeowner association (HOA) fee is definitely on the high side, especially considering that this community has no amenities. Torres also says that no utilities are included in the HOA fee, but that it does cover outside maintenance and insurance. The units at the Townes also have tiny backyards โ noticeably smaller than other recent townhome communities weโve toured.
Torres asked that anyone interested in seeing the community should make an appointment, and check to see if the on-site sales office has been opened yet. The phone number is (888) 211-6153. Carlo Torres also can be reached by email at carlo.torres@lennar.com.
In our Oct. 29 issue, we told you that Box of Cubans restaurant was getting ready to open in the space previously occupied by Mochinutโs New Tampa location at 17512 Doรฑa Michelle Dr., off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just north of the BBD exit off I-75 in the area known as Highwoods Preserve.
(Photo by Katherine Baker)
Well, owners Marcos and Oni Silverio and their son, Marcos Jr. (MJ) have now opened their second Box of Cubans location (the other is in Riverview) and everything weโve sampled so far has been pretty great.
In addition to tasty pressed Cuban sandwiches (left photo), Box of Cubans also offers 14 different varieties of empanadas โ from beef & cheese and chicken to banana nutella and guava & cream cheese. My current favorite sandwich is the โpan con bistec,โ with mojo-marinated Palomillo steak, Swiss cheese, sautรฉed onions, crispy potato straws, mayo and a house cilantro sauce (top photo). There also are Cuban rice bowls with black or red beans and your choice of protein, garlic toast and sweet plantains that I havenโt sampled yet, although I did also enjoy Box of Cubansโ black beans and rice.
Box of Cubans also serves a variety of breakfast items, even though it doesnโt open until 11 a.m. during the week and 10 a.m. on Saturday & Sunday. โWe sell our breakfast all day,โ Marcos told me. โAnd we already have customers coming in at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday ordering our breakfast sandwiches.โ
The bacon, egg & cheese on pressed Cuban bread is delicious and I also enjoyed the ham, egg & cheese empanada. But, my surprise favorite breakfast item is the torrejas, or Cuban-style French toast (right photo), which is topped with powdered sugar and served with both breakfast syrup and a warm strawberry dipping sauce. Incrรฉible! The cafรฉ con lechรฉ is excellent, too, and other hot and cold coffee drinks are available.
To place an order online, visit BoxofCubans.com, or call (813) 632-9021 and please tell them I sent you! โ GN
