Dr. Edward McNamara Of McNamara Health & Wellness Has Got Your Back! 

You’ll never feel rushed when you visit Doctor of Chiropractic Edward McNamara of McNamara Health & Wellness in the Summergate Professional Center in Wesley Chapel, who always takes the time needed to get to the root of his patients’ health issues. (Photo by Charmaine George) 

If you looking for a chiropractor who really cares about his patients and takes the time to get to know them and their health issues, then Dr. Edward McNamara at McNamara Health & Wellness in the Summergate Professional Center (behind Sam’s Club, on the north side of S.R. 56) in Wesley Chapel is who you want to see. 

Dr. McNamara, or “Dr. Mac” as many of his patients and friends refer to him, has been a practicing chiropractor for more than 23 years. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Dr. Mac obtained his Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree from Life University in Marietta, GA, in 1999. He worked in the Destin and Orlando areas first, before coming to practice in Wesley Chapel in 2015. 

“Trust is a big part of my job,” states Dr. Mac. “It’s a touchy-feely business, so if you’re not comfortable with me, you are not going to be receptive to my care. If you want to keep things quick, I can, but I am hands-on and I listen well. Generally, I spend time getting to know all about my patients and they end up hearing everything about me as well.” 

Spend five minutes talking to Dr. Mac and you’ll hear some great stories. From originally hailing from Buffalo, NY, to serving for ten years in the U.S. Air Force to working in the ceremonial honor guard at the White House during former President Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Dr. Mac always will put you at ease while he’s taking care of you. 

“I believe in being personable, effective, affordable, and family-oriented,” Dr. Mac says. To that end, he is always happy to accommodate patients with evening, weekend, holiday, emergency and same-day appointments, over and above his regular office hours. 

In addition to providing full spinal adjustments, Dr. Mac is familiar with a variety of active release and massage therapies as well as exercise rehabilitation. He believes strongly in minimizing the use of drugs or surgery. 

“Human beings were not born with too many parts and not enough pills,” says Dr. Mac. “Surgery and medications can help for a while, but then the body can become reliant on them. It’s better to help the body heal itself.” 

Some common conditions that Dr. Mac can help with include back, neck and musculoskeletal pain, headaches and migraines, sinus pain, jaw pain (such as temporomandibular joint, or TMJ) pain, whiplash injuries from car accidents, work-related injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and a variety of sports injuries. 

Dr. Mac will do everything he can to help you with your chiropractic needs,, but if you are having issues outside of his scope, he has a wide network of doctors and medical clinics that he can refer you to for further testing, such as X-rays or MRIs, without having to wait three months for an appointment. 

Dr. Mac says he first got interested in chiropractic therapy in his youth after getting hurt while playing rugby. He now assists athletes, weightlifters, gymnasts, cheerleaders, dancers and more heal from their injuries faster and can even help increase their athletic performance. He says chiropractic care can improve anyone’s range of motion, flexibility, balance, coordination, reaction times and speed. 

Patient Peggy D’Alessandro recalls a positive experience when bringing her daughter to the office. 

“So thankful for Dr. McNamara!,” Peggy said in her 5-star review. “My daughter hurt her back while cheerleading. After a few days, I began to worry because she was still in pain, so I brought her in to see Dr. Mac. Her pain was relieved in minutes and completely gone by the next day! It was her first time seeing a chiropractor so she was a little bit nervous, but he was so nice, made her laugh and really put her at ease. We both couldn’t have been happier!” 

In addition to adults and athletes, Dr. Mac has patients of all ages — from babies to age 80. 

“Being born can be pretty traumatic for babies,” Dr. Mac says. “I help infants with reflux, colic and infant adjustments, which are very different than the adjustments that I perform for adults. School-aged children also need help with pain from those heavy backpacks, ‘cell phone neck,’ minor sports injuries, scoliosis and allergies (sinuses). I’m also available to give sports physicals to students.” 

He adds, “Pregnant women often suffer aches and pains and chiropractic care before delivery can help reduce labor time. Seniors come to get relief from basic arthritic conditions.” 

Patient Lauren Cione, who was suffering from back pain during her pregnancy, says, “Dr. Mac made me feel so comfortable and adjusted me while I was pregnant. When my son was born, he kept leaning his head to the left side. I knew I could trust Dr. Mac to adjust him when he was only 4 weeks old and he had instant relief.” 

Dr. Mac’s “receptionist” Wolverine is really his 8-year-old son Sebastian. (Photo provided by Dr. Mac) 

Dr. Mac works alone, so you will always talk to and receive care from him directly. But, on some days, especially Saturdays, you may also see his part-time “receptionist” — his eight-year-old son, Sebastian. Often dressed up as Wolverine (after giving up his Spider-Man persona), Sebastian will greet patients and works hard as the “face of the practice” to get his $1-per-hour paycheck that he’ll cash with his dad later at the bank. 

Dr. Mac loves to get involved in the community as well. “My son plays hockey, so I am always supporting sport fund raisers for kids,” he says. “I also am enthusiastic about helping those who are struggling with addiction.” 

If you visit the office’s Facebook page, you will see that Dr. Mac loves to help out, from promoting various donation efforts to offering assistance to local families needing extra help during the holidays. 

No matter how you interact with Dr. Mac, his patients say he’ll always try to help you. 

“The one thing that was a constant in my life was chronic back pain for 20+ years,” says patient Jay Forsythe. “Dr. McNamara is the FIRST to really help me instead of just saying ‘surgery or prescriptions’ and for that I am very grateful.” 

McNamara Health & Wellness is located at 27453 Cashford Cir., Suite #101. The office is open Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., and on Sat. by appointment. For more information, call (813) 343-1680 or visit LutzChiro.com to schedule an appointment today. You also may visit “McNamara Health & Wellness” on Facebook for the office’s latest updates and special offers. 

Chicken Guy! Is Finally Open & It’s Already Attracting Big Crowds! 

If you haven’t yet driven to, or by, the new Chicken Guy! restaurant, which finally opened on Jan. 7, on the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, at 25769 Sierra Center Blvd.), well, let’s just say you might be the only person in Wesley Chapel who hasn’t. 

The brightly colored eatery, founded in 2018 and co-owned by restaurateur Robert Earl (the founder of the Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich chains) and Food Network star Guy Fieri, has been packed virtually all the time from the moment it opened, especially the drive-through, which has caused some backups onto 56 from the traffic circle adjacent to the restaurant. 

The Neighborhood News was on hand for both the Friends & Family event on Jan. 6 and the actual opening the next day, when (l.-r. in top photo) Marcelo Cardoza (the manager of culinary operations for Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich, LLC), franchise co-owners Suhail Rifae and Moe Khalil were joined by Jason Taliaferro (the senior VP of Chicken Guy!) to introduce the Wesley Chapel/Lutz community to Chicken Guy!’s always-fresh chicken. 

Fieri, the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Flavortown,” offers several varieties of chicken at the new fast-casual chain, including his seasonal limited menu items like the pepperoni chicken parm sandwich (right photo, shown with Guy fries and the chopped cheese & chicken eggrolls), as well as “Big Bite,” two-tender sandwiches like the BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato; above photo, shown with mac & cheese and a thick, hand-spun Oreo Flavortown shake); the CG Classic and Buffalo Mac ‘N’ Cheese Sandwich. 

All of the fried sandwiches and tenders come lightly seasoned, so you can add your favorite Fieri-created sauce from “The Boss of Sauce” list (below). 

The good news is that if you’re not a fried chicken lover, all of the sandwiches and tenders also are available grilled, instead of fried, and there are two salad options (including the chopped chicken Caesar with chopped grilled tenders below left). 

About the only menu items we haven’t yet sampled are the fried chicken dumplings (topped with smoked bacon, green onions & sesame seeds) and a few shake varieties. Go give it a try! 

For info, call (813) 344-3311 or visit ChickenGuy.com & tell GM Trevor McIntyre (below) I sent you! 

Tous Les Jours Bakery Opens In Former Capital Tacos Location On S.R. 56! 

Congratulations to the owners of the new Tous les Jours bakery franchise at 27209 S.R. 56 — in the former location of Capital Tacos

Like the Tous les Jours inside the Lotte Plaza Market in New Tampa, the Wesley Chapel location offers a large selection of freshly baked croissants, pastries, donuts, breads and more — in both sweet and savory varieties — as well as cakes, coffee drinks, teas, smoothies, lemonades and much more. 

Photographer Charmaine George and I have visited the new Tous les Jours twice and the first thing we both noticed is how much nicer and more spacious the new location is than the one in the Lotte Plaza Market food court. There are several tables, as well as couches, for enjoying your purchases inside the shop, which in no way still resembles the old Capital Tacos. 

As for the baked goods, among the sweet options we’ve sampled are an almond croissant, a large Mont Blanc pastry (which is like a huge, crispy outside-flaky inside cinnamon roll), a strawberry croissant filled not only with super-fresh strawberries, but also whipped cream, and a mini caramel apple pie. The savory items we’ve tried and enjoyed include a ham-&-cheese croissant, a spinach and feta pastry (which is both sweet and savory), a croque monsieur sandwich (a grilled French-style ham and cheese sandwich) and a sausage onion pastry, which is like a hot dog surrounded by a pastry with onions, cheese and ketchup. There also are several different kinds of milk breads, full bread loaves stuffed with whipped cream and so many more. We haven’t tried any of the cakes yet, but give us time! 

As for beverages, I’ve enjoyed both the vanilla latte and caramel macchiato and Charmaine and I agreed that the fresh, thick, hand-spun mango smoothie (below) was delicious. There also is a huge selection of hot and iced teas available and more! 

Tous les Jours is a French-inspired — its name literally means “Every Day” in French) — Korean-owned chain of bakeries with 1,700 locations around the world, including more than 100 (and growing) in the U.S. 

The Wesley Chapel Tous les Jours is open every day from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and although the menu doesn’t include some of the freshly made sandwich items other Tous les Jours stores carry, the hope here is that they’ll add some of those items in the future. 

For more info, call (813) 388-5612 or visit tljus.com. — GN 

New Tampa’s Winn-Dixie To Become Another Aldi

As previously announced, the last remaining New Tampa Winn-Dixie supermarket, located at 6425 County Line Rd. (in the same plaza as LA Fitness), closed on Dec. 8 and is in the process of being converted to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area’s third ALDI grocery store. 

We were told that it would be several months before the new ALDI would open, but this Germany-based international brand already has nearly 2,500 U.S. supermarkets and more than 200 stores in Florida, including at 18002 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in New Tampa and at 2215 Sun Vista Dr. in Lutz (in front of Costco). 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the still-open (at least at our press time) Winn-Dixie in the Towne Center of Wesley Chapel plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd. told us there are no plans to close that store. — GN 

New Tampa’s Holiday Season Includes Two ‘Nutcrackers’ & Much More! 

As a direct-mail newspaper that only hits mailboxes every four weeks, it’s hard for us to publish some stories because they’re already “old” by the time our next issue reaches you. 

For example, by the time this issue reaches you, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will all be distant memories and the year 2025 will already be in full swing, as even the kids will be back in school the same day this issue is scheduled to reach you. 

Even so, photographer Charmaine George and I attended many of the local holiday-themed events last month — some or even all of which you may have missed — including two different local performances of “The Nutcracker,” the annual New Tampa Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah lighting events and even the unique second-annual Renaissance-era “Madrigal Dinner” hosted by the Freedom High chorus at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, which isn’t specifically a holiday event, but which was held on December 5 and included an actual delicious dinner for those who attended. 

The two photos above are from the New Tampa Dance Theatre’s “preview” performance on Dec. 7 at the Shops at Wiregrass. Charmaine took these pictures since neither she nor I were available to attend NTDT’s full “Nutcracker” ballet performances at the University of South Florida Dec. 20-22. Charmaine said that the huge crowd of people at the mall was definitely captivated by the ballet. 

I took the three photos above during one of the Tampa City Ballet (TCB)’s three performances of “The Nutcracker” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) Dec. 13-15. Not only were the dancers (adults and children) all amazing, the choreography by TCB’s Paula Nunez, as well as the costumes and sets, were all as impressive as you would see at any big-city ballet company performance of Tchaikovsky’s holiday masterpiece. TCB also performed “The Nutcracker” at USF Dec. 7-10. 

I had really hoped to attend Freedom High’s Madrigal Dinner at NTPAC (see the left photo and the photo below) but Charmaine said it was super-fun, with great singing, funny skits and a delicious dinner of chicken parmesan and salad, plus tiramisu for dessert. 

On Dec. 2, the City of Tampa’s New Tampa Recreation Center and Parks & Recreation Department hosted the annual Christmas tree lighting event and parade (photos below) and a nice crowd of around 200 people attended to participate and watch the youth dance performances, enjoy the lighting ceremony and spend a little quality time with Santa Claus himself! 

And finally, on Dec. 26 (the second night of Hanukkah), the New Tampa Rec Center also hosted the second annual Hanukkah menorah lighting event, which featured prayers, songs and a wonderful message delivered by Rabbi Mendy Yarmush of Chabad of Wiregrass, which is now the only Jewish congregation in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel. Both the Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations at the Rec Center were organized in part by District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera.