On Aug. 10, District 15 U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Brandon) made a speaking appearance at the 2&2 Restaurant (located at 33835 S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel) owned by Kruth (Kurt) and his wife Suzie Sombutmai (photo above).
At the speaking engagement, which also was supported and attended by the East Pasco Chamber of Commerce, Congresswoman Lee made it clear that she believes the “Big Beautiful Bill” recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump, “will definitely help small businesses and seniors,” even though the law’s detractors say that it favors large corporations and billionaires and will cut funds for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Lee’s district also includes all of New Tampa and she has an office in Tampa Palms. The former Hillsborough Circuit Judge and Florida Secretary of State said that even though the Hillsborough portion of her district leans “more blue than red,” she is able to “reach across the aisle” and work with Democrats “whenever necessary,” such as the bill she co-sponsored with Dist. 14 Rep. Kathy Castor to fight human trafficking.
The Hub At Lexington Now Has 13 Confirmed Tenants, With Just A Couple Of Spaces Still Available. Here’s The List!
Remember how excited you were when The KRATE at The Grove container park opened? Get ready for a similar feeling, as The Hub at Lexington — which is being developed by the same group that built The Hub at Bexley off S.R. 54 in Land O’Lakes — is bringing something “far beyond” the usual strip retail plaza, according to Courtney Bissett-Hayes of Center Connect Development.
“We currently have thirteen tenants confirmed for The Hub at Lexington,” Bissett-Hayes says, “and we have just a couple of spaces still available.”
Nine of the confirmed tenants are restaurants and/or beverage providers, along with one golf simulation business called The Clubhouse, a barber shop called Headlines, the Lexington Nail Lab and Suncoast Charging, an Electric Vehicle charging “experience.”
On this page is a collage of the logos of eleven of the 13 tenants, with two of the restaurants (both marked with an [*] in the collage) — La Creacion Bistro and Island Grill — not having logos available at our press time.
“The Hub at Lexington will be a great, upscale place for families to dine and enjoy,” Bissett-Hayes says. “With nine artificial trees providing a large shaded area.”
Yes, the wait is finally almost over. The Hub At Lexington, which we first told you about nearly two years ago, is finally almost ready (photo) to unveil this 40,000-sq.-ft. Hub where you can “Sip, Savor & Socialize” on the southwest corner of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and Lexington Oaks Blvd., in front of the Sentosa apartments.
The brother-&-sister partners of Center Connect Development — Paul Bissett and Courtney Bissett-Hayes — expect the first of the 13 announced tenants to begin opening sometime early next year, as the six buildings are now being turned over to those tenants for build-out. Those tenants include nine local and regional restaurants in six buildings and The Clubhouse golf simulation experience and more.
“We don’t like to announce who’s coming to our developments until the tenants are all finalized,” says Bissett-Hayes. “We don’t like having premature announcements or misinformation getting out there until the tenants are committed and we like to keep it fresh in the minds of those in the area since they should be opening within the next several months.”
And, like the super-successful Hub at Bexley, Bissett-Hayes says, “There will be live music Friday and Saturday nights, pop-up markets twice a month and seasonal holiday events that will begin when tenants open for business.”
The Hub at Bexley is anchored by the popular BellaBrava Italian restaurant and will soon add BellaBrava’s sister restaurant, Stillwaters Tavern, on an outparcel of that Hub.
But, despite rumors that either BellaBrava or Stillwaters was coming to The Hub at Lexington, neither one is part of our area’s equally exciting new lineup of food & beverage providers — a couple of which are familiar names to fans of the KRATE at The Grove container park.
The first of those is La Creacion Bistro, which is a sister restaurant to La Creacion Express in the KRATEs, but Bissett-Hayes says the new restaurant will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a completely different menu than what they serve at the KRATEs..
The other locally familiar name is the Brew Bar Self Pour, which will share a space with Urban Crunch Creamery Café.
The Brew Bar/Urban Crunch combo will offer self-pour beer and wine, similar to what the Brew Bar offers at the KRATEs, plus ice cream, açai, coffee and perhaps most important of all, frozen drinks like daiquiris. “It was very important for us to hit this category and Urban Crunch was selected over two others in this category.”
Urban Crunch has a sister location in nearby Odessa that also serves breakfast and brunch items, but the Urban Crunch at The Hub will not be serving those items.
Another exciting option, with a sister location in the River Hills Plaza in Valrico, is The Landing Bar & Grill, which is where you’ll want to watch all your favorite sports. The Landing in Valrico has a huge menu, with unique appetizer options like Aztec chowder (white bean chicken chili), traditional pierogies, Cajun fish bites and even pizza fries (a large order of fries topped with mozzarella and pepperoni, served with marinara.
Sandwiches include a meatball hoagie, Philly cheesesteak and even a California chicken sandwich. Or, sample entrées like grilled, fried or blackened grouper, salmon or jumbo shrimp dinners, a low-carb grilled chicken dinner with broccoli, plus great salads, wings, pizzas, flatbreads, pastas and much more.
Again, we haven’t seen The Landing’s Hub menu yet, but you know we’ll keep you posted!
Also coming to The Hub at Lexington is The Monk’s Indian Fusion Cuisine, which has a dozen locations in Indiana, Colorado and nine in Texas. This “Desi-Chinese” eatery combines the different flavors of India and China in one location, with a huge variety of samosas, dosas, naan breads and Indian entrées like paneer or chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, a variety of biryanis and vindaloo options and much more.
Among the Chinese entrées are Sichuan, chilli garlic and Manchurian sauces with gobi (cauliflower), paneer, chicken or shrimp. The other Monk’s locations even have my favorite Indo-Chinese dish — wok-tossed hakka noodles and fried rice with your choice of meat or veggies.
Speaking of Asian cuisine, The Hub at Lexington’s lineup also will include Saigon Pho Wesley Chapel, which has a location called Banh Mi & Boba at The Hub at Bexley. Like Banh Mi, Saigon Pho will feature Vietnamese fare featuring pho noodle soups, grilled plates and banh mi sandwiches.
Still another interesting option is Farmer’s Milk, which is a café and bakery with a sister location in Hollywood, FL, that sells everything from whole cakes, French croissants and Russian sourdough rye breads called borodinsky, plus breakfast items, including syrniki, which are small, pan-fried pancakes made from mild tvorog (aka “Farmer’s”) cheese that are sweet enough to enjoy as a dessert. There also are eggs Benedict and other options. Farmer’s Milk’s website says its menu is “packed with wholesome dishes emphasizing healthy eating and high-quality products.”
But wait, there’s still more! You cinnamon roll fans will flip for Cinnaholic Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls, which started in California and today has more than 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada, including one on S. Howard Ave. in South Tampa. The 100% plant-based rolls, plus brownies, cookies and more, are “all made with the highest quality ingredients” and you can custom-design your own rolls with everything from “Old Skool” vanilla frosting to caramel apple pie frosting and one I will have to try — the “Shake, Rattle & Roll,” with peanut butter frosting, pretzels, banana slices and homemade peanut butter cups. Are you kidding me?
The final restaurant on the list is Island Grill, which is billed as a Caribbean fusion restaurant, but we don’t have any additional info or a logo to show you yet. “They are still finalizing their menu,” Bissett-Hayes says. “But, it will be very authentic because the principal is from the islands.” The hope here is that there will lots of fresh fish and seafood on that menu.
And then there’s the “golf simulation experience” known as The Clubhouse. Although there are multiple such businesses across the country by the same name — some of which are also restaurants and/or sports bars — Bissett-Hayes says this incarnation of The Clubhouse is a start-up entertainment venue unrelated to any others I found online and will not serve its own food or beverages.
“It will have six golf simulators and a putting green,” she says. “Customers will be able to order food and drink from our restaurants to be delivered or brought in while at The Clubhouse.”
The Clubhouse will have some PGA teaching pros who will be offering lessons. So far, it has commitments from local pros at courses like Lake Jovita and Hunter’s Green Country Clubs.
Bissett-Hayes says that The Clubhouse also will be sampling some small merchandise items like balls, gloves and some branded clothing items like golf polos. These are mainly just for fun and if someone needs some balls (although all of the bays will come with balls). Another possible service would be club fittings with whatever club partner they end up using. But, she says, “that probably only be once or twice a year and would be more of a partnership with the club maker and the orders would go directly to them.”
The final three tenants already signed up to join The Hub at Lexington are the Lexington Nail Lab and Headlines Barber Shop, both of which have related locations at The Hub At Bexley, and Suncoast Charging. Headlines also has nearby locations on County Line Rd. in New Tampa and in The Pointe at Tampa Palms.
Meanwhile, co-founder Wesley Sima of Suncoast Charging says, “We’re building more than just an EV charging network — we’re shaping the future of electric mobility to improve the EV charging experience: making it faster, more reliable, and accessible for all drivers. We believe charging should fit seamlessly into your journey and lifestyle. That’s why our stations are designed not only with cutting-edge, high-speed and dependable charging technology, but also with premium amenities that turn every stop into a comfortable and convenient experience. Whether you’re commuting, running errands, road-tripping, or managing a fleet, we’re committed to delivering the gold standard of EV charging.” Suncoast Charging at The Hub will be open 24 hours a day and customers can use a variety of different payment methods including credit card (not just a phone app). Customers also can navigate to the charging station through the Tesla app or through other in-car navigation apps like Google Maps, PlugShare, and many others.
For more info about the remaining spaces at The Hub at Lexington, call Courtney Bissett-Hayes at (813) 340-7936.
The rendering above, provided by Center Connect Development, shows what The Hub at Lexington will look like when it is completed and open for business.
(Above) New Tampa-raised pro tennis player Vasil Kirkov (no hat) shakes hands with Julian Cash after Vasil & partner Brad Stevens (below right) lost in two tough sets to Cash & partner Lloyd Glasspool in the 1st round at Wimbledon., who ended up winning the tournament. (Photos provided by Stoyan Kirkov)
In the 31 years I’ve owned this publication, I can’t recall having actually interviewed any kid raised in New Tampa who played at Wimbledon — the oldest and most prestigious professional tennis tournament in the world — or the US Open, the only tennis major played on U.S. soil (in Flushing, Queens, NY).
But now, I can’t say that anymore, as Bulgaria-born Vasil Kirkov, 26, who has been raised in New Tampa since he was nine, played Men’s Doubles at Wimbledon with his partner Bart Stevens from The Netherlands — and has now also made it into the Men’s Doubles draw at the US Open.
The unseeded duo lost in straight sets (6-7[6-8], 4-6), in the first round in July at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London — to the #5-seeded doubles team of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool. The British duo ended up winning the entire tournament — becoming the first all-English pair from the host country to win the Men’s Doubles title at Wimbledon in 89 years — and lost only one set along the way.
“We definitely gave them as tough a match as anybody,” Vasil says. “We even took them to a tiebreaker in the first set. So, even though we ended up losing, I thought we played very well.”
Very well indeed for a team that only made it into the Wimbledon draw as the third alternate and had to wait for a call that said they were going to compete there. Even with that loss, however, Vasil is now ranked a career-high #78 in the world as a doubles player (Stevens is #74) and since Wimbledon, the pair made it to the Finals of the ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Hagen, Denmark, earlier this month.
Vasil says that he started his tennis “career” on “the courts in Hunter’s Green. I can still remember the first time I hit on Court 3 with my brother Kiril (who ended his tennis career after playing in college).” Depending upon which surface his next tournament will be played on (clay or hard-court), Vasil continues to practice when he’s in town at the courts at either Arbor Greene or Hunter’s Green.
He also admits that his mom Tanya used to beat him “until I was 11 years old, so she definitely played her part in this.” He credits his father Stoyan as his self-taught coach, even though Stoyan was never a high-level player himself.
Now standing 6’-1” tall, Vasil says he was home-schooled beginning with the seventh grade — after attending Benito Middle School on Cross Creek Blvd. for 6th grade. “I was playing tournaments all over and traveling too much to continue to attend school,” he says. “I had a lot of success in junior tournaments.”
So much success, in fact, that he says he was “always ranked in the top five of my class [nationally] when I was 18.” In fact, at the 2017 French Open on clay in Paris, France, Vasil and his then-partner Danny Thomas made it to the finals, but were defeated in straight sets (4-6, 4-6) by the team of Nicola Kuhn and Zsombor Piros.
And, even though he had offers from a number of Division I NCAA tennis programs, Vasil decided to turn pro. “That was more than eight years ago,” he says, “Looking back on that decision, it would have been nice to have that college experience, but I’m happy with my decision.”
He started out playing both singles and doubles as a pro, but injuries kept him from ever rising above the #439 in the world singles ranking he achieved in 2021. For his career, Vasil has won 10 ATP Challenger Tour and eight ITF doubles titles. He began partnering with Stevens in Oct. 2024 and, at our press time, the pair had a decent career match record together of 244 wins and 180 losses. Kirkov’s career pro tennis earnings recently surpassed $200,000.
“We know what we have to do in order to be successful,” Vasil says. “So, that’s what we’re focused on; not just the outcome.”
On To The US Open? YES!
Armed with his highest-ever doubles ranking and very good recent results, Kirkov and Stevens have now made it into the 64-team Men’s Doubles bracket at the 2025 US Open. The unseeded duo will take on the also-unseeded team of N. Siriam Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli of India tomorrow — Friday, August 29 — in their first-round match. We’ll keep you posted about this and all of Kirkov & Stevens’ matches at this year’s fourth and final tennis major, which is being played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens. The Wimbledon-winning team of Cash and Glasspool is seeded #1 at the US Open.
Even though US Open play has now begun, Stoyan says Vasil is still seeking local sponsorships as he continues his pro tennis journey.
If your business could benefit from having your name and/or logo seen by a world-wide TV audience, call Stoyan at (813) 841-8014 or email K1tennis@yahoo.com.
I will readily admit that among the dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals that I saw during my years of living in New York, “The Music Man” was never one of my favorites. But, I only ever saw the hit 1962 movie starring Robert Preston as the conniving Prof. Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as the lovely librarian/music teacher Marian Paroo — although I was in the show’s (barbershop) “Quartet” in my high school’s performance of the classic Tony Award-winning hit.
I thought the story of Hill, the traveling salesman/con man, and his duping of a town full of weird and often stupid characters, created by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, was just too dated and not as much fun as some others.
But honestly, to me, the New Tampa Players’ (NTP) production of “The Music Man” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center was better than the movie. And apparently, I wasn’t alone. All of the people sitting around Jannah and me raved about the talented cast and their beautiful singing voices, the sets, the costumes and the 15-piece orchestra — the largest ever for an NTP production — under the musical direction of the great G. Frank Meekins. I hope director Angel Borths, choreographer Tatiana Eriksen, costume designers Shelley Giles, Heather Cleveland, Travy Stemm and Dave Giles and production manager (and NTP producing artistic director) Nora Paine and the entire cast and crew are proud. This also was the first NTP show I’ve seen with sign language interpreters (photo below)!
The amazing Melanie Bierweiler was correctly sassy as Marian (and did a fantastic job singing “Goodnight My Someone” and “Till There Was You”) and David Groomes didn’t disappoint in the demanding role of Prof. Hill on “Ya Got Trouble,” “76 Trombones” and with Melanie on “Till There Was You.” The “Quartet” of Chase Reeder, Michael Bonassar, Jacey Squires and James Cass hit every note of every song, including on “Lida Rose.”
Neil Bleiweiss provided great comic relief as Mayor Shinn and Becky Groomes correctly “overacted” as his zany wife Eulalie. Talented youngsters Nora Duffy as Amaryllis (who sang like a songbird in duet with Melanie on “Goodnight My Someone”) and Luke Adams as Marian’s lisping brother Winthrop (who sang to the back of the theater on “Gary, Indiana”) showed that NTP has a bright future ahead. And, Debbie Scourtes brought a lot of verve to the role of Marian’s widowed mother Mrs. Paroo, who is trying to keep her daughter from becoming an old spinster.
You could just hear the audience hissing at the show’s one villain, Charlie Cowell (played to perfection by Stephon Mikell), and Jaden Figueroa and Chloe Tort were great as the young “troublemaker” Tommy Djilas and Zaneeta Shinn (“Ye Gawd!”), respectively.
The largest cast I’ve ever seen in an NTP production also included the super-fun and funny Pick-A-Little Ladies (Lena Wigfall, Suzann Humara, Christy Adams and Chelsea Keith), plus nearly 20 “ensemble” players young and old (including the super adorable extra-young’ns Mars Wolfe Bonassar and Elliott LeFloch).
But, I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say that Gabriel Martin White as Hill’s buddy and fellow con man Marcellus Washburn was this show’s scene stealer. He got laughs — calling Hill by his real first name (“Greg”) throughout — and he brought to mind the young Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins” with his expressive face and high-flying, elastic-legged dancing. My pics did him no justice!
Great job, one & all!
Up next for NTP are another classic musical — “Oklahoma” — in October, and “The Sponge Bob Musical” (yes, really) in January. Auditions for both shows have already been held (although volunteers to help with both productions are still needed), so look for announcements about when tickets go on sale in these pages and at NewTampaPlayers.org. — GN
Chris Tomko of Senior Helpers (left) explains how the Virtual Dementia Tour works to Christopher Dobard at Blue Heron Senior Living in Wesley Chapel.
Although my mom isn’t suffering from any of the 180 different forms of dementia, I was happy to attend the “Virtual Dementia Tour” put on by Senior Helpers at Blue Heron Senior Living in Wesley Chapel on July 16.
I honestly believe that whether you know or think someone you love has Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia, the Virtual Dementia Tour will give you a new perspective on the diverse variety of problems most of us will deal with as we age, regardless of our whether or not our mental faculties ever diminish (more on this event below).
I also know that Blue Heron, owned and managed by TLC Management, is the only assisted living and memory care facility in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel that also offers skilled nursing for rehab or long-term care. Hosting events like the Virtual Dementia Tour just adds to the appeal of this 159,000-sq.-ft. residence where the opportunity to “age in place” has kept it near capacity since it first opened in 2021.
The new dining area in the newly expanded skilled nursing wing at Blue Heron.
“Our current occupancy is 100% in both long-term care and memory care and 90% in rehab,” says Blue Heron’s executive director Meagan Kopstad, “but we do have a couple of rooms available right now on the assisted living side.”
Blue Heron’s skilled nursing area added a new wing last year, “with 37 additional patient beds, bringing us up to 141 total,” says community relations director Lilly Gonzalez. “Those new beds are divided between the first and second floor — 18 on the first floor (for rehab) and 19 on the second floor (for long-term care).”
She adds, “We couldn’t hold our planned Grand Opening of the new wing last October because of the hurricanes that hit the area. In other words, your readers have never seen the new wing in print before.”
The new wing also includes a new dining area (photo above), a new patient lounge and a new nurses’ station.
With the expansion, Blue Heron Wesley Chapel now has a total of 248 residential units — 95 assisted living, 22 private memory care and the 141 skilled nursing units.
About The Virtual Dementia Tour
Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager admits that he failed the VDT miserably & got a better understanding of the lives of our elderly.
Blue Heron brought in Senior Helpers, the nation’s leading provider of in-home senior care, with more than 400 locations across the U.S., including a local location serving New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, to host the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT). Senior Helpers is certified to bring the VDT to Blue Heron and other assisted living facilities and, in just a few minutes, the tour definitely gave me new insight into the lives of the elderly.
VDT participants put provided inserts in their shoes with plastic pegs that push into your feet to simulate painful neuropathies.
You also put on glasses that blur your vision, similar to how cataracts affect your eyes. You also have to put on thick, heavy work gloves that significantly reduce your manual dexterity. And finally, you put on headphones that make it a lot more difficult to hear. Anyone you know have any of these issues?
You are then led into a room and given two tasks to do that would be simple for the average person to complete, but you are only given the instructions once, all while wearing the headphones. Pretty much everyone, including yours truly, fails the VDT miserably. But in doing so, you can clearly see (once you take off the glasses, that is) how difficult the most mundane tasks can become.
This five-minute test is pretty much guaranteed to help you become more empathetic to your elderly loved ones — I know it’s helped me better understand some of the things my mom is dealing with — and the VDT is just one of many free programs Blue Heron brings in for both its residents and members of the community.
One of the spacious private bathrooms in the newly expanded skilled nursing wing at Blue Heron.
The next such free event is being held on Wednesday, August 27, 10:30 a.m.- noon, and is called “Charting Your Course: Protecting Yourself, Your Loved Ones & Your Legacy.” Board-Certified Elder Law attorney Ed Spinks, a partner with Florida Elder Law & Legacy Planning, will lead the discussion so you can learn how to legally protect yourself, your family and your assets. “This is an essential first step in the estate-planning process and will help you take control of your future with confidence.”
Blue Heron also offers amazing amenities for all of its residents, like beautiful, enclosed courtyards and gardens, lounges, family rooms & dining rooms with delicious meals, a pub, a theater, a salon/spa, computers, internet and cable TV, a private dining room for family gatherings, an art studio and a wonderful life enrichment center with fun programs.
There’s always something to do for Blue Heron residents, where your loved ones can find compassion, companionship and care.
For more information about Blue Heron Senior Living (5071 Eagleston Blvd., Wesley Chapel), call (813) 454-0513, or visit SeniorLivingAtBlueHeron.com.
