If you read this publication regularly, you know that District 7 Tampa City Council member and New Tampa resident Luis Viera will reach his term limits when Tampaâs Municipal Elections are held next March.
Youâre probably also aware that Viera is now actively campaigning to replace his friend (and current Florida House Minority Leader) Fentrice Driskell in the Dist. 63 State House seat in the November midterm elections.
But, that doesnât mean Viera is done fighting for the New Tampa community he calls home in City Council. Not by a long shot.
Below are just a few of the items Viera has either recently gotten passed or is still working to bring to fruition:
Morris Lopez Street Renaming â Although this one doesnât directly benefit New Tampa, Viera has been lobbying for months to rename a street in Ybor City in honor of Tampa Police Officer Patrolman Morris Lopez, who was murdered on the streets of Ybor more than 75 years ago. Ofc. Lopezâs grandson, also named Morris Lopez, is not only a long-time New Tampa resident, but is also one of at least three people (Alan Cohn and Patricia Alonzo are the others, although only Lopez was listed at VoteHillsborough.govas having officially filed his paperwork at our press time) to fill Vieraâs soon-to-be-vacant seat.Â
City Council is expected to have a first reading regarding the street renaming in Lopezâs honor at one of the May Council meetings.
Viera says the honor for Patrolman Lopez is long overdue: âItâs just the right thing to do.â
New Tampa Police Substation â Viera, who has been fighting for months for a TPD substation somewhere in New Tampa, said during the Apt. 7 City Council meeting that he ârejectedâ the memo he and the other City Council members received from Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw on Mar. 17 (right) that said, âCurrently, however, the departmentâs most critical infrastructure priorities remain the construction of a new Forensic Facility and the development of a new Police Headquarters…Once progress is achieved on these critical projects, the department can better evaluate the need for future facility expansion opportunities, such as a New Tampa Substation, within a comprehensive long-term facilities plan.âÂ
âIâm not asking for a Taj Mahal big expenditure,â Viera says. âBut all of the Tampa Police Officers Iâve spoken with in New Tampa support renting some small office in a strip center where the officers could meet with the community.âÂ
Vieraâs motion for the City Council staff to look into what a substation office would cost and present a report to the Council, by the end of April or sometime in May, passed 5-0.
New Tampa Blvd. Repaving â The funds allocated for this item were approved by Council months ago, and construction was expected to begin by sometime this month, but has been delayed until June or July of this year. In the meantime, almost all of the existing potholes on the 1.8-mile stretch of New Tampa Blvd. were recently filled in prior to the repaving (at left is one pothole that hadnât been filled in at our press time).
The Cityâs engineering department sent Viera the following memo: âThe New Tampa Blvd project is ready to execute once the processing is complete of the 26-C-06 contract that council approved during the 3-26-2026 meeting. We are expecting paving to begin on New Tampa Blvd around June/July 2026, but this may vary to be sooner or later depending on the contractorâs schedule/availability.â
Viera says, âYou know Iâll be obnoxiously on this one until itâs done.â
Nature Park All-Abilities Equipment Allocation â Viera also lobbied successfully for the City of Tampa to spend some of its surplus funds from the Fiscal Year 2025 budget on two pieces of All-Abilities equipment for the New Tampa Nature Park off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
The equipment is allocated to cost $175,000 of the $4.4-million of the surplus funds to be spent on parks throughout the city.
(Above) The site map for Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, which shows the downtown area and the location of the new Avalon Park Blvd. (Below) An aerial view of Avalon Park, which shows the completed Avalon Park Blvd. (Photo and map both provided to the Neighborhood News by Avalon Park Group)
Nestled in the heart of Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (WC), a new pedestrian-friendly road runs through the growing community, connecting it from nearby residential areas to where apartments, townhomes and new businesses are now under construction.
Avalon Park Blvd. (see aerial photo below and map, above), located off S.R. 54 near Friendly Way, recently opened to drivers and pedestrians.Â
The roughly 1-mile road cost about $7 million to build, according to president and CEO Beat KĂ€hli of Avalon Park Group, the real estate development company behind the project.
KĂ€hli says that helping residents easily navigate to the businesses and schools in Avalon Park WC was a primary purpose of the Avalon Park Blvd. road project.
âIt is critical because it connects all of the residential homes,â KĂ€hli says. âIf you build a townâŠconnectivity is very important.â
The extension road runs alongside the developing downtown district, where the first phase of restaurants and retail spaces is already located beneath The Flats apartments. There also is an amphitheater beginning construction at one end of the Downtown Avalon Park WCâs Town Park, where live music performances and other events will eventually be held. Avalon Park Blvd. extends from S.R. 54 through the community, all the way to River Glen Blvd. in Hawthorne Village.
But, the road is just the latest piece of a larger effort to develop Phase 2 of Downtown Avalon Park WC.
Although KĂ€hli did not provide additional specific details about the businesses coming to Phase 2, he says a grocery store, a hotel and more than 150 townhomes are expected in the downtown area. Phase 2 also will include two mixed-use buildings (similar to The Flats), with 50,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space. âWe have a waiting list of possible tenants,â KĂ€hli says.
Also currently under construction near (but not in) the downtown district are Hamlet Cottage Homes, a Dunkinâ restaurant and Pinecrest High School (there currently are high school students being taught at the original Pinecrest Academy K-8 school).
As for the broader, 1,600-acre Avalon Park WC area, KĂ€hli says that nearly two dozen phases are planned over the next several years. He adds that the additional phases will include more schools, a day care center, an age 55- plus community and at least 10 new restaurants.
The community is designed around a âLive, Learn, Work & Playâ model, with interconnected neighborhoods and tree-lined streets that give Avalon Park WC a small-town, yet modern, feel.
The design encourages residents to stay within the community for their daily needs, from errands to entertainment.
The downtown area already is serving as s a central hub for events â including âAbsolutely Avalon,â âAvalon Aglowâ and the Wesley Chapel areaâs longest running open-to-the-public 4th of July fireworks display. As reported in the Neighborhood News, The Flats apartment complex and the first businesses in the downtown district opened nearly two years ago (in Sept. 2024).
A Tiny Bit Of History
Avalon Park Group has a history of launching multiple communities, including its flagship development in Orlando.
âWe bought 1,800 acres in 1988,â KĂ€hli says, âbut we waited until the 2000s to start construction, We branded that community (which will have around 20,000 total residents at build-out) as [the first] Avalon Park.â
âWe continue to believe that people should live where they can eat, be entertained, work and play,â KĂ€hli says.
If youâve recently driven by the Five Guys Burger & Fries located across the parking lot from Fresh Monkee, and next to the Maxâs Pet Market & Salon (photo) at 6431 E. County Line Rd. in New Tampa, youâre already aware that this location â which is hidden from view from both Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and County Line Rd. â has closed (its last day was Mar. 15).
One of the other store owners in the same plaza told me that they had heard that this location was Five Guys corporate-owned and that, âThe company apparently looked at the storeâs numbers and decided that it was time to just shut it down.â
The same store owner also said that, âThey literally came here on [Mar. 16] and took out most of the equipment, tore down the sign, packed it all onto a truck and drove away.â
We also have now been told by multiple sources that a Middle Eastern shawarma shop is expected to move into the now-empty Five Guys, although no one yet knows exactly when the new eatery is planning to open or its name.
In the meantime, please note that Five Guys not only still has more than 1,900 locations in operation around the world, it actually is expanding those numbers.
For New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents who still need their Five Guys burger, fries, shakes and unlimited peanuts âfix,â the franchised locations at 25599 Sierra Center Blvd., across S.R. 56 from the Tampa Premium Outlets, and at 28894 Wesley Chapel Blvd./S.R. 54, in Wesley Chapel, are both still very much open and hoping to see you soon.
Weâll keep you posted about the restaurant planned for the now-vacated Five Guys space.
For ordering and more information about Five Guys Burgers & Fries, visit FiveGuys.com. â GNÂ
The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOC) is casting some âshadeâ on developersâ ability to remove trees from their respective properties, after approving changes to the countyâs tree ordinance at the BOCâs Mar. 24 meeting.
By a vote of 5-0, commissioners agreed to update the ordinance to shore up protections for Pascoâs âHeritageâ trees â defined as live oaks 34 inches or larger in diameter or Southern magnolias 24 inches or larger â introducing new standards for tree canopy preservation and increasing both the fees for removal, as well as the credits for protection, of these trees.
Under these new standards, developers would be required to preserve 20 percent of the existing tree canopy of their developments, or the uppermost layer of trees whose branches and leaves cover the ground when viewed from above. For upland trees, these are measured by the total number of inches of upland trees that measure 10 inches in diameter at breast height (known as DBH).
DBH is a standard measurement to determine the diameter of a tree trunk, typically taken at an average adultâs chest height, which is roughly about 4.5 feet. Wetland trees are protected separately under state and local laws and require different levels of permits and regulatory consideration.
The new ordinance also requires that tree removal be submitted as part of a developerâs overall development plan.
When developers build out a new subdivision or apartment complex, they must pay a fee and either replace the trees or the fee goes into the Tree Mitigation Fund (TMF), which is funded by developers to allow the county to pay for a variety of tree canopy projects and is maintained separate from the countyâs general revenue.
Under this new ordinance, for each tree removed, developers will pay $75 per inch DBH (up from $50) for most trees, while the cost goes up to $150 per inch DBH for Heritage trees. When a developer preserves trees, it can receive a credit of $150 per inch for every non-Heritage tree 10 inches in diameter or larger they preserve, while they will receive a credit of $300 per inch for every Heritage tree preserved.
A cap also was established for the maximum contribution to the tree mitigation fund equal to $10,000 per upland developable acre, along with a cap exemption for Heritage trees â and exemption that was advocated by District 2 Commissioner and Board vice chair Seth Weightman in order to incentivize their protection.
During the meeting, Commissioner Weightman said that this was a âconsequential vote.â And, in a statement since that meeting to Neighborhood News, he said that the proposed ordinance will keep forward momentum for the preservation of Pascoâs Heritage trees for future generations while improving the overall tree canopy throughout the county.
âYou canât mitigate the destruction of Heritage trees,â Comm. Weightman said. âWith this vote, weâre truly looking out for the health of our environment, our communities and future generations. Iâm hopeful this will inspire developers to incorporate our Heritage trees into the design of our [Pascoâs] communities.â
According to the county staff, there currently is roughly $12.7 million in Pascoâs TMF. Funds can be pulled by the county from the TMF to pay for approved projects that increase Pascoâs tree canopy on county-owned properties, along with redevelopment of designated areas of the county through the Economic Growth Landscaping Program, which helps both homeowners and those affordable housing projects serving residents earning 80% of area median income or below, as well as any School Board beautification projects on campuses across the county.
Although the commission was supportive of the ordinance changes, some raised concerns that agricultural land owners looking to sell might be incentivized to clear cut their land before transferring the property to a developer, in order for the developer to avoid paying into the TMF once they acquire the property.
âIf you have a heavily wooded site and you want to sell it, the developer who wants to buy it is going to say âclear it first and then Iâll buy it,ââ stated Dist. 3 Comm. Kathryn Starkey, âI am happy to protect ag all day long. Iâm not happy to take ag and let them (developers) skirt around this tree protection ordinance.â
Concerns About HB 399
Comm. Weightman also raised numerous concerns about House Bill 399 (which was passed during the 2026 State Legislative session and recently signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis) during the BOC meeting and echoed those concerns to the Neighborhood News about its impact for county planning, but also said that the countyâs new tree ordinance can serve as a buffer to development.
âWhat the tree ordinance does,â says Comm. Weightman, âis that itâs a quality control mechanism for the environment, for neighbors and for projects So [developers] are gonna have to run a pro forma to see, based on $10,000 per upland developable acre plus the additional cost for Heritage trees, if them just coming in and blitzkrieging a site under the new House Bill 399 rules pencils out for them.â
House Bill 399 (see text of the bill below) immediately went into effect. Supporters of the new law say it will help with the housing and affordability crisis impacting the state but opponents say itâs another attempt to erode home rule and could make it harder for local governments to deny projects they deem incompatible.Â
The law requires local governments to tie development fees to the actual cost of project review, while also adopting more objective standards for compatibility within the existing neighborhoods and the surrounding area. It also requires cities and counties to provide reasoning for why a project is denied.
âIt erodes the ability for local planning commissioners to have a say,â Comm. Weightman adds. âItâs another golden ticket for development. The fact that local governments canât choose incompatibility to deny a project is absurd.â
Some Pasco County residents appearing at the Mar. 24 BOC meeting also raised some concerns about the impact that so-called state preemption laws might have on the tree ordinance and others wanted to see the canopy preservation percentage further increased.
âDue to the fact that the state preemption exemptions weaken the 20% canopy preservation standards, we need to increase that to 30 percent,â said Julia Bartunek of New Port Richey during public comment.
However, many residents were supportive of the changes and were thankful that the county was at least attempting to tackle this issue. âI just want to thank you all for even the idea of a tree ordinance, I really praise you all for that,â said Linda Blake, also of New Port Richey.
I remember being so pumped when Florida Avenue Brewing Company first opened its second location (the original is still in Seminole Heights) in the former location of Sports + Field on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel near the end of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was winding down. The on-site brewery (more on that below) wouldnât be operational for almost another year, but it was exciting to me that Florida Ave. was a big, non-chain real restaurant with an elevated, better-than-sports-bar menu that included items that became instant favorites of mine â such as Chinese sticky ribs and Korean-style bibimbap bowls, to name just two.
But, the restaurant was just really finding its way at that time and has since been through, âI believe, five executive chefs since then,â says general manager Monroe Brown (left in top photo), who was a server and mostly bartender at the location when it first opened. âBut, weâre really happy with the most recent version of the menu and our current executive chef â Baxter McManamy.â (right in the same photo)
Iâll have to second that, even though both of those early favorite dishes of mine are no longer offered. And, despite having been with Florida Ave. for about a year now, Baxter isnât taking credit for most of the new menu items, although he will say that heâs tweaked some of the recipes and given his sous chefs an opportunity to present new ideas to make the menu better, too.
All I can tell you is that the new formula is working. Jannah and I honestly avoided Florida Ave. the last couple of years because it seemed like it was turning into just another sports pub, but….
Check It Out Now!
If you check out the food pictures on this page, I think itâs pretty clear that Baxter, Monroe, the Derby family â Anthony, Amanda and their mom, Toni â and Florida Ave. are definitely back on the right track food-wise.Â
In the top photo on this page, Monroe is holding a super-tasty new Rice & Bean Bowl, with adobo rice, âRollinâ Derbyâ black beans, avocado and pickled red onions with âbistro steak,â Baxter says. âItâs a little tougher than filet mignon, but has a flavor similar to NY strip.â
If youâre looking for something a little more unique, perhaps try my favorite new menu item that photographer Charmaine George and I sampled on our most recent visit â the Gulf Coast mahi Fish âNâ Chips (left). Iâve never seen any restaurant use mahi for fish & chips, but it was beer-battered (âWe beer-batter a lot of our dishes,â Baxter said. âWhy wouldnât we?â), super-crisp and snow-white inside. Oh, and it was frickinâ delicious, too. It didnât even need the house-made tartar sauce served with it.Â
Speaking of fresh, before we move on, Monroe and Baxter invited me into Florida Ave.âs super-clean kitchen and showed me that while there are two huge, walk-in refrigerators in there, the freezer is about the size of one of the little ones youâd find in your neighborâs garage.
âWe just really donât freeze anything here,â Baxter said. âWe make most everything fresh.â
Another one of my new favorite options is the General Tsoâs cauliflower (right). Itâs served crispy outside, tender inside and the General Tsoâs sauce is sweet and a little spicy. I probably will order the spicy aioli on the side next time, just to keep the cauliflower at its peak crispness.
Another new favorite of mine is the new French onion dip handheld (below left). It features shaved ribeye, mozzarella and provolone, with a zesty horseradish cream on a toasted Amoroso roll. But, the big difference is the French onion broth that really gives this particular French dip a flavor all its own.Â
That same delicious onion flavor is encased in Florida Ave.âs tasty crock of French onion soup (above right), which properly covers the broth and toasted bread with a combo of melted mozzarella and provolone cheese, which almost mimics the more traditional taste of French gruyere.Â
Another recent addition is the Seasonal Grazing Board (left). For March, this selection of artisanal bites included Irish-style sausage, pretzel bites, kalamata olives, two kinds of cheese, red onions and a chunky tomato chutney. The seasonal board is made to pair with a four-beer flight. If youâre a beer drinker (Iâm really not), this is a great way to start your meal, especially with a group of friends. Of the four brews shown with the grazing board, my favorite was the Dead Parrot light lager, but Charmaine preferred the Luminescence Hazy IPA.Â
And, although Iâm not a big salmon eater and canât eat shrimp, Charmaine raved about both the BLT salad (below right) â with chopped romaine hearts, candied bacon, blue cheese crumbles, heirloom cherry tomatoes, chives, ranch dressing and balsamic glaze â which she had topped with blackened salmon that she said was flaky and delicately spiced; and the grilled Coastal Lime Shrimp tacos (top left). She loved the tequila lime aioli slaw and the fresh pico de gallo on top of the tacos, too.Â
Even though we didnât have room for dessert, we both still made room because the two house-made Florida Ave. desserts we sampled were both just so good!
Charmaineâs favorite was the warm coconut cake (below left), which swims in a pool of delicious rum sauce and is topped with grilled pineapple and whipped cream. Decadent.Â
But, my new favorite dessert is the Basque (Spanish-style) cheesecake (below right). The menu calls it âirresistibleâ and thatâs pretty spot-on. The tender crust has a delicious char, but the cheesecake itself is as creamy as a true NY-style, but not as dense, and as light and airy as an Italian-style ricotta-based cheesecake, but with a better texture and flavor. It didnât need the fresh berry coulis, but the end result was spectacular!Â
But, What If We Want To Drink?
Iâm so glad you asked. Jannah and I always sit in the comfy high-top bar chairs at Florida Ave., which has a big advantage over most other breweries in that it has a full, premium liquor bar, not just beer and wine. So, even though neither of us are partial to the interesting selection of Craft Cocktails on the menu (she would get the âThatâs My Jam,â with Titoâs vodka and a tropical syrup flavor, but would substitute club soda for the Regatta ginger beer it comes with), she has had excellent Cosmos at the bar and my Jameson on the rocks is always perfect. However, you Old Fashioned lovers will probably flip for the variety of âCask Craftedâ Old Fashioneds.
Florida Ave. also recently added a âTaproom Brunchâ every Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., with items like warm French toast bites, avocado toast, a breakfast flatbread (with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, borracha salsa and shredded mozzarella, topped with micro cilantro) and more. The brunch menu also includes bottomless mimosas and âbromosasâ (OJ with your choice of Florida Ave.âs Dead Parrot, Luminescence Hazy IPA or Youâre My Boy Blue). Thereâs even a mimosa flight served with four different kinds of juice.
For lunch every weekday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Florida Ave. offers a âPint & Plateâ lunch, with your choice of soup or salad, paired with one of five different main courses (a flatbread, smash burger, tacos, a chicken Caesar wrap or a chicken parm or Milanese Brew Pub Sub) and one free draft beer, or soft drinks or coffee, for just $15.
For âHoppy Hourâ (Mon.-Fri., 3 p.m.-6 p.m. and all night on Wed., from 3 p.m.-close), Florida Ave. offers its year-round draft beers for $5.25, specialty rotating draft beers from $6.25, sparkling, white or red house wines for just $6 and well & specialty cocktails for $7. Thereâs also a variety of Hoppy Hour âbitesâ for $5 (for cheese curds, loaded fries, crispy cauliflower & more), for $7 (for flatbreads or chicken wings) or for $9 (for tacos or Nashville chicken sliders).
And, of course, Florida Ave. also has a great fenced-in open area out back, with its own bar and table service, as well as arcade games inside for the kids, plus private indoor areas for catered meetings and events.
Now, let me see…what I am forgetting?
Of course…BEER! Not only is the Wesley Chapel Florida Ave. one of the largest independent breweries in Florida, which provides cans of its now-famous brews, ciders and seltzers to other bars, it offers a huge variety of its rotating, house-brewed beverages to its happy customers.
But, donât take my word for it. Florida Ave. has more than 1,200 5-star reviews on Google, including Sabine M., who wrote, âThis has to be one of the best breweries in the area. Every beer is delicious….They have amazing lunch deals…really cool space. A great place to meet up with friends.â
And, every Saturday, you can even bring your group on a tour of the brewery for just $12 per person, which includes a beer and a souvenir pint glass. You must be 21 for the tours, all sales are final and they should be booked in advance.
As Monroe says, âIf itâs been a while, come give us another try!.â
Florida Ave. Brewing Co. is located at 2029 Arrowgrass Dr. For more info, call or send a message to (813) 452-6333, visit FloridaAveBrewing.com or see the ad below for a FREE âFourcasterâ Appetizer Sampler!
