Anytime businesses — especially restaurants — go out of business in (or near) our distribution areas, I do feel their pain a little — although some more than others.
Case in point: Over the past couple of weeks, both the Bahama Breeze Island Grille (above) located at 25830 Sierra Center Blvd. (across S.R. 56 from the Tampa Premium Outlets) and the O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Grill at 5429 Village Market announced they were closing, albeit for different reasons.
Bahama Breeze, which is owned by Darden Restaurants, is closing all 28 of its remaining locations across the U.S., according to a Feb. 3 Darden news release, after previously shuttering a third of its locations in 2025.
Half of those remaining locations — including the one in Lutz/Wesley Chapel — will be converted to other Darden brands (see below), although it was not disclosed which locations would be converted into which brands.
The other 14 Bahama Breezes will close permanently on April 5. The 14 remaining open, including ten of the 14 in Florida, where the brand first opened in the 1990s, will remain open for the next 12-18 months, although there will likely be some temporary closures along the way, as needed for them to be converted.
The list of Darden brands still operating include a number of more upscale brands that many locals, after first reading about this news on social media, are hopeful will find a home at the location on S.R. 56. Here is that list of possible Darden brands our Bahama Breeze could become:
• Eddie V’s Prime Seafood
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• The Capital Grille
• Seasons 52
• Yard House
• Olive Garden Italian Kitchen
• Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
• Longhorn Steakhouse
• Chuy’s
Of course, Cheddars, Longhorn and Chuy’s all already have locations on S.R. 56 and many of us saw announcements that an undeveloped parcel on Wesley Chapel Blvd. to the east of Chick’n Fun already is supposed to be an Olive Garden. At our press time, however, we were unable to get confirmation as to whether or not Olive Garden is still coming to 27391 Centerline Dr., just west of Gateway Blvd., the plans for which were apparently submitted in Aug. 2025, or whether that location would preclude another Olive Garden being opened in the former Bahama Breeze spot.
Obviously, the first four or five (as most people would probably also be OK with Yard House) Darden brands on the list would be the most desirable to locals, but we will keep you posted on any such announcements.
O’Brien’s To Close February 21!
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post released on Feb. 2, Randy and Mike Goodwin, the owners of the O’Brien’s location in the Village Market (left) for right about 10 years, said that they will be hosting “An Irish Goodbye” party on Saturday, February 21, after which that O’Brien’s location would close permanently, “at the conclusion of our 10-year lease.”
The Facebook post said, “It is with full hearts, deep gratitude, and a touch of sadness that we share the news that O’Brien’s will be closing our doors [by] the end of February…At the end of 2024, the Village Market strip center was sold, and in early 2025, we began discussions with the new ownership (JBL Asset Management) in hopes of securing a renewed lease. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an agreement that felt sustainable for both sides. After much consideration, we made the difficult decision not to renew.”
There has been a huge outpouring of support for O’Brien’s, which has been the only full-band live music venue in Wesley Chapel pretty much since the day it opened, so I’m hoping that hundreds of those supporters will come out to say goodbye to Mike, Randy and their wonderful staff.
The event will feature O’Brien’s “beloved corned beef & cabbage,” as well as bagpipe music from Emma Briggs, Irish music from Captain Kirk and DJ Aloha Kev closing out the event — and the restaurant. It’ s just a shame we couldn’t get one final O’Brien’s St. Patrick’s Day event this year.
For more info about the O’Brien’s “Irish Goodbye” party, see the ad below.-GN
Before this past year, the only people I had ever heard of who were referred to as “influencers” were national and worldwide celebrities.
But, as the months went by in 2025, it seemed that half the people I met whenever Jannah, Charmaine and I would visit a new restaurant for the first time were either calling themselves or, more often, being referred to by the owners of those restaurants as “influencers.” Several were actually invited to be there to help the restaurants announce their respective openings, while yours truly had to drive by the places months before they were set to open, write about them multiple times and follow up still more times in order to attend their soft openings, “Friends & family” pre-openings or the actual openings of the places.
When I’ve asked some of these restaurant owners why they invited some of these influencers — many of whom I’ve had really nice chats with at these events; some of whom have even told me they’re “fans” of mine, the Neighborhood News or both — at least three or four restaurant owners have told me, “We always try to invite local influencers to help get the word out for us.” O.K.
Hey, I know I’m old school, but I can see now why so many young people are iPhone-recording every moment of their lives in an effort to become influencers. But, since I didn’t have any idea how many of them actually qualify for the title — or what criteria actually makes them able to qualify for it — I decided to do a little Google/ AI searching to try to find out what those criteria are and whether or not I and the Neighborhood News already meet those qualifications.
Here’s what I found:
Key Characteristics of an Influencer:
Authority/Expertise: They are seen as knowledgeable or an expert in a specific field. √
Audience & Reach: They have a dedicated following on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc. (OK, not so much, at least not yet)
Trust & Authenticity: Followers trust their recommendations & value their perspective. √
Niche Focus: They typically focus on a particular interest area (e.g.,New Tampa?) √
Content Creation: They consistently produce engaging, entertaining/informative content. √
Engagement: They actively interact with their community, building relationships. √
Impact: Their endorsements or opinions can sway followers’ behaviors and buying choices, making them valuable partners for brands. √
Types of Influencers by Follower Count:
Nano Influencers – 1k-10k followers. Nano influencers have a following ranging from 1,000-10,000 followers and are considered to be mid-tier influencers. Influencers in this category can earn anywhere from $50 to $250 per sponsored post. (Ummm, no!)
Micro Influencers – 10k-100k followers. Micro influencers are defined as having between 10k-100k followers. Despite having a larger following than nano influencers, they still manage to maintain a similar “relatability” or “authenticity” factor. Which, in turn, means they still have high engagement rates. Often, micro influencers fall into a particular niche or influencer category that can be specific to a particular location, job, or hobby. √
Most of the local influencers I’ve looked up fall into one of these first two categories. The difference between them and us is that they have more followers on TikTok or Instagram (IG) than we do, although our Facebook numbers (17,000+ followers) would put us in the “Micro” category — if Facebook even “counts.” We only started attempting to increase our Instagram following about four months ago, and we’ve increased our number of IG followers from about 100 at that time to more than 700 today
At any rate, I’m proud that we had nearly 3 million views of our 350 Facebook posts in 2025, led by our top-10 posts of the year in this chart.
And that doesn’t include the number of you who still read — and dare I say, are “influenced” by us the old-fashioned way — by holding our publications in your hands and reading them.
You’re still the main reason so many advertisers are willing to spend money with us in a supposedly dead medium — so, thank you!
If you were thinking there couldn’t possibly be more “stuff ” coming to Wesley Chapel this year (or at least by early 2027), think again.
Among the projects that are well underway but that we don’t have any kind of timelines for include:
• The completion of Mast Capital’s $92 million improvements to Saddlebrook Resort (above). We showed you the improvements that have already been completed in our last couple of issues, but there is still plenty more to come.
Since the Brew coffee shop and Rare 1981 restaurant opened, the Palm House Grill out by the resort’s revamped Superpool also recently opened. We’ll show you pictures of the Palm House’s food and beverages next issue. We also were told that all 27 holes of Saddlebrook’s golf courses also are open.
Still to come this year? The Sports Tavern off the resort’s lobby and the Saddlebrook National private club for members only. We’ll update you about all of these improvements in future issues.
Pinecrest Academy High School
Here & There, This & That…
Avalon Park — In addition to Phase 2 of Avalon Park’s downtown expected to begin building, Avalon Park Blvd., connecting the community’s single-family subdivisions with the downtown area, could be completed any day now and may even be open as you’re receiving this issue.
Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 2
In addition, although the existing buildings at the Pinecrest Academy charter school are already serving kids in grades K-11, the separate, new Pinecrest Academy High School will open to grades 9-12 for the 2026-27 year, which will allow kids in Pinecrest Academy’s middle school (Grades 6-8) to have their own building.
Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 2 — The much-needed new fire station on S.R. 54, less than a mile east of the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room, should be ready to open before the end of this year.
New Walmart (Morris Bridge Rd @ S.R. 56)
New Walmart — Located southwest of the intersection of Morris Bridge Rd. and S.R. 56, Wesley Chapel’s second Walmart store hasn’t broken ground yet, so it’s possible that it may not be completed by the end of 2026, but it should at least begin building this year.
Two Rivers Updates — Even though Two Rivers is all technically located in Zephyrhills (with a portion in Thonotosassa south of the Pasco-Hillsborough county line), the private club to be called The Landing at Two Rivers is well under way and could be completed before the end of 2026. We have no further updates on the planned Peak Surf Park in Two Rivers, but will try to update that story in an upcoming issue. — GN
Dr. Neil Manimala, his wife Rachel and baby Mariam. (Photos provided by Dr. Neil Manimala)
Over the past few months, we’ve introduced you to a couple of candidates who hope to replace District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera in 2027.
There is an important mid-term election coming up later this year, however, so when Luis introduced me to local urologist Dr. Neil Manimala at a recent event in New Tampa and told me that Neil was running for the countywide District 5 Hillsborough County Commission seat currently occupied by Republican incumbent Donna Cameron Cepeda, I knew I wanted to talk to Neil about what made a successful doctor decide that he wanted to serve the public in a completely different way.
A lot of politicians will say that they’re running “for the right reasons,” but if you spent 90 minutes with Neil, the way I did a couple of weeks ago, you’d believe the way I do that his heart is 100% in the right place and that he genuinely plans to serve all constituents on both sides of the aisle in Hillsborough County.
First, A Little Background
Now 35 years old, Neil was raised in Valrico, even though his parents were both from Kerala in southern India and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s. His parents raised Neil and his younger brother Nevin Catholic and he graduated from the King High International Baccalaureate program before attending USF.
He met his wife Rachel, a traveling registered nurse, online when she had just moved back to the area from Orlando. Rachel’s parents live in Easton Park in New Tampa, so Neil has spent a lot of time in our area and knows it well. The Manimalas recently welcomed their first child, their daughter Mariam, into the world.
Neil says that when he first went to USF, he was thinking about becoming an engineer. “I have a lot of respect for the computationally gifted folks, like my brother, who lives for statistics,” he told me, “but I realized that just wasn’t for me.”
He also thought about going into research. “I did a bunch of work at Moffitt and my mentor at the time was an M.D./Ph.D.,” Neil said, “but when I shadowed him seeing patients, the first patient we saw, about 20 years ago, was a guy who had lung cancer and, unfortunately, it was terminal. He had been under treatment by my mentor for about two years and it was during that visit that my mentor told him there was nothing more they could do, that they had exhausted all of the treatment options available at that time. The patient and his wife were in tears, but you could tell during that encounter that, despite the terrible news, they were glad that it was my mentor who delivered it — that even though the chance of a cure was shot, there was still dignity to be had. That’s when I realized that I wasn’t meant to be doing research behind a bench. I wanted to have that human-to-human interaction.”
He said he realized pretty early on that, “Even though you’re seeing some people during some of the darkest days of their lives — whether being told they have cancer or that their child had passed away — you also get to see people having some of the brightest days of their lives, hearing that their cancer is cured or that they can have kids again. That’s a huge gift.”
Neil says that his first taste of “politics” was in student government while in medical school in USF. “I was in one of the last cohorts in med school at the main Tampa campus before we moved to Water St. downtown, and my student government group was very instrumental, from the student perspective, in shaping that campus.”
Neil also did his residency with USF, but he was still in med school when he met Dr. Steven Specter (who isn’t an M.D., but has a Ph.D. in virology), who became another one of Neil’s mentors.
“I remember student government was advocating for more student parking spots at the med school and I said, ‘Dr. Specter, I’m just sick and tired of politics.’ And, he told me ‘Neil, as long as you have two or three people sitting in a room, you’re going to have politics. You have to find a way to navigate the politics to help the people who matter most to you.” And, for me, that’s the people of Hillsborough County.”
Hillsborough Health Care Plan
Neil with District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera
Neil also told me that one of the things that he plans to continue fighting for, that he first learned about while in residency, is the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan (HCHCP) through USF, which was originally funded by a half-cent ad valorem property tax but is now primarily funded by a sales tax.
But, with state lawmakers discussing rolling back property taxes this year, there is growing concern about the long-term stability of HCHCP, even though it isn’t still funded by property taxes.
“There are people ‘on the margins’ in this county who would never have access to top-of-the-line specialty physician care without that plan,” Neil said. “I currently serve on the Board overseeing that plan, which is how I first got into working with the county government. But, [HCHCP] has won awards nationwide for how it’s been taking care of people, and conservative estimates say that, for every dollar put into it, [the plan] brings back a return of $1.50 for all taxpayers. So, one of my priorities, if elected, will be to ensure it continues to be funded.”
Neil also is a supporter of improving public transportation. He told me that, “HART is the most underfunded public transportation agency in any major city. That’s an embarrassment. I hope to be able to work to build it out, rather than cut more routes, so that we are able to have some sort of regional bus rapid transit system.” He added that he remembers when then-Gov. Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in Federal funds for a high-speed rail connection between Tampa and Orlando.
“But, we need that kind of connection now, Neil said. “Just adding lanes to roadways creates what’s called ‘induced demand’ to build more homes and fill those lanes. Lane expansion should just be one tool in the toolbox, not the only tool.”
He also believes that if the goal is to get vehicles off our roadways, “Why don’t we use our waterways? There was a plan that would have created a ferry to connect East County with MacDill Air Force Base, which would take 2,000 cars off the road every day. But, it got axed because some people on the County Commission disagreed ideologically with the people who proposed the plan.”
He also said that, despite the partisan wave dominating state government, he hopes to, “build something sustainable where every citizen of this county sees that there’s something worth paying attention to on a local level. Let’s take care of all of our people and leave the partisan politics to Washington and Tallahassee.”
Before deciding to run for elected office himself, Neil helped a couple of candidates with their campaigns, including New Tampa resident and 2024 County Commission candidate Patricia Alonzo, who lost her bid to unseat long-time District 2 incumbent Ken Hagan.“Patricia is a good person, but she was running against a local powerhouse and got into the race late,” Neil said. “I have a lot of respect for Ken and, when he first ran, he had a one-year-old at home, so there are some parallels between us.”
He added, however, “While there are downsides to being in power for two decades, there’s also something to be said about having institutional knowledge about your job.”
Neil also said that even though the County Commission is currently five Republicans to two Democrats, “there are current Republican commissioners, including Hagan, that I know I can work with to find common ground on important issues.”
He also said that as a countywide candidate, he knows he has to appeal and answer to all 1.6 million people in the county, and he’s off to a great start — he doesn’t have a primary opponent and he’s secured endorsements from people like Dist. 14 U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, State House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell and Viera.
He’s also dominating the fund-raising side of his race, having raised more than $121,000 so far, compared with just $6,000 raised by Cepeda’s campaign. But, when Cepeda beat Mariella Smith for the Dist. 5 seat in 2022, Smith also out-raised Cepeda by a wide margin.
“I know money isn’t enough to win,” he said. “I also am getting out there to talk to people. I’m running to serve all of you.”
To find out more about Neil Manimala or donate to his campaign, visit NeilManimala.com.
The Jan. 9 ribbon-cutting event and Grand Opening of the Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center in Land O’Lakes. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Even though it’s located at least 20 miles from any part of New Tampa, perhaps the biggest news story in Pasco County for 2026 is the opening of the sprawling new 775-acre Speros FL campus of the Moffitt Cancer Center — the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida — located on Wilton Way in Land O’Lakes.
Moffitt Pres. & CEO Dr. Patrick Hwu
The first building to open in this amazing innovation hub, where science, technology and patient care will converge in the fight against cancer, is the 120,000-sq.-ft. Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center, which was introduced to an invited crowd on Jan. 9 with a huge event attended by an estimated 500 people, including Florida Secretary of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, State Senator Danny Burgess, State Rep. Kevin Steele, all five Pasco County Commissioners and 84-year-old former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives H. Lee Moffitt, the man who founded the nonprofit cancer center named for him.
The event included the following speakers:
Speros Pres. Dr. Josh Carpenter
• Dr. Patrick Hwu, the president & CEO of Moffitt, who noted that 2026 is the cancer center’s 40th anniversary year. Dr. Hwu also played the keyboards in the Speros band following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He also noted that the next building to open in the Speros campus will be the Richard M. Schulze Proton Center, which will open in just a few months and will be home to one of only three proton radiation machines in Florida. That opening will be followed by the opening of the 100,000-sq.-ft. research center. Dr. Hwu also noted that the first patients will begin being treated at the outpatient center, “within a few weeks.”
Speros & Moffitt Board members Tim Adams and Marty Lanahan
• Dr. Josh Carpenter, the president of Speros who also is the VP & chief integration officer of Moffitt and who noted that Speros means “hope.” Dr. Carpenter thanked everyone who played a part — and those still playing a part — in the construction and opening of the many buildings coming to the Speros campus.
• Speros Board chair Marty Lanahan, the executive VP of First Horizon Bank, who introduced Moffitt Cancer Center’s Institute Board chair Tim Adams. Adams said that Lee Moffitt charged him with the task to cure cancer and sent him to Tallahassee in 2005 to talk to Simpson, who was then a State Senator who was going to be the president of the Florida Senate within three years. “Wilton told me that he’s had his eye on Moffitt for a long time,” Adams said, “but if we really want to cure cancer, you’re going to have to start thinking a lot bigger than a 20-acre campus in Tampa.”
Wilton Simpson H. Lee Moffitt
• Commissioner Simpson, who said he knew Pasco had the land to “do something like this and that people could fly into Tampa International from all over the world and be here in 30 minutes to get treatment. I’m very proud of the tens of thousands of lives, starting now, that we’re going to be saving on an annual basis. How many grandparents will now get to see their grandchildren get older? How many children are going to be cured? How many moms and dads will see their kids get married because of the work that Moffitt will be doing on this site?”
Debra Schulze
• H. Lee Moffitt himself, who said, “What a day! The reason we’re here is because of the hard work of every single person in this audience and I can not thank you enough for your dedication, zeal and vision to help us get to where we are today. I would like to thank and applaud the efforts of all of our friends that have worked for us since I started the cancer center 40 years ago and embraced our mission and contributed to the prevention and cure of cancer. By golly, we are making a difference and I appreciate all of your efforts in this quest!”
• The final speaker was Debra Schulze, speaking on behalf of her father Richard M. “Dick” Schulze, the founder of Best Buy Co., the largest electronics store in the U.S. Dick Schulze was unable to attend the event himself, but his family’s foundation supported the Speros Center with a $15-million investment in the campus’ Proton Therapy Center, “which is more than just advanced technology,” Debra Schulze said. “It is a place where skilled clinicians, dedicated researchers and hope-filled patients will come together in the pursuit of healing and progress. On behalf of my father, our family, and our foundation, thank you to the Moffitt leadership and staff. We are proud to stand alongside you and share in the excitement and the impact that this Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Therapy System Center will have on the future of cancer care.”
For more information about Moffitt’s Speros Outpatient Clinic and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Center (16370 Wilton Way, Land O’Lakes), visit Moffitt.org.
The Speros FL nurses The packed Speros FL lobby during the Jan. 9 Grand Opening event Aerial drone shot of the Speros FL campus
