Nibbles & Bites: Wesley Chapel’s latest

‱ In the same plaza as Blue Water Dental on S.R. 54 near Saddlebrook Resort, two restaurants are significantly closer to opening the second Wesley Chapel location for each. 

Jersey Mike’s Subs (photo right), which already has a location in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. south of S.R. 56, is nearing completion, and is now hiring, with an anticipated opening sometime in early April.

First Watch, which also already has its first location in the same plaza as Wesley Chapel’s original Jersey Mike’s, should be open later this month, possibly as early as April 24. We’ll keep you posted.

‱ We also have an update on The Living Room, the popular Dunedin restaurant and live music venue that is coming to the former location of Ciao! in the Shops at Wiregrass. 

Co-owner Zach Feinstein says that supply chain issues have delayed the opening of The Living Room (photo above) here and that it looks like the fully gutted and revamped eatery likely won’t open before sometime in June of this year. 

‱ And finally, although it’s not located in the KRATE Container Park, we wanted to congratulate Victoria and Dan Watson, the husband-and-wife team that has owned The Acting Studio since 2009 without a formal space to call their own, for the Grand Opening and North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting (photo, above) of their new studio and theater in The Village at The Grove (at 6027 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 204). 

The extracurricular theater program offers opportunities for everyone from middle schoolers through adults, with a primary focus on high school-aged kids.

For more information, visit TheActingStudioTampa.com or call (813) 679-4810.  — GN

Community Comes Together To Celebrate The Too-Short Life Of Andres Chateau

Gary Nager Editorial

As a father and now a grandfather, I can’t imagine anything harder for any parent to deal with than their child passing away.

But sadly, more than 20,000 children die of all causes in this country each year, or more than 50 per day, and while motor vehicle crashes cause the largest percentage of those (more than 4,000 in 2016, the last year I could find full statistics for), roughly the same number of children (more than 1,800 each in 2016) are victims of homicide each year as die from all forms of childhood cancer.

But, this editorial isn’t about statistics, it’s about the passing of one precious child named Andres Chateau. Andres — a nine-year-old Wesley Chapel resident who attended the Innovation Prep Academy off Curley Rd. — and his father, Kevin Bybee, were both found shot dead in Bybee’s apartment in St. Petersburg in an apparent murder-suicide.

Andres’ mother, Jessica Chateau, had gone to Bybee’s apartment on April 4 to pick up her son, but got no response when she knocked on the door. She notified the St. Pete Police Department but they were reluctant to enter the premises because, according to a police spokesperson, there was no reason to suspect foul play and none of Bybee’s neighbors had heard anything unusual.

The next morning, the management at the Trellis at the Lakes apartments opened the apartment for Jessica, who found Andres and Bybee dead from gunshot wounds.

According to published reports, Bybee and Jessica Chateau were estranged and involved in a contentious custody suit, “but there had been no threats or signs beforehand” that this type of tragedy would occur.

On April 10, less than one week after the tragedy, at least 300 Wesley Chapel residents came to the Epperson Lagoon to celebrate Andres’ life. Jessica had posted the event on Facebook a couple of days earlier and many of those in attendance brought food, beverages and their own children to take part in the celebration. PizzaMania donated at least 20 pies and Pasco County Commission candidate Troy Stevenson brought two of his ACME On The Go billboard trucks, which displayed pictures of Andres and Jessica from happier times. Troy also called his friends at Pasco Fire Rescue, who brought one of their fire trucks to the event. 

There wasn’t anyone in attendance who didn’t want to speak with and hug Jessica, who talked about giving birth and holding him for the first time. “I called him Tutu because he was too too much,” she said.

Pastor Joel Eason of nearby Bridgeway Church spoke during the candle light service at the lagoon, which was held at sunset. He spoke about the light that Andres brought into the lives of everyone he touched.

“My son was pure sunshine,” Jessica told WTSP-TV Channel 10. “He was just full of energy and loved playing. I have every moment burned into my brain…Just appreciate every moment with your babies.”

My sons are 33 and 30 and it just so happened it was my younger son’s birthday the same day of the event for Andres.

And, while I definitely feel fortunate to still have and be able to share such happy occasions with my boys and my grandson, I could feel Jessica’s pain, even as she seemed genuinely moved by the community’s outpouring of love. 

Her ability to smile in the face of such unspeakable tragedy definitely inspired me and I promised her I would try to do justice to her and her relationship with her beautiful son, even though I knew I would fall short. 

There is a GoFundMe page to help Jessica Chateau. Visit https://gofund.me/41b194b7 if you would like to help.

Nibbles & Bites: Cheers To A Couple Of New Openings!

Cheers Liquor Store Is Open In The Village At Hunter’s Lake, Despite The Owner’s Untimely Passing.

Cheers Liquor Store offers free tastings.

When the Cheers Liquor Store opened a couple of months ago at 8606 Hunters Village Rd. in the Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza (next to Starbucks), Jannah and I met the owners and discussed the possibility of the store advertising in the Neighborhood News.

I ended up not writing about Cheers in that issue and when I went back to take pictures for a write-up a month or so later, the store was closed — on a Saturday — so I put it off for another issue. 

When I went back to Cheers last week, the owner’s son, Ajay Bathija, informed me that his father had passed away the day before I visited when the store was closed.

“The store was my father Daleep’s baby,” Ajay told me, getting understandably emotional. “He designed the store, chose the inventory and then passed away less than two months after it opened.”

Ajay and his family continue to operate Cheers, which has a nice selection of not only unique liquor bottles, fine wines and craft beers, but also gift items like toy cars, fine chocolates like Ferrero Rocher and more. The store also offers free tastings.

For more information, call Cheers at (813) 360-1984 and tell Ajay and his family I sent you. — GN  

New Latin Fusion Cuisine Coming To Cross Creek Blvd.

It’s been something of a rough ride for the former pizza place on Cross Creek Blvd. (behind the Mobil gas station) which originally opened as Hawkeye’s NYS Pizza, and later became Deano’s Pizza, Fish Fiesta and (very briefly) Halal CafĂ©. The restaurant is in the process of getting ready to re-open as Macaw, a Latin Fusion restaurant co-owned by the same owner as New Tampa Auto Care, which is located in the same plaza.

Mike, the co-owner, is from Venezuela, but he promises to also have Cuban, Mexican and other Latin cuisine items available.

He says he hopes to open in the next month or two, but based on the picture I was able to take (right) when I visited last week, it looks to be a super-cute new place to eat.

We’ll update you as soon as we have more information.— GN

Here & There, This & That — New Tampa Comings & Goings

‱ In a previous issue, we told you that Gu Wei Noodles & Grill, the authentic Chinese restaurant that opened in the former location of Sukhothai on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. at Galbraith Rd. (near the AMC Highwoods 20 movie theater) was closing temporarily to revamp the concept.

Well, when I visited recently, it didn’t appear that the restaurant was getting ready to re-open, so I checked the Chinese restaurant’s website, which thanked its customers for their support the past two years but said, “We’re sorry to announce we’re permanently closed.” 

We had no word at our press time what, if anything was moving into the space.

‱ Meanwhile, it looks as though the final two spaces in the Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza will be filled within the next couple of months, as Woof Gang (pet) Bakery & Grooming (which has a location on S.R. 56) will open between The Coder School & Poke Island Plus, and Caribbean Mystique Massage & Wellness Spa, which currently is located in the New Tampa Professional Park in Pebble Creek, will open next to the UPS Store in Hunter’s Lake. We’ll update you as to when these will open soon. — GN

Zukku-San Sushi Owners To Open Astro Ice Cream & Ato Sushi & Poké

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill, located on the north side of S.R. 56, just west of I-75, has been my favorite Japanese restaurant in our area since the day it opened.

I love sushi, and Zukku-San has an incredible variety of some of the best sushi in our area, but for me, it’s always been more about everything else on Zukku-San’s delicious menu that sets it apart from its competition.

Co-owner Ferdian Jap and co-owner/executive chef Gia Tran have created something special in their unassuming space next to Crumbl Cookie. And, while Zukku-San is an elegant, but still casual, sit-down restaurant with a full premium liquor bar (with craft cocktails like the lychee nut martini and coconut mojito shown center right on this page), Ferdian and Gia actually started together with more of a fast-casual pokĂ©-bowl-and-sushi-“burrito” concept in Tampa’s Armature Works, with a similar location also open in Charlotte, NC, and they are getting ready to open a similar concept called “Ato” in the KRATE Container Park at The Grove (Ferdian says Ato likely won’t open until late May or early June). 

And, since they’re obviously not busy enough with just those eateries, Ferdian and Gia also have an Astro Craft Ice Cream location in Armature Works, and plan to open a second Astro location where Great Clips closed on the north side of S.R. 56. next to Mellow Mushroom. The signage is up at the new Astro Ice Cream, but Ferdian says the new location likely won’t open until June or July (more on that below).

But, this article will focus on Zukku-San, which continues to add new favorites to my list every time I try anything new.

The Best Starters!

I have been raving about the Starters at Zukku-San from Day One, including the most perfect deep-fried gyoza (pork dumplings) with house-made Ponzu sauce, crispy vegetable spring rolls served with an amazing semi-spicy orange chili sauce, skewered traditional Japanese chicken and beef tenderloin yakitori (with fresh veggies; there’s also shrimp and veggie-only varieties) served with teriyaki sauce, steamed or garlic edamame, crispy fried Karaage chicken served with spicy mayo and a wonderful tuna tataki, plus it’s the only place I know of that serves Tempura a la Carte options.

The tempura is lightly battered and fried to golden perfection and allows you to order individual portions of your favorites.

Our most recent order (left) included four pieces each of carrots, sweet potatoes and zucchini (only $2.95 per order each), as well as a whole soft shell crab ($9.95), which was cut into bite-sized pieces for us.

Other a la carte tempura options include shrimp, tofu, broccoli, while giant squid, avocado, hamachi (yellowtail snapper) collar, asparagus, onion, red and jalapeño peppers and whole lobster tail. So good!

On our most recent visit, we also ordered the chef’s special spicy bluefin tuna chu-toro crudo, which has thin slices of bluefin tuna (which is a fattier tuna they call medium-fatty, than their regular ahi tuna tataki appetizer), topped with jalapeños and scallions in an incredible sriracha/chili-based spicy sauce. It’s also served with a side of seaweed salad.

The Best Entrées!

We’ve usually stayed pretty basic when it comes to our favorite entrĂ©es “from the Wok & Grill” at Zukku-San, but on our most recent visit, we tried three new dishes (in addition to our usual chicken fried rice) and no one was disappointed.

Grilled short ribs
Udon Noodles with fried tofu
Soy butter glazed baked salmon

My favorite was my grilled short ribs, which are marinated in Asian pear juice, grilled to perfection and served with jasmine rice and sautĂ©ed veggies. These aren’t your fall-off-the-bone short ribs; they’re more like Chinese-style BBQ spare ribs, but the flavor is definitely unique.

Photographer Charmaine George ordered the wok-fired Udon Noodles with fried tofu and we all raved about the sauce covering the chewy soft noodles, the tofu and the sautĂ©ed broccoli, onion, carrot, red peppers and zucchini. Like Zukku-San’s fried rice and wok-fired hibachi (egg) noodles, you can order them with just veggies, chicken, tenderloin steak or shrimp, too.

Of course, Jannah and I also had to bring our granddaughter Rosie with us, since Zukku-San has been her favorite restaurant since she was just over a year old. Rosie and her mom Lauren love all the starters we order (the carrots are her favorite) and the perfect California roll, but her dad Albert also raved about the soy butter glazed baked salmon entrée. Lauren also always gets a Mexican roll, with tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, sesame seeds, masago (fish roe) and spicy mayo.

For those who only crave sushi, try Zukku-San’s Masterpiece sushi rolls like the shrimp volcano and lobster Masterpiece roll.

Zukku-San also has a wide variety of nigiri (sliced fish on rice) and sashimi (no rice), hand rolls, as well as sushi and sashimi palettes with from 24 pieces of up to four different sashimis (for $50) up to small and large sushi palettes with as many as six Masterpiece rolls or 8 classic or hand rolls for $120.

For lunch, Zukku-San has make-your-own poké bowls with rice or mixed greens, up to two proteins (try the panko chicken and ahi tuna), up to two sauces and up to three toppings, as well as Bento Box lunches with short ribs, chicken teriyaki, shrimp tempura or sushi-only, served with ginger salad, pork gyoza and miso soup.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill is located at 25916 Sierra Center Blvd.) and is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner (although the lunch menu isn’t available on weekends). For more info, visit ZukkuSushi.com or call (813) 419-1351.

Astro Ice Cream Set To Open!

For those of us who love ice cream, the announcement that Zukku-San’s owners also are opening a second location of their Astro Craft Ice Cream in our area is very much welcome news.

The Armature Works location features a variety of unique flavors that, according to its website, “feature new twists of traditional flavor combinations that reflect  the diversity of our Tampa Bay community & honor its rich history.”

Ferdian says no one else has flavors like creme brulĂ©e cafĂ© con leche, whiskey cookie dough, Tampa guava cream cheese or banana pudding peanut butter cookie, Ybor spiced run toasted coconut meringue pie, or options like ice cream sandwiches made with real pressed Cuban bread from La Segunda Bakery (photo above). “The bread gets crispy and the ice cream stays cold,” says Ferdian. Wow!

Stay tuned to these pages for updated on Astro Ice Cream’s expected opening. 

Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus To Host RADD Summer Camps!

If you have kids as young as age 6 and as old as high school-age, and you’re not sure what to do with them this summer, RADDSports at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County has a variety of great camps during the 2022 RADD Summer Heatwave.

RADD is offering everything from All-Sports camps to individualized training camps in its core sports of basketball, volleyball, soccer and cheerleading, some of which are broken down by age and/or skill level and others for kids of all ages and abilities.

All-Sport Camps!

To give your kids (boys and girls) ages 6-16 exposure to and training in volleyball, basketball, soccer and cheerleading, as well as Yo Murphy Performance Training, RADD’s All-Sport Camp is a great choice. There are three separate one-week sessions — May 31-June 3, June 20-24 and July 18-22 — and the camps group kids by age (6-8, 9-11, 12-14 & 15+), are all held indoors from Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., in air-conditioned comfort and include lunch each day, plus a camp T-shirt.

“Campers will get an introduction to each sport and learn basic skills, rules and components of each sport,” says RADD Sports CEO Richard Blalock. “This summer’s camps will focus on sport-specific skills  for everyone from novice to elite athletes.”

Basketball Camps!   

There will be three week-long RADD Basketball Camps for boys and girls ages 8-16, which are designed to focus on individual skills development, the importance of basketball fundamentals and developing a healthy team attitude and will be held indoors only, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The basketball camp dates are June 6-10, June 27-July 1 and August 1-5, and also will be broken down by age and skill level.  

Cheerleading Camps!   

There are three levels of cheer camps this summer, including three one-week sessions for Youth Cheer Camps (June 6-10, June 27-July 1 & August 1-5, all 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; with late pickup and drop-off available for an additional charge) for ages 5-12. No previous cheer experience is necessary and athletes will learn foundational skills for stunts, tumbling, cheers and dance in a fun environment. The cheer camps also will include daily fitness education by Yo Murphy Performance.

The next level up is the RADD Team Cheer Camp for ages 6-14, which will be held June 13-17 only, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day, for athletes who have been through or would like to join RADD’s competitive cheer teams. The focus will be on new skills for stunts, tumbling and dance before fall team placements, with daily fitness education provided by Yo Murphy Performance.

High school cheer teams also have their own three-day (July 27-29) School Team Cheer Camp, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. The School Team Cheer Camp is appropriate for both sideline and competitive cheer teams. Teams also will receive two follow-up sessions to be scheduled throughout the year. 

Soccer Camps!   

There will be three one-week RADDSports Soccer Camps for ages 8-17 — June 13-17, July 11-15 & July 25-29.

The soccer camps, which will be held both outdoors (weather permitting) and indoors, will focus on improving fundamental skills and game technique. 

“I really don’t think there’s anything like our camps in this area,” says RADDSports director of soccer (and former English Premier League player and Tampa Bay Rowdies player and coach) Stuart Campbell. 

Volleyball Camps!   

RADDSports also is offering seven different sessions of Volleyball Camp.

The Attacking Camp (June 13-15, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) will focus on individual techniques for attacking, with proper footwork, proper arm swing mechanics and the transition part of the attacking position.

For the Defense Camp (also June 13-15, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) campers should come ready to work hard and focus on the technical aspects of playing the libero position, including ball control and overall defense. 

The two-day Setting Camp (June 16-17, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) will focus on offensive strategies, proper hand and body positioning and mental and emotional aspects of the game.

Younger players (ages 5-9) can attend the Eaglets Volleyball Camp (July 11-13, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), where they will be taught the fundamentals of volleyball utilizing lighter balls and a lower net, all while having a great time building a passion for the sport.

There’s also a Co-Ed All Skills Camp (July 11-14, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) for boys and girls ages 10-18, designed to teach the fundamentals of volleyball to those ranging from elite to beginner levels. 

The Team Camp (July 11-14, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) is a four-day camp designed for Varsity and JV teams who want to get a jump start on their high school seasons! Coaches and players are encouraged to attend together with focus on skills development, competition against other high school teams, team building and goal-setting. 

There are two different Elite Camps (July 25-28, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and July 27-28). The first Elite Camp includes 21 hours of training for Elite Varsity-Level Setters (grades 9-12), Developmental Setters (non-varsity, grades 7-10) and First Contact (serve, serve receive & defense for grades 7-10). The second Elite Camp is eight hours of training for grades 5-7 and beginning 8th graders. 

For more information about all of the RADD Summer Sports Camps at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County (3021 Sports Coast Way, Wesley Chapel) or visit wiregrass-sports.com/camps.