Nibbles: Restaurant Blitz!

The months of Oct. & Nov. will be among the busiest times yet for new restaurants in the Wesley Chapel area.

Here are some of the highlights:

Florida Avenue Brewing Co. (2029 Arrowgrass Dr.) — With its opening as we went to press, I think our readers will be really excited about Florida Ave., which has a great menu and lots of room for social distancing (even at the spacious indoor and outdoor bars), in the former location of Sports + Field off S.R. 56.

Florida Ave., which has its original location in Seminole Heights, isn’t yet brewing its awesome variety of microbrews at its new location — its original Florida Ave. location will still provide the beer — but it has a full-liquor bar, video games for the kids and delicious, food items, including both standard bar fare and unique options like the Chinese-style sticky ribs shown above (photo by Charmaine George), bibimbap bowls, crispy cauliflower tacos and many more. Please tell the Derby family I sent you! 

Rock & Brews (26000 S.R. 56, Lutz) — Our Rock & Brews will be the 18th link in this chain of rock-themed restaurants owned in part (and inspired) by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band Kiss. In order to preview Rock & Brews in this issue,

I visited the aptly-named “Kiss”-immee location, and I definitely came away impressed with the  look of the place (with images of rock icons from Kiss to Prince and from Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen adorning the walls) to the food, including the blackened redfish shown above (which comes with a Louisiana-style crawfish cream sauce that I couldn’t eat because of my shellfish allergy) to a semi-spicy bruschetta. Rock & Brews (visit RockandBrews.com) should open by mid-October.

Bonefish Grill (Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) — Although Wesley Chapel has had a Bonefish Grill for years, that location on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. is expected to close when the new Bonefish opens next to Aussie Grill — which could be in October as well. Although we weren’t able to get an opening date from parent company Bloomin’ Brands, there is a “Now Hiring” sign at the new location.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill & Crumbl Cookies (25916 & 25922 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) — Of these two new options, located in the same building as the Woof Gang Bakery and the new Charles Schwab office (east of Bahama Breeze on the north side of S.R. 56), Zukku-San looks closer to opening, although both places have “Now Hiring” signs out in front. The guess here is that neither will open much before the end of October. For more info, visit ZukkuSushi.com or CrumblCookies.com.

Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market (5648 Post Oak Blvd.) — Owner Billy Moschella says Moschella’s should be open by the end of October and will feature a deli, pizza, fresh pastas, a butcher shop, hot prepared foods and much more. He’s also hiring cooks, pizza makers, deli workers and cashiers. To apply or for more info, visit Moschellas.com.

Chuck Lager America’s Tavern (2001 Piazza Ave., Suite 175) — So, according to the restaurant’s website, Chuck Lager is a worldwide archeological adventurer who decided to venture into opening made-from-scratch restaurants that exemplify his love of great cuisine. Lager met “Top Chef” fan favorite Fabio Viviani in Viviani’s grandmother’s Italian kitchen and a concept was born. 

With locations in Pike Creek, DE, and Barrington, NJ, the Lager team came to “The Chap” to take over the never-good-enough former Primebar location at the Shops at Wiregrass. It doesn’t look like it will make it to an October opening, but hopefully, we’ll see this tomato bacon grilled cheese with tomato bisque (above), homemade meatballs and chicken parm sooner than later.  (Visit ChuckLager.com.)

Pick Of The Week: Gu Wei Noodle & Grill!

Even though I wasn’t able to try it when it opened last month, and I’m therefore not 100% sure that it’s a Chinese restaurant (or maybe Korean?), all I can tell you is that, based on the pics from its website (guweifood.com), the new Gu Wei Noodle & Grill restaurant that is now open in the former location of Sukhothai (a long-time favorite of mine at 18101 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. at Galbraith Rd., across from the AMC Movie Theater) looks like a truly delicious winner!

From the pan-fried dumplings (above) to its signature noodle dishes and more, Gu Wei definitely looks to be a must-try for all of my fellow Asian food fans. 

 For more information about Gu Wei, which is closed on Monday and Tuesday, call (813) 615-2345 — and please tell them where you read about them!

Zooming Through An Awesome Community Meeting On Racism

So, I certainly didn’t know what to expect when 21 people got together for the first-ever New Tampa and Wesley Chapel Zoom community meeting on racism on August 25, but I have to say that it was shocking, eye-opening, disheartening and heartwarming all at the same time.

How could it possibly have been all of those things at once? 

It was shocking because, from my meeting co-host — District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell — to military veteran April Lewis to my friend Nikii Lewis (all shown on this page), some of the stories told by the black and white people alike who participated in that meeting showed just how prevalent dealing with racism in our area and this country truly is and seemingly always has been.

It was shocking for me to hear that Rep. Driskell, a Harvard University and Georgetown Law-educated Tampa-based attorney originally from Polk County, has been assumed to be either the court reporter or the client/defendant as often as she has been assumed to be the lawyer.

It was eye-opening to hear Nikii, who lives in a mostly white neighborhood in Wesley Chapel, tell the story about her six-year-old daughter, who told her — at age 3 — that she’s afraid of white people, and that when her daughter was drawing pictures of people, she wouldn’t use a brown crayon because, she said,  she wanted the people “to look normal.”

And, it was disheartening to hear that April Lewis, a recent transplant to New Tampa who is suffering from PTSD after six years in the Army with two deployments, who also is a Gold Star wife whose husband was killed in Iraq, doesn’t feel safe when she walks into a store and doesn’t feel the same equality as I do.

But, the Zoom meeting also was heartwarming because several of the attendees who were white said that they were participating because they felt the need to do something in the wake of the recent shootings of black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and others by law enforcement officials and the civil unrest that has followed those incidents across this country.

When I organized the event I didn’t know what my goal was — and I still don’t — but I do know that I truly do not want it to stop there.    

“I can’t even tell you how many times, as an attorney in court, that people have assumed that I was the court reporter or the defendant.” — State Representative Fentrice Driskell

“If my black skin is good enough to fight for this country, I can’t understand why my blackness isn’t good enough to receive the same equality as everyone else.” — New Tampa resident & Gold Star wife April Lewis.

“In one of the neighborhoods where Ronnell grew up in Tampa, there was an elementary school called Robert E. Lee Elementary, and that was just considered a normal thing. And, for too long, it was considered taboo to even talk about racism, so meetings like this are definitely a step in the right direction.” — Live Oak residents Ronnell & Brittaney Curtis

“When the George Floyd incident originally started, there were people in our own neighborhood patrolling in golf carts and (carrying) guns, which was kind of concerning to us.” — Wesley Chapel residents Sara & Kyle Hill

“My son is half Hispanic and it was only recently he told us he was discriminated against in school. When I asked why he never told us, he said he didn’t think my wife and I would believe him.” — New Tampa hotel owner David Larson

“I was working as a prosecutor in Pasco County and got pulled over by a cop because prosecutors have their plates blocked out. He didn’t believe I was a prosecutor until he called one of my associates he knew who told him I was.” — Attorney & Wesley Chapel resident Cornelius Demps

“I grew up in a small town in southeastern Pennsylvania and we had no black people in our town. I remember we had a community pool and we were going to have a swim meet at the pool , but people in the town were concerned that something bad would happen if black people from other communities would be swimming in the pool. I wasn’t raised that way and I remember being shocked that anyone would think something like that.” — New Tampa resident Donna Harwood

“I worked as a speech language pathologist in the Pasco elementary schools and I am learning a lot about racial injustice in this country. I would like to do something about helping to change that situation, but I realize that (as a white person) I can’t lead that but I am here to learn and follow..” — New Tampa resident Naomi Lang-Unnasch.

‘Parking Lot Karaoke’ Returns To Bubba’s 33 On Wednesday!

For everyone who missed it the first time around, if you were one of those folks who said, “Wow, it looks like they had a lot of fun,” when the Neighborhood News brought what we called “Car Karaoke” to Bubba’s 33 (located just east of I-75 off S.R. 56) back in May, you’re in luck!

The Wesley Chapel Rotary, in conjunction with long-time club member Troy Stevenson of Acme On The Go Billboard Trucks and the print and online editions of the Neighborhood News, are proud to announce that “Parking Lot Karaoke 2” will again be held in the parking lot at Bubba’s 33 on Wednesday, September 9, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. (or later, if there are still singers).

Ah, but no matter what you call it, round 2 promises to be bigger and better than round 1. While I know that some people don’t want to have to wear face masks in public, by holding the event in the Bubba’s 33 parking lot (there will be more tables and chairs set up than last time, too), we can guarantee social distancing.

Plus, when it’s time for you to sing, the microphone(s) will be wiped with disinfecting wipes; we’d also appreciate it if you wear your mask when you sing because, let’s face it, I know I can get a little juicy when I sing — and I also know I’m not the only one.

We’re calling it “Parking Lot,” rather than “Car” Karaoke this time because some folks told us they thought it meant you had to stay in your car to sing. But, while a few folks did sing in their cars last time, most were like our buddy Lochlan (photo, right) because they came over to the Acme On The Go billboard truck, which displayed the lyrics of every song about as big as Lochlan himself — much easier to read than on a TV screen!

 And, I’m also excited to have former Q105 FM on-air talent Allan Hudson Brady as Parking Lot 2’s karaoke jock. Many of you know Allan from his shows every Thur.-Sat. at Joe Whiskey’s (which was still closed at our press time) on S.R. 54, . Allan will be taking sign-ups to sing starting at 6:30 p.m.

And, best of all, our friends Jeff and Crista Dean and the entire Bubba’s 33 crew will be serving the tasty Bubba’s 33 food and drinks we love both inside and outside.

So, come on out to Bubba’s 33 (26340 Silver Maple Pkwy.). It’s a free event, but food and drinks are not free and we ask that you make a small donation to the Wesley Chapel Rotary Foundation every time you sing. For info, call Bubba’s 33 at (813) 522-5090 — GN