Nibbles & Bytes

Pasta Di Guy Is The Real Deal!

If you’re looking for delicious, homemade pastas and sauces, Wesley Chapel has a legitimately authentic new eatery called Pasta di Guy that features a unique, affordable menu created by owner/Chef Guy Carmeli, who is originally from Israel, but was classically trained at the London location of the renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Since relocating to Wesley Chapel, Guy has had a popular food truck in our area, but he has since opened his casual, comfortable sit-down/takeout restaurant in the former location of OTB Delights Café at 4839 BBD Blvd. and his homemade pastas — especially the always al denté Strozzapreti (which are sort of like two pieces of thicker-than-linguini pasta twisted and cut into bite-sized pieces), wit your choice of sauces and toppings. 

My favorite sauces so far are the vodka, creamy pesto and aglio e olio (garlic & oil), but I still have to try the marinara and beef bolognese (the latter costs extra). I also enjoyed adding chicken, bacon, Italian sausage, broccoli and cauliflower to the different pastas and sauces, but please note that all of the items mentioned do cost extra over the $9.99 base price. But, you know what? It’s worth it! 

We also enjoyed the fried zucchini sticks appetizer and people were raving on Day One about the fried ravioli appetizer and photographer/videographer Charmaine George said her zucchini noodles were definitely spot-on.  

 For more info, stop in (closed Mon.) or visit PastadiGuy.com or call (813) 388-6676 and tell Guy and Emily (photo above) I sent you!

Visit The Exerscience Center!

Congratulations to my friend Dr. Lauren Leiva, DPT, on the recent opening of her new The Exerscience Center (24706 S.R. 54, in Lutz, less than two miles from the Tampa premium Outlets).

Not only is Lauren a Doctor of Physical Therapy, she’s also a personal trainer, nutritional counselor and yoga instructor who works with people of all ages — including athletes who are looking to recover faster from an injury or surgery, neurological patients looking to restore lost function, and busy people who want a more effective, and sustainable approach to fitness. 

In the photo on this page, Dr. Leiva is performing what she calls a “master reset” on a client, which she says will provide a “holistic rehabilitation experience.” She uses lots of the latest technology, including the Neubie machine from NeuFit (photo), a patented electrical stimulation device to help re-educate your neuromuscular systems, coupled with manual therapy and functional training.

Dr. Leiva says her patients are healing up to 4x faster than with traditional therapy. She adds that neurological signals can shut down muscles and prevent movement for too long, leaving that area of the body more vulnerable.

At The Exerscience Center, you’ll be able to identify exactly where those neurological barriers are present and break through them on the way to more efficient and effective recovery. But, don’t just take it from me. There’s so much more Dr. Leiva can tell you about all of the unique services she offers. For more information, visit TheExerscienceCenter.com, call (813) 464-0313 or see the ad on pg. 8! — GN  

Sprouts Gets Top Grade!

For those who went absolutely bonkers over the opening of the Aldi supermarket on S.R. 56, I invite you to check out a truly outstanding, truly “green” new grocery store —  Sprouts Farmers Market, located in the new Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. at Hunter’s Green Dr., which opened last month. 

Not only does Sprouts have a far superior selection (and quality) of produce (as indicated by the Farmers Market in its name), it also features delicious prepared foods, a beautiful meat and fresh seafood department, crusty breads, a huge variety of the healthiest snacks and so much more.

In addition to produce — not all of which is more expensive than at other grocery stores (here’s a hint — look for the amazing sales!), here are some of my Sprouts favorites to date:

1) Fresh Fish – I’ve already had still-swimming mahi-mahi for only $5.99 per lb. (a truly unheard-of price), and even though the fresh grouper was $22.99 per lb., that’s still $5 per lb. less than Publix!

2) Meats — Grass-fed filet mignon for $16.99 per lb. or the slightly fattier “regular” filet for only $14.99 per lb. ‘Nuff said!

3) Prepared Foods — Amazing tuna salad, savory garlic roasted red potatoes, chicken florentine and parmigiana and better pot stickers than most restaurants, plus different-each-day selections. Yum!

Sprouts (8620 Hunters Village Rd.) is open every day, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. For info, call (813) 683-8072 or visit Sprouts.com!

In the meantime, several of the other businesses in the Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza have already opened, including Grain & Berry, The Coder School of New Tampa and Via Italia. 

Among the stores that are under construction but not yet open in that main part of the plaza are the Banfield Pet Hospital and Touch Nail Spa. According to owner Timmy Pham, this second location of Touch Nail Spa (the other is on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel; see ad on pg. 28 of this issue) is expected to open in the Village at Hunter’s Lake sometime between mid-September and early October.

Meanwhile, in the separate outparcel building with frontage on BBD, Starbucks and Dental Care at Hunter’s Green are open; and, in another outparcel set further in off BBD, FitNiche (relocated from the Shops at Wiregrass), YogaSix and The UPS Store are open, with Pure Beauty Salon & Spa coming soon.

Play Ball!

The Neighborhood News wasn’t the only news medium on hand in June of 2018 when Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter, four of the five Pasco County commissioners, Pasco County/“Florida’s Sports Coast” tourism director Adam Thomas, RADDSports president and founder Richard Blalock and several other local dignitaries threw some dirt in the air at the groundbreaking for a new indoor sports facility to be located just north of S.R. 56 and a mile or so from both the Shops at Wiregrass and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. 

Also in attendance that day were representatives of Mainsail Development, which was getting ready to build a Marriott-branded Residence Inn with Wesley Chapel’s first and only rooftop bar adjacent to the planned sports campus.

Fast forward to Aug. 15 of this year, when the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County held its first-ever Open House to show off the brand-spankin’-new, 98,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art indoor sports facility to local families. This time around, photographer/videographer Charmaine George and I were the only media folks on hand to let you know about it. And, let me just say…WOW!

The fulfillment of the dream Blalock (pointing in top right photo) has had for more than four years is everything anyone could possibly have hoped for — and really, so much more. Although I obviously am raving about it, since my wife Jannah is the director of marketing for the facility, I could be accused of being unfairly biased about it.  

On the other hand, my favorite thing about the open house was walking around the facility, seeing the smiles (and often, gritty determination) on the young athletes’ faces, and hearing the buzz from all of the parents, all of whom were saying, “This is exactly what we need here.” They all let me know that I wasn’t alone in feeling the excitement that day. 

“I’m speechless about the facility,” said parent and Wesley Chapel resident Yanet Hernandez. “It’s amazing. Very clean and there’s a vibe that you get when you walk into the gym.”

Hernandez also pointed out something heartwarming, something that Blalock says also is part of his vision for training young athletes to be not only the best athletes they can be, but also the best people (and teammates) they can be. “Seeing the (volleyball) girls of all races and backgrounds playing together, being so polite to each other — it’s just such a great atmosphere!”

Open House Nuts & Bolts

Blalock (top right photo) and his RADDSports team have been chomping at the bit to get open (despite all of the obvious Covid concerns; more on that below), and he said the main purpose of the Open House was to help the local community get acquainted with this unique facility and everything it has to offer. 

Even though the Sports Campus will be bringing in tournaments in one of its four core sports — basketball, volleyball, cheerleading and soccer (both indoor and outdoor) — virtually every weekend, Blalock is equally excited about the programs that will be available just about every weekday throughout the year for local residents of all ages. 

He says all levels of athletes, from as young as three years old to adults, will be able to enjoy the Sports Campus during the week, and young athletes have three different levels (Developmental, Competitive & Elite) of instruction and competition in all four core sports — with evaluations and programs for each beginning this month.

Meet The RADD-Star Team!

The Open House also was an opportunity for most attendees to meet the amazing team of directors who will help pick the teams and the coaches who will be running the programs and training the kids. Cheer directors Matt McDonough and Lyric Hill, volleyball director Eric Praetorius, basketball director Ronnie Outen and soccer director Stuart Campbell were all on hand at the event, running the day’s program and meeting all of the interested young athletes. 

Hill and McDonough were helped with coaching and demonstrations of cheer stunts by the high school cheer squads from both Wiregrass Ranch and Cypress Creek high schools. Cheer participants even got to try their hands (and feet) on the 40-foot-long spring floor that looks very much like what Olympic gymnasts also use for training.

Praetorius brought in some of the truly outstanding high school volleyball players who have participated in other programs he has directed. The two volleyball courts set aside for the Open House were filled the entire four hours, with the elite players setting each other up to spike home winners and risking floor burns while diving on the shiny, new gym floor for digs, while everyone who was interested in the sport (no matter what level of player they were) received quick instructional tidbits from Praetorius and other coaches on hand — and lots of play time.

Outen somehow recruited an early morning adult full-court basketball game for the event, with separate full courts set aside for younger players. You could hear several parents and coaches cheering on the young hopefuls — including several talented girls, one of whom repeatedly did a great job of taking older, bigger boys to the hoop — from the sidelines.

And, although I left before he got there, Outen’s son Tyriq, a 6’-4” ice hockey goalie who recently was named the MVP of a major invitational tournament in Canada with his all-minority hockey team that was the surprise winner of the tournament, showed up to take pictures with his dad. We’ll tell you Tyriq’s story next issue.

And, you could just see soccer director Stuart Campbell, a former professional “footballer” in England (he’s actually of Scottish descent) and a former player and head coach for the Tampa Bay Rowdies — who probably is the RADDSports director who has most anticipated the day he can start actually coaching, rather than sitting in all-day meetings — absolutely beaming as he checked out the local soccer talent.

“This is quite an event,” Campbell said. “The kids are just loving the place!”

RADDSports director of programs Nicole Baker (another former cheerleader herself) also was on hand, doing temperature checks of everyone who entered the building, and helping Jannah and several volunteers make sure every participant signed an online or on-paper waiver before they entered the gym. There was plenty of hand sanitizer available and even though there were at least 300-400 people who stopped by at some point during the event, the spacious interior of the Sports Campus had plenty of space for social distancing.

One of my favorite things was the mezzanine, which has viewing available of the action in both Arenas A & B of the Sports Campus — each of which was designed for four basketball or eight volleyball courts. There’s also seating in the mezzanine overlooking the amazing cheer area.

The Wesley Chapel Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn, two of the Sports Campus’ hotel partners, and Culver’s and Bubba’s 33 restaurants — which are located on S.R. 56 and stand to receive a lot of out-of-town business from the facility on the weekends — had tables inside the lobby to show their support for the RADDSports team (which has held most of its meetings at the Hilton during the construction).

“We had a few potential sponsors come through to check us out, too,” Blalock said. “I can’t even tell you how happy we are to be (almost) open.”

Pasco County Tourism, aka the Florida Sports Coast, was scheduled to hold the actual ribbon cutting for the Sports Campus on Aug. 27, which was after we went to press with this issue. RADDSports is the county’s private partner which is managing the building that was funded by a recent voter-approved 2-cent increase in the county’s tourism (or “bed”) tax. 

“Play Ball,” indeed!

For sponsorship opportunities at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County (3021 Sports Coast Way), email Jannah@RADDSports.com. For program information, email Nicole@RADDSports.com. For sponsorship opportunities at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County (3021 Sports Coast Way), email Jannah@RADDSports.com. For program information, email Nicole@RADDSports.com. Also, you can call (833) TEAM-RADD (832-6723).

Kiran Indian Grocery — Where You’ll Be Treated Like Family!

Kiran Indian Grocery, located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza, has been a mainstay at this constantly-changing plaza since 2014. Before that, owner Kiran Vanthenapalli owned a store (from 2003-06; and an Indian restaurant, too) on E. Fowler Ave. and, from 2006-2010, her store was in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

That means that some of her beloved customers have known and trusted Kiran and her family and staff to provide their (predominantly) Indian and Pakistani spices, frozen foods, meats, snacks, sweets and even hair care and other cosmetic products (and so much more) for almost 18 years. 

And of course, Kiran is perhaps best known for her amazing selection of fresh produce, with some Indian specialty items I’ve never tasted (or even seen) before at prices that she says she knows, “no one can beat. I do my research — and no one beats my prices on produce.” 

But actually, saying that Kiran is best known for her produce isn’t 100-percent accurate. Kiran Indian Grocery is actually best-known for Kiran herself, something that no other store of any kind can boast.

(Top middle) Owner Kiran Vanthenapalli of Kiran Indian Grocery in the Cross Creek Center plaza describes a number of the different produce items that many Americans have never heard of, including imported-from-India garlic, Indian min-eggplants and super-spicy Thai chili peppers. “No one beats my produce prices,” she says. (Photos: Charmaine George)

Not only can Kiran tell you where each and every one of her thousands of available items are located, she also can tell you the prices for each — all off the top of her head. That’s kind of amazing because she has so many different items and many different brands of the same types of products — e.g., she has as many different “masala” seasonings and brands as most grocery stores have beers — crammed into a store that somehow seems both much bigger and much smaller than it actually is because it offers such an amazing variety of products. 

That’s not to say that Kiran’s staffers aren’t also knowledgeable. It just has to be impossible for anyone else to have memorized the price, size and exact location within the store of so many different items — many of which aren’t even marked with prices.

But, if Kiran tells you what the price is on any item, rest assured that when that item is rung up at the check-out counter, the exact price she quoted will pop up.

So Many Ways To Serve!

Serving her customers and their needs was of paramount importance to Kiran long before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. She always knows her army of regular customers not only by name (that’s too easy), but also by what they usually are looking for to stock their grocery carts. 

In fact, if she’s ever running low on an item she knows you always get, she’ll hold enough of that item for you, so you can stay stocked until she gets her next shipment of it. “If I only have three left, and I don’t know how soon I’ll get more, I’ll tell you to buy two of them,” she laughs.

And, if Kiran does somehow run out of one of your favorites, she’ll suggest an alternative that you can try that you might end up liking better. “I never want my customers going home unhappy,” she says.

In fact, even though a new, much larger Indian grocery store recently opened in New Tampa during the pandemic, Kiran says that while her customers may have checked out the new store to see what it has that she might not, “My customers are all still coming back because they say the new store (which also stocks a lot of Mediterranean items that she doesn’t carry) can’t match my prices or the service they receive here.” 

Kiran and I first met when we were both members of the Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon (which now meets Wednesdays at noon at Bayscape Bistro in Heritage Isles), and although neither of us currently belongs to that club (see page 34 for more info), we both are firm believers in Rotary International’s “Service Above Self” motto.

But, while service to the community is something I believe in and try to promote in these pages, Kiran and her husband Sudeer have always also served not only their community, but people — and even animals — in need around the world. 

Many of the service projects Kiran was  involved in — some of which she spearheaded — when she was in Rotary helped people in need in not only her native India, but also in other countries in Asia and Africa.

She also has been involved — at least since opening her store in Cross Creek — with the Tampa Bay chapter of the SPCA — the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — and she has donated fresh produce, rice and really anything the local chapter has needed because she is such a strong believer that people need pets and that so many of the pets in shelters can and do help individuals and families who need the kind of companionship and love that only a dog or cat can provide.

“I love the SPCA,” Kiran says. “It feels good to help them because they help so many people…and animals.”

And, even though she says doing grocery packing for her customers who physically can’t or aren’t comfortable walking into any store right now, “Is very time-consuming and difficult, because of all the different items we have, I just feel like I have to do it for some of these customers. We all wear masks and keep everyone socially distant, especially at the checkout line, but some people still need that help and I am proud to do that for them.”  

Service To Other Businesses, Too?

When Covid-19 hit back in March and I started going through the issues I did with my printer, Kiran was probably the first (but thankfully, not the only) advertiser to call me and say, “What do you need? How can I help?” 

When I interviewed Kiran for this story, she told me that, “I thought you said in the paper that you were going out of business, Gary. I started crying. I told Sudeer, ‘We have to help our brother.’”

Even though I thankfully never got to that point and have no Indian heritage whatsoever, Kiran has called me her brother for years now. And, even though she seems to treat everyone who stops into the store like a member of her family, I refer to her as my sister, too. You just can’t fake her kind of genuine goodness and compassion for others.

But, it’s a big compliment to me because she does also have an amazing family of which she is equally proud. Husband Sudeer is a software engineer and their older son Satvik just graduated from medical school at USF and is focusing on Psychiatry, while younger son Sahit recently graduated from USF undergrad and is applying to med schools, too.

Another case in point about how Kiran treats everyone is that, in part also because of Covid-19, when people check out at her store, she or her cashier will put coupons from other local businesses in the customers’ shopping bags. She has helped most of the Indian restaurants and other businesses owned by people from India and Pakistan in our area this way and she says that she would be happy to do it for other businesses, too. “We’re all in this thing together,” she says.

And of course, whether you like or want to cook Indian food or not, if you’re a fan of delicious chocolate cookies or other sweet and/or salty treats, or you want the best prices in town on fresh produce, you owe it to yourself to visit my sister Kiran.    

Kiran Indian Grocery is located at 10042 Cross Creek Blvd. and its recently updated open hours are Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For more info, call (813) 994-6202 or search “Kiran Indian Grocery” on Facebook!

Nibbles & Bytes

New Tampa BrewFest Moved Back To November!!

With the world having gone completely crazy over Covid-19, the Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon rightfully decided to postpone this year’s New Tampa BrewFest (which was seriously packed last year; photo, top right).

Recognizing that the original August date was too soon to host even a socially-distanced event, BrewFest chair Jeff Ulbrich said the Rotary Club decided to postpone the 2020 BrewFest until Saturday, November 7, beginning at 6 p.m., again at the Venetian Events Center on Cross Creek Blvd.

Attendees can again expect a huge variety (90 or more!) of craft, micro and other brews (from 30 top local breweries), including ciders and “hard” seltzers, plus top-notch wines and deliciously “legit” food trucks.

Look for additional updates in these pages and go ahead and pre-buy your tickets now at NewTampaNoonRotaryClub.eventbrite.com.

Saying Goodbye To Pier 1

I have never been the biggest fan of Pier 1 Imports in either of its New Tampa locations — I felt it was always just a little too pricey for the quality of the merchandise — but I am never happy to see another major anchor store close, and the Pier 1 located at 18047 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza on BBD was clearing out its inventory in preparation for the local store’s closing, as part of the Ft. Worth, TX-based chain’s shuttering of between 400-450 of its 1,000 or so locations nationwide.

But, this store appears to be in no hurry to close. The 20%-50%-off promise on every sign inside (photo, far right) still only brings Pier 1’s prices down to almost as low as the regular prices at Target or even At Home. I’m guessing that until the discounts hit 50%-70% off, there will still be plenty of inventory to keep it open.  

Coming To The Grove In WC!

Here are some of the new eateries and businesses that are either open now, are opening soon or are under construction in The Village at The Grove at Wesley Chapel:

• Double Branch Artisanal Ales (now open, but currently to-go only)

• F45 Training (open)

• Jillian Joseph Photography (open)

• Roman Group Realty

• Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar

• Lagoon Realty 

• The Dessert Box

• Brooklyn Bagel Co. (frontage on S.R. 54)

• King of the Coop (fried chicken; located next to Brooklyn Bagel on 54)

• Falabella Family Bistro

• The Kilted Axe

• Pizza Worx NY pizza

• Pasco EDC Business Incubator

• Japanese Restaurant (unnamed; replaces Casa Cubana, which will open a different eatery in the under-construction Krate container park at The Grove).

For The Grove leasing info, email Keren@mgoldgroup.com; for event info, email matheus@mgoldgroup.com! — GN  

Trust Cataract Surgery At St. Luke’s & Dr. David Scamard For After-Care

It was not quite 20 years ago when optometrist David Scamard, O.D., who had only recently opened his first office on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., first asked me my age and then said, “Yes, that makes sense. You’re going to need to start wearing reading glasses soon.”

I was flabbergasted. 

“But Doctor Dave, I’ve been nearsighted since I was eight years old. You’re going to tell me that now, I’m going to be farsighted, too? How can that even be?”

As it turned out, he was right. I started needing either bifocal contact lenses or correcting one eye for close-up reading and the other eye for activities like watching TV and driving — by the following year.

So, even though Dr. Dave has had other offices in Lutz since then, his “Excellence in Eye Care, LLC” office has been located in his new home — he has been the Independent Optometrist inside the Costco off S.R. 56 — for about two years. 

And, even though I briefly changed optometrists after Dr. Dave closed his most recent office on S.R. 54 in Lutz, when I was told late last year by that other optometrist that I had a cataract in my left eye that might need to be surgically corrected in the future, I got a second opinion months later from Dr. Dave, whose new office in Costco is across the street from where Jannah and I live.

Fortunately for me, not only did Dr. Dave confirm that I had a cataract in my left eye, he said, “You also have just the beginning of one in your right eye, too.”

I wasn’t really considering surgery before I visited Dr. Dave, because I hadn’t yet really noticed any change in my vision. 

That is, until Jannah and I were driving home one evening in January of this year, after visiting my mom in Sarasota. As the skies turned from dusk into dark, I noticed that whenever there was a vehicle driving southbound as we were headed northbound on I-75, the glare from the headlights of those oncoming vehicles would temporarily prevent me from seeing the tail lights of the vehicles in front of me.  

Everytime this happened, I would tap my brakes, to make sure I wasn’t getting too close, which isn’t a particularly safe thing to do when you’re going 70 mph on an interstate highway. I immediately stopped driving at night after that incident and asked my old friend to recommend a good cataract surgeon. 

Cataracts are like a film over the lens of your eye, so even I could understand that when they replace the “foggy” lens surgically, it definitely will make your vision clearer.

Thank You, St. Luke’s!

Dr. Dave recommended two or three different ophthalmic surgeons that he felt comfortable with, but I ultimately chose to go with Dr. Jeffrey Wipfli of the St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute, who had amazing reviews online and an office nearby (on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Carrollwood), but who performs his surgeries at the main St. Luke’s location on U.S. Hwy. 19 in Tarpon Springs.

Not only that, but St. Luke’s has been a some-time advertiser with us and we actually did a story about Dr. Wipfli in a Wesley Chapel issue last October, so I felt even better about entrusting him with something as precious as my eyesight.

The truly amazing thing is that I got the cataract in my left eye fixed in late January and the right eye in mid-February, so my eyes were all fixed prior to the shutdown of elective surgeries in Florida due to Covid-19. I even got to do both follow-up appointments with Dr. Dave before he had to temporarily close his office in Costco.

Easiest Surgery Ever!

I have no idea how it’s been for surgery patients at St. Luke’s since March, but I did notice this on the company’s website as I was writing this story:

“This has been a challenging time for all of us. Many of you know that St. Luke’s has remained open on a much restricted schedule to do our best to serve our patients through the last several weeks. We have been able to serve many of our patients who have had urgent needs by keeping our doors open in our main office in Tarpon Springs….We have resumed surgery and all clinic locations are now open. Safety of our patients and employees is the priority for us as we continue to practice social distance and adhere to all CDC and governmental guidelines.”

But, here’s how both cataract surgeries went for me at St. Luke’s:

The office staff tells you to expect your total time there to be between 3-4 hours, of which waiting and taking care of all of your pre-surgical paperwork takes up about two of those hours. Jannah drove me and waited for me to drive me home both times, since your vision can be a little blurry at first and because you are mildly sedated during the surgery. All the amazing St. Luke’s surgical assistants tell you to do is to focus on the light being shined in that eye and the surgeries seemed to be over in a few seconds, rather than the few minutes it actually does take.

I could see pretty well out of the surgical eye both times right away, but it takes some getting used to because none of your old glasses will properly correct your vision in the surgical eye and wearing one of your existing contact lenses on the other eye really only works after the first surgery.

The cool thing was that Dr. Wipfli let me pick beforehand what I wanted my vision to be after the surgery. And, because I spend so much time at the computer writing and editing, I chose to be able to see up close with no correction whatsoever and to only have to wear glasses to watch TV and drive. Most patients can choose to have uncorrected vision for both far and near, but it was more expensive to do so and Dr. Wipfli said that, for a variety of reasons specific to me, I might still need some correction for either near or far, even if I did pay more.

And I’m glad, because since Covid-19, I’ve been able to wear my glasses anytime I go anywhere (some eye protection is better than none) and I really only have to take them off to read a menu at a restaurant (which we didn’t do for a long while).

Best Post-Surgical Care, Too!

So now, here’s the scoop on doing business with Dr. Dave, whose Excellence in Eye Care, LLC, is an A-Rated business, according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and still has a 5-Star rating on Google Reviews with more than 160 reviews. The practice even has a 5-Star rating on its Facebook page. 

Excellence in Eye Care also features some amazingly high-tech equipment. For eye exams, Dr. Dave uses an Optos retinal camera (photo on this page) in his office. This high-tech machine is a retinal imager that gives the optometrist a view of the internal structures of your eyes, so that, for many patients, it means they don’t have to have their eyes dilated at their annual exam.

“When your pupils are dilated,” Dr. Dave explains, “you are very sensitive to bright light and your nearsightedness is fuzzy, sometimes for up to five hours after dilation. It’s something that compels a lot of people to pass up their eye exams.”

One of the other high-tech devices Dr. Dave uses is a RT-5100 Refractor, a digital refractor with electric motors that change the lenses. He operates the digital refractor from a console on his desk.

“The digital refractor is faster, more accurate and more efficient than the old-style analog devices,” Dr. Dave says. “Our patients appreciate that we have the latest technology available to them.”

But, perhaps the most important thing going for Dr. Dave as an optometrist is his people skills — which are awesome — and his entire office staff is always friendly, professional and happy to serve their patients. 

And, you do not have to be a Costco member to see Dr. Dave. Tell the membership checkers at the entrance that you’re there to see him and they’ll let you go back.

He notes, however, that you do have to be a Costco member to purchase your glasses or contact lenses in the store, but Dr. Dave will provide you with both prescriptions so you can buy your glasses/lenses anywhere else you choose.

And, it’s nice to be able to pick up a bottle (or case) of wine or a 3-lb. bag of coffee when you get your eyes checked, too. 

Excellence in Eye Care is located at 2225 Grand Cypress Dr. The office is open Tues. & Thur., 1 p.m.-7 p.m.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wed. & Fri. & 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sat. Optical insurance is not accepted, although itemized receipts are provided that patients can use to get reimbursed by their providers. I]Eye insurance can, however, be applied to lenses and frames you buy at Costco. For appointments (although walk-ins are welcome) and more info, call (813) 279-7038 or visit ExcellenceinEyeCare.net.