Don’t Shoot The Messenger! A Hopeful Update About Olympus Pools

Gary Nager

There’s no doubt that it’s been a difficult several months for Olympus Pools, the swimming pool contractor that has built more pools in the Tampa Bay area than any other company. 

Following a flurry of complaints on Facebook by a plethora of Olympus customers with unfinished pools, which prompted a number of investigative news reports on several Tampa Bay-area TV stations, followed by pending lawsuits and even reported investigations by local law enforcement agencies, Olympus owners (and long-time New Tampa residents) James and Alexis Staten knew they had to do something. 

And, considering that there were close to 300 customers reported to have partly or (in many cases) fully paid for, but unfinished, pools, and so many of them were complaining about a lack of communication from the company, the Statens had to not only act quickly, they had to seek help.

To that end, according to a news release sent on May 25, a highly-rated Tampa Bay-area pool company had jumped in to help Olympus Pools, thanks to a new partnership between the two companies and their owners.

Specific terms of the partnership were not disclosed, but Jordan Hidalgo, a general contractor who founded Pools by Jordan, a high-end pool construction company based in Pinellas county, has partnered with Olympus to help assist and help restore the company to its pre-Covid standing. 

“I saw what Olympus’ customers were going through on the news, but I also know the high quality of Olympus’ work and their capabilities. So, after weeks of negotiations, I’m happy to say we’ve reached an agreement, and we’re excited to get to work on sorting this all out,” said Hidalgo.

Hidalgo, who also runs a management consulting firm for pool companies called The Pool Consultants, and his team have taken over administration, accounting, permitting, purchasing and customer relations for Olympus.

James Staten, who founded Olympus Pools, will remain on board and out front, running sales, field operations and business development.

Olympus Pools, which was founded in 2010 by Staten, has generated more than $150 million in revenue over the last decade and completed more than 3,000 pools.

The release also promised more direct access to ownership, improved customer relations, and those who have been waiting for their pools to get started can expect work to begin sooner, thanks to the new partnership. 

“Some things are going to happen immediately, and (others) are going to take a little bit of time as we dig into things, but we’re ready to get all of these pools done as quickly as possible and work on rebuilding the positive image that Olympus worked so hard to achieve,” said Hidalgo. 

The news of the partnership comes amid a flurry of recent work activity, including reports of dozens of pools finally started and/or completed. 

“I’m looking forward to putting this chapter behind Olympus and showing what our talented teams are capable of accomplishing together,” said Hidalgo in the release.

I told the Statens that I would pull their advertising until things improved for them and that rather than jump on the media bandwagon maligning the company, my primary concern was trying to help those customers, especially those who still had unfinished holes in their yards.

Some will say that despite the new partnership, it’s all still too little too late for Olympus (which is still taking some lumps online), but the Statens’ promise to complete every unstarted/unfinished pool and not take on new customers until those pools are done is definitely a step in the right direction.  

Pick of the Week: Ice SSSScreamin’

If you’re looking for truly delicious, gourmet ice cream and treats, you have to check out the new Ice SSSScreamin’ shop, located at 14933 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., next to Mr. Dunderbak’s in the Oak Ramble Plaza, just south of Tampa Palms.

My new friend Zee says this is his second store with the many “S” name, with the other having been located in Cape Coral for 15 years. Both stores serve decadently creamy Yoder’s Southern Creamery ice cream (based in Sarasota) in an amazing array of flavors, several of which I got to sample on my first visit, including brownie caramel, chocolate peanut butter and triple peanut butter and all are absolutely unforgettable!

Zee says, “People love us for our monthly specials,” plus croissant sundaes, pancake, waffle and even donut ice cream sandwiches, hand-spun milk shakes (“We can make them with any of our flavors”) and more!

There’s even no sugar added and vegan flavors available. For more information or to place an order, call (813) 605-5040 or visit icesssscreamin.com and please tell Zee I sent you! — GN    

Goofy Turtle Offers A Huge Variety Of Fun, Educational Toys!

Before you visit the new Goofy Turtle toy store inside the Tampa Premium Outlets (located next to Saks Off 5th), you should get rid of all of the preconceived notions you have about toy stores.

Goofy Turtle has prices similar to what you’ll find at Walmart or Target, and has a selection that rivals the old Toys “R” Us stores, but in a much smaller space and with a completely different focus.

At Goofy Turtle — which is owned by long-time friends Swathi Atchuta, Soujanya Nomula and Lakshmi Kanthi Korlepara and their spouses — although there are some more traditional toys, the emphasis is on fun toys for kids that also are educational. Really.

(Clockwise from top left):  Co-owner Swathi Atchuta shows off a Poke-A-Dot book by Melissa & Doug toys. Your kids can try out some of their new toys (or just hang out) in Goofy Turtle’s Princess Castle play area. The Toddler Tree greets you as you enter the store. Crafty kids will love Aquabeads, which are an improvement over Perler Beads because you only have to add water, instead of ironing them, to create a variety of cool toys. (Photos by Charmaine George)

The three families that own Goofy Turtle all have children ages 7-11 and all have lamented over the lack of anything educational to be found in most toy stores. They also didn’t like the idea of finding items they thought they would like on Amazon and other online services that they ended up having to return because they either weren’t of the quality or the size they expected.

“One thing we can honestly say is that people who buy toys here don’t bring them back because they’re not satisfied,” Swathi says. “Our staff is trained to know about every toy in the store and people appreciate being able to see and touch what they buy before they buy it!”

So, since Goofy Turtle is a new franchise that currently only has three stores — the flagship store in Manchester, CT, plus Grapevine, TX, and the Lutz/Wesley Chapel location at the outlet mall — the partners liked the flexibility and the corporate entity’s focus on educational toys.

Unfortunately, the local partners originally leased their space in late 2019, or just before the pandemic hit, and weren’t able to open until shortly before Christmas of 2020.

“No one knew we were here,” says Swathi, “so we’re trying to get the word out now about everything we have to offer.”

A Truly Amazing Selection!  

Although mine and Jannah’s kids are now adults, we are both grandparents to amazing toddlers and Goofy Turtle starts with the kind of fun, educational toys that stimulate young minds like Jax’s and Rosie’s. From musical Ditty Bird and Poke-A-Dot books by Melissa & Doug, dolls, musical toys, play mats, trucks and so much more by Melissa & Doug, Haba and Green Toys (whose toys are all made from recycled materials), to “crafty” toys for slightly older kids, like Aquabeads, Craft-Tastic, Land of Dough (which is a truly reusable Play-Doh improvement taken to the next level) and so many others, young minds never had so much fun learning — at least my kids never did!

  • (Clockwise from top left):  You can’t beat the variety of crafting toys at Goofy Turtle. Swathi shows off a Wild Republic plush sea turtle. Whether you want your kids to select from a huge variety of STEAM or Coding toys, you can’t beat the selection at Goofy Turtle, which also has Steve Spangler Science brand Oobleck! slime/quicksand. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Yes, there is a smattering of Disney and Star Wars learning toys mixed in, but even the plush toys at Goofy Turtle are educational, especially the large variety of Wild Republic animals and dinosaurs.

Swathi also says that kids love hanging out in Goofy Turtle’s unique Princess Castle (see photo at the bottom of the previous page) so much that many parents have asked them where they got it so they can re-create it in their own homes.

If you have older kids and/or teenagers in your home who also would appreciate playing with something other than (or, at least, in addition to) video games, Goofy Turtle also has you covered with such high-tech wizardry that a lot of it went over my head…completely!

“Not only do we have an entire STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) toy section, we also have quite a few STEAM toys that include that Art element, too,” Swathi says, as she shows me one of several Power Blox by E-Blox sets that can even use your kids’ existing building bricks to create their own toys that light up and move. Think Legos on steroids.

There also is a large section of wall devoted to coding toys. 

(Clockwise from top left): For kids who seemingly love to break things, try iPlay iLearn’s Take Apart toys. Kids can learn how to fly their drones in Goofy Turtle’s Drone Cone. Odyssey’s UpShot bow & arrow gaming system is one of many available smart toys. We couldn’t fit all of the hot, trending items for sale in Goofy Turtle, so pictured above are just a few of them.

Science toys include everything from the Thinkfun brand Code Master and Code On The Brink programming logic games (for ages 8-definitely-not-this-adult) to the MoBotz Ramblez voice-changing “sidekick” and the UpShot Bow & Arrow gaming system from Odyssey, Steve Spangler Science brand Oobleck! slime/quicksand and so many more that I’m really not doing the list of STEM and STEAM goodies justice. 

And of course, since drone vehicles are the wave of the future, not only is there a huge selection of drones for sale, there’s even what I call the Drone Cone, where kids can learn how to control and fly their drones in an enclosed space.

Swathi and her partner Soujanya’s husband Eshwar Babu Vanaparthi, who helped take me on the tour of the store, also promise that as the Covid pandemic hopefully becomes more and more a thing of the past, that Goofy Turtle will offer much more opportunity for kids to try out toys in the store.

There’s even plans to convert one area of the store (near the Princess Castle) into an enclosed small party room where each child in attendance can play with a toy their parents have purchased and other fun play ideas coming soon.

In other words, even though Goofy Turtle also offers more traditional play blocks, pogo sticks and other less-educational toys, this is no ordinary toy store and you should definitely bring your kids of all ages to check it out!

Goofy Turtle (2416 Grand Cypress Dr.Âșw) is open Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. & 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (813) 406-0518 or visit GoofyTurtle.com and please tell them the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News sent you! 

Mahana Fresh To Offer Free Bowls On June 12 — Don’t Miss It!

The fact that restaurants serving a variety of bowls have taken over the collective consciousness (and appetites) of the local community hasn’t been lost on Ryan Mortti, now the co-owner of Mahana Fresh, located just north of I-75 off Doña Michelle Dr. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa.

Ryan, who also owns his own construction company, recognized the need to do more to capture more customers, especially with multiple new bowl-oriented restaurants either having opened recently or getting ready to open within a couple of miles of his Mahana Fresh location — which is one of three in the Bradenton-based mini-chain.

To that end, Ryan has brought in an experienced partner, Chris Courtney-James, who was responsible the last several years for making sure that Dunkin’ Donuts locations that hadn’t been meeting company expectations were brought up to speed. More important, however, is that Chris also spent years in the kitchens of restaurants across the Tampa Bay area and, in his words, “isn’t afraid to spend a lot of time cooking at a hot grill.”

In addition, Ryan and Chris have a special offer that they hope will bring in plenty of locals — two hours of free Mahana-sized bowls on Saturday, June 12, from noon-1 p.m. and from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. You can pick a bowl, any bowl — one per person, for dine-in only.

Photographer Charmaine George and I spent some time recently at the local Mahana Fresh and even though both of us already loved the food, we were impressed with the incredible precision with which the bowl-oriented eatery prepared for a large catering order — as well as with the delicious aromas that emanated from those grills while tender steaks and marinated chicken breasts and thighs were cooked over the open flame.

An Amazing Selection! 

For those who have never tried Mahana Fresh, you shouldn’t wait until June 12 to check it out. Here’s how it works. You choose from three sizes — Kids (with 1 base, 1 veggie, 1 protein & your choice of sauce), Mahana (1 base, 2 veggies, 1 protein & sauce) and the Big Mahana (2 bases, 2 veggies, 2 proteins & sauce).

The bases include coconut or cauliflower rice, a basmati rice blend, sesame noodles, spinach or my favorite, the kale crunch salad.

Your proteins include marinated ahi tuna, plus Key West, BBQ or (Jannah’s favorite) teriyaki chicken, plus spicy grilled tofu and tender, grilled-to-order steak (my favorite). 

The incredible veggies (above photo) include roasted mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes, Buffalo cauliflower, garlicky cilantro green beans and my two favorites, the sesame ginger broccoli and the honey sriracha Brussels sprouts. 

Available sauces include coconut sweet potato, creamy wasabi and mine and Jannah’s two favorites, the cilantro vinaigrette and the citrus ginger.

For a small extra charge, add roasted almonds, avocado smash, parmesan cheese, Jannah’s favorite feta cheese and my fave, the Mediterranean tomatoes. 

Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with any of them, but if you have any trouble deciding, Mahana Fresh has now introduced “Signature Bowls,” including everything from a “Keto Surfer Bowl” (cauliflower rice, sesame ginger broccoli, roasted mush-rooms, grilled steak & cilantro vinaigrette) to a “Veggie Vacay Bowl” (coconut rice, sesame ginger broccoli, roasted mushrooms, sesame garlic tofu and coconut sweet potato sauce) and The Big Kahuna Bowl (basmati rice blend, spinach, Buffalo cauliflower, garlicky cilantro green beans, BBQ chicken, grilled steak and cilantro lime vinaigrette). 

And, all of Mahana Fresh’s house-made desserts are pretty tasty, especially for gluten-free — and include chocolate chip cookies, zucchini brownies and snickerdoodle cookies. 

As for beverages, Mahana Fresh has done away with its unique beer taps, but still has  fountain sodas, Pure Leaf sweet and unsweet tea, regular and strawberry lemonade, a variety of Bubly flavored sparkling waters and Bai flavored antioxidant infusion drinks.

Mahana Fresh is located at 17512 Doña Michelle Dr. and is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. every day. For more information, call (727) 238-9967 or visit MahanaFresh.com.

Bringing Mini-Golf To The Grove!

As mentioned earlier, Ryan also owns his own construction company and has been busy working on not only completing many of the repurposed shipping containers at the KRATE container park at The Grove, but also on bringing a cool mini-golf course to the area near The Grove theater, with his brother Matt Mortti and his sister Melissa Schachtner and her husband Andrew Schachtner. 

“It won’t have windmills but it will have a mountain with waterfalls and fire, plus cool trick shots,” Ryan says, adding that the tropical-themed course also will have a tiki hut restaurant that serves beer and wine.

Are You Looking To Have Your Dream Wedding…On A Budget?

In case you hadn’t heard, one of the more unexpected effects of the 2020 pandemic was the cancellation of many weddings — as people weren’t allowed or were afraid to travel, or even go out to eat, much less spend hours in a room full of people. Many were even skittish about staying in hotels.

To that end, our friends at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel on S.R. 56 have come up with a unique idea to help those who lost deposits or otherwise had to cancel or postpone their nuptials, as well as those who were hoping to still make their wedding a beautiful occasion on a budget they can afford.

The concept is called “My Dream Micro Wedding” and it offers the opportunity for a wedding event that will be intimate, as well as budget-friendly.

You’ll be able to invite a small guest list of your family and dearest friends, all for one cost that will include everything you need to have the glamorous feel of a large wedding, with all of the “trimmings,” at a fraction of what it would normally cost.

Your Dream Micro Wedding reduces your time frame to only two hours, but includes all of the following for one budget-friendly price: a beautiful venue, a wedding planner, white linens, white chair covers with gold bows, a wedding officiant, photography (and event photo book), a live DJ, hors d’oeuvres, two-hour bar, bride’s makeup done (day of wedding), custom bridal and maid of honor bouquets, custom boutonnieres for groom and groomsman, table floral dĂ©cor, sweetheart table, cake cutting, plus a local engagement photo shoot prior to the event and a one-night stay at the Hilton Garden Inn on the event date.

The only “catch” is that My Dream Micro Wedding currently is only being offered on Saturday, June 19, and while your two-hour timeframe will be exclusively yours, there will be other couples getting married at the hotel the same day. 

Even so, Hilton Garden Inn director of market sales Lisa Moore promises that, “We have brought together the most awesome vendors in Florida, in order to make your special day perfect. All of the details have been taken care of for you — all you have to do is give us a call ASAP to reserve your time and discuss all of those details with us.”

Moore also says that if this first-time “My Dream Micro Wedding” event proves to be a success (as she fully expects), “we will begin offering to do the same thing on other dates in the future.”

To reserve your two-hour timeframe now, call Moore as soon as possible at (813) 591-6907. The Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel is located at 26640 Silver Maple Pkwy. For more information, visit TampaWesleyChapel.HGI.com or email Moore at Lisa.Moore2@hilton.com.