Lines Still Too Long At Whataburger? Check Out The Tasty New Beef & Buns On BBD!

Now open (since Mar. 21) in Wesley Chapel, the new Beef N’ Buns restaurant, located in the space previously occupied by Balanced Foods (at 1211 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., next to the Target store) is a non-chain specializing in halal smash burgers and fresh-battered chicken sandwiches, wings, fries and desserts. 

Photographer Charmaine George and I sampled a few items at the new Beef N’ Buns, which is the restaurant’s second location (the original is in Orlando), with the third location in Plantation, FL, also having just opened. 

And, oh yeah, we enjoyed everything we tried. The smash burgers are available as singles, doubles and even triples (we ordered the B&B Smash double; left photo), with caramelized onions, American cheese and old-fashioned pickles on a brioche bun. Other burgers include the Karachi Fire (with “cashew fire” sauce), the Gaucho Burger (with cilantro lime aioli and a sunnyside-up egg) and many more. 

We also liked the extra-crispy O.G. Chicken Sandwich (top photo; we ordered the garlic aioli on the side). There are also Mango Habanero, Nashville Hot and Buffalo Ranch chicken sandwiches. We paired our sandwiches with crispy sweet potato fries, but there also are Cajun and truffle fries and even onion rings. I’ll be back to try the Steak N’ Cheese and Birria Bomb sandwiches, and the Cookie Caramel Sundae for dessert. For more info about Beef N’ Buns, call (813) 345-8116. Or, search “beef.n.buns” on Instagram. — GN, photos by Charmaine George 

North Tampa Bay Chamber Ribbon-Cutting Events — Face Foundrié, Hale Law & Drybar

It’s been another busy few weeks for the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC)’s giant scissors, as there were four NTBC ribbon-cutting events just between Apr. 21 and Apr. 29, including the Face Foundrié, Hale Law Accident Attorneys and Drybar Wesley Chapel. 

On Apr. 21, the Face Foundrié not only cut a Chamber ribbon but also opened its doors for the first time at 28249 Paseo Dr., Unit 190, in The Shops at Wiregrass. Its Grand Opening will be held on Saturday, May 30, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. 

Local franchise owners Brenda and her daughter Elle Vansteenburg (right) welcomed Chamber members to tour the beautiful new facial spa, one of nearly 90 Face Foundrié locations in 25 U.S. states (10 in Florida). The company was founded in Edina, MN, in 2019 by CEO Michele Henry, and the Wesley Chapel Face Foundrié offers a variety of facials, lashes, brows & skin care products, with memberships available. For more info about the Face Foundrié, call (656) 246- 5141 or visit FaceFoundrie.com. 

Next, on Apr. 23, Hale Law Accident Attorneys cut an NTBC ribbon at the firm’s office location at 6408 E. Fowler Ave. in Temple Terrace. Founded by Patrick Hale (at right in photo, left) in Sarasota in 2018, Hale and co-managing partner Patrick Iyampillai (with microphone in same photo), fellow partner Rose Kasweck and attorneys Patrick Barnes, Maxwell Shrem, James Tanton and Kristi Paschall, are all dedicated to representing everyday Floridians who have been wrongfully injured by someone else’s negligence. 

As the official accident law firm for USF, Hale Law does not take on corporate clients or insurance company defense work — “just people who need someone to fight for them,” Hale said. The partners in the highly-rated firm (the Temple Terrace office has a 5.0-star rating on nearly 30 reviews on Google) told everyone who attended the ribbon-cutting event that they should “Go to Hale (Law)” if they’re ever injured. 

For more info, call (813) 547-4980 (24 hours/day) or visit HaleLaw.com. 

Later that same day, Drybar Wesley Chapel hosted another well-attended NTBC ribbon-cutting event. Already open for several weeks, the location at 28163 Paseo Dr., Suite 135, is an elegant-looking salon that specializes in styling and blow-drying all different types of hair, with catchy cocktail-copying names (putting the “bar” in “Drybar”) for the styles, like “The Cosmo” and “The Old Fashioned.” 

Franchise owners LeShundra Haughton (in Drybar yellow in photo, right) and her son Xavier (with sunglasses) and LeShundra’s husband August Haughton (left) and her sister LaTonya DeShazier (far right) welcomed Chamber members to check out all that Drybar has to offer, including not only the blowout services, but also braids, clip-in hair extensions, hair care products, memberships and gift cards. 

Drybar, which today has nearly 200 locations (15 in Florida), debuted in Brentwood, CA, in 2010. As LeShundra said, “We want to help everyone have their best hair day.” 

For more info, call (813) 702-1066 or visit DrybarShops.com. — GN; all photos by Charmaine George 


PTSD Foundation Also Cuts A Chamber Ribbon

The following week, on Aug. 28, the PTSD Foundation of America Florida Chapter also hosted a Chamber ribbon-cutting event at its office in the Mango Coworking Space at 2831 Allegra Way (off Wesley Chapel Blvd.) in Lutz. 

Florida PTSD Foundation Chapter general manager Luis Pancha (at right in photo with NTBC president and CEO Hope Kennedy), a Marine Corps veteran, told attendees that the Foundation isn’t made up of therapists, but it does provide much-needed services for veterans and their families, including in-person peer mentoring and putting those who are at risk of becoming another one of the 44 U.S. military veterans each day who commit suicide in touch with licensed therapists. Foundation volunteers also help vets with writing grants and even with finding jobs. 

“This office is a place where veterans and their families can come for support, connection and hope,” Pancha said. 

Pancha clearly is the right person for the job. He told the attendees, “I’m not here to ask for donations. I ask for word of mouth because that’s how our Foundation can grow. So, I hope five people here will talk to five people to spread the word.” 

He also said that the local chapter actually started back in 2023 because, “As a veteran, I know that the need is great. It’s very difficult for people to understand what PTSD really is, but I suffer from PTSD a lot myself and my wife Samantha helped pull me out of the darkness. Now, I get to reach into people’s darkness and help pull them out as well.” 

The need is clearly great, as two veterans I met during the event told me that they had attempted suicide more than once. 

The event included huge donations of food from multiple sources, and Craving Donuts co-owner Vanzelle Nibbs parked his donut truck at the event and gave each attendee at least one free donut. I had enjoyed these gourmet donuts at previous events, but until you’ve had them hot and crisp outside and soft inside, you haven’t really tasted them! For more info about the PTSD Foundation, call (813) 940-0015 or visit PTSDUSA.org. For Craving Donuts, call (813) 466-9365 or visit CravingDonuts.com. — GN 

‘Serve For Strength’ Pickleball Event At Saddlebrook Is Just The Beginning

Valerie Simon returns a shot during the Serve for Strength tournament at Saddlebrook on Apr. 19. 

Anyone who was ever an athlete whose career — whether you had any chance of turning pro or going to the Olympics — was cut short by injury can certainly relate to the story of Wesley Chapel resident Valerie Simon. 

Once the top-rated girls tennis player in Florida, who was training at the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy at Saddlebrook Resort, and one of the top handful in the entire country, Valerie, who is now 18, tripped on a tennis ball in 2023 and the injury she suffered, according to her mother Daniella, “was misdiagnosed as not being a fracture.” 

As the pain of the injury continued to get worse, rather than improve, Valerie ended up at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, where titanium rods were surgically implanted to repair her broken navicular bone. 

Following the recommended healing time, Valerie entered and won the Dasani Georgia Mayor’s Cup Junior “Super Championship,” but after receiving the trophy, Valerie insisted “My other foot is broken.” Because she had put so much pressure on her non-surgical foot during the tournament, Daniella says, “she now had a broken navicular bone in her other foot. Her career was over at barely 16 years old. She tried many time to go back to tennis,” but couldn’t because of the “loading” you have to do to hit those power shots. 

Making Lemonade 
(l.-r.) Victoria, Valerie, Vanessa, Daniella, Jonathan and Zachary Simon.

After seeing how expensive her medical bills were, Daniella says, “She made lemonade from lemons and turned pain into purpose,” by starting “Serve for Strength,” a 501(c)(3) nonprofit “supporting individuals and families facing life-changing health challenges…Through community-driven events, we raise funds for organizations that provide care and relief to those in need. 

Because of the amazing surgeries she received at HSS, Daniella says the new organizations first three fund raisers were held in New York to benefit the Foot & Ankle Dept. at HSS. 

“I felt very alone after my injuries,” Valerie says. “I didn’t want anyone else to feel alone.” 

Valerie signed with the Professional Pickleball Association in Jan., so Daniella decided to host Serve for Strength’s most recent fund raiser on Apr. 19, on the new eight-court pickleball complex at Saddlebrook, where the entire family — twin sisters Vanessa and Victoria, 16, her father Jonathan and 13-year-old brother Zachary, as well as Daniella, all played or helped run the event. 

“We had about 170 people enter the tournament, where we had multiple men’s and women’s divisions — a total of 12 age brackets. We brought together people of all ages, from teens to people in their 80s. Some had only four teams, others had as many as twelve. Several of the players had taken clinics with our girls and were playing competitively for the first time ever. We even had a ‘Meet a Partner, Make a Friend’ event after the tournament ended because we had to shut down the entries.” 

So, how did the tournament do? 

“We ended up raising about $3,500 to help fund the Foundation’s future events,” Daniella says, because everything we want to do costs money.” 

Thanking The Sponsors 

Daniella says that without the help of the major sponsors, especially Saddlebrook, “We could never have put on an event like this. They were wonderful. [Saddlebrook general manager] Jeff Mayers donated the courts and hospitality tents, plus waters for all players, ice, orange juice and fresh fruit. They also provided T-shirts for every player. Serve for Strength split the cost of the shirts.” Other sponsors included Century 21 Molly Nye, José Pomoles from State Farm, and Farina Orthodontics. “Yes! Apples is a year-round sponsor, too,” Daniella says. 

Up next for Serve for Strength is an entire weekend at Saddlebrook — Saturday & Sunday, June 6-7. 

“Saturday will be another pickleball event and Sunday will be a ‘Swing for Strength’ golf tournament,” she says. “We’re just really trying to get the word out that we are here to help.” 

For more information about Serve for Strength or to enter either event in June, visit ServeforStrength.org. 

Jamie’s Back As TrebleMakers Is Rebranded As A Sports & Dueling Piano Bar!

It was only a few years ago when TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant at The Grove was mine and Jannah’s favorite place to eat in Wesley Chapel. And, even though we always enjoyed the dueling piano shows, most of the time, we just wanted our fresh grouper or wahoo or a great steak that we couldn’t get at the local chains. 

But, over the last couple of years, many of our favorite items either fell off the menu or the recipes for them were changed, so even though we kept trying for a while, we eventually pretty much stopped going altogether. 

But now, original owner Jamie Hess is back partnering with Jason James, there’s a new chef and the place itself has become TrebleMakers Sports Bar & Dueling Pianos, with additional TVs, pool tables, dart boards and Golden Tee Golf, plus some type of entertainment every night of the week and a whole new menu and vibe. 

The best thing, however — at least for Jannah and me — is that the restaurant’s new menu has a whole slew of new items and the few we sampled on our first visit were all excellent and will definitely bring us back for more — especially with all the other new “stuff” to enjoy. 

Our meal started with a unique bruschetta (left photo), which added a base of creamy goat cheese spread to the usual crispy crostinis, house-made bruschetta and aged balsamic drizzle. I’m not usually a big goat cheese guy, but this was yum! 

For our main course, Jannah opted for the Chicken Pesto Bowl (below right), which had a creamy parmesan risotto base, grilled chicken, house-made pesto and garlic lemon butter broccoli and fresh tomatoes, also topped with a balsamic glaze. She loved the risotto and we both appreciated that the broccoli was tender, but not mushy. 

I chose one of my old TrebleMakers favorites — the (half) Rack of Lamb, which was four tender grilled chops (I don’t eat lamb rare or even medium rare, as I do steak; my lamb was properly medium for me), with a honey bourbon gastrique (a caramelized sugar & vinegar reduction), crispy fried buttermilk onion rings (Jannah loved those!) and a side of that same delish broccoli. 

Other appetizers on the menu include “Boom-Boom” Shrimp, Spinach Artichoke Dip, a Pub Pretzel, Fried Brussels Sprouts and wings (bone-in or boneless). 

There also are three salads on the menu, including a Treble Wedge, Chicken Caesar and Mandarin Chicken. 

For sandwiches, there are four different Smash Burgers, plus a Blackened Salmon BLT, French Dip, Philly Cheesesteak and The Jolene (fried chicken breast with pimento cheese and bourbon bacon onion jam). Other Bowls include a Steak Chimichurri, Mediterranean and a panko fried Chicken Katsu. 

And yes, you can still get Entrée Favorites an 8-oz. filet mignon, orange basil glazed salmon, honey bourbon glazed chicken and fish & chips. 

Feel like a lighter bite for lunch? Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the lunch menu includes smaller portions of many of your TrebleMakers favorites, all just $10-$12, although it costs $2 more to add fries to any of the items. There’s a Chopped Cheeseburger Hoagie, a Shrimp Rice Bowl, Chicken Bacon Caesar Tacos, Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and more! 

If you like to day drink with your lunch, draft beers are either $4 or $5, with $6 glasses of house wine and well drinks, $7 for all Tito’s cocktails and $8 red or white sangria glasses. 

Happy Hours are Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. & Sat.-Sun, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., with the same draft beer prices, plus bottles or cans of beer just $4-$6 and $6 seltzers. All Happy Hour “Bar Bites” menu items are just $10 and include Buffalo Dip & Chips, Loaded Treble Fries, Arancini Risotto Balls w/Marinara, 5 Bone-In or Boneless Wings & more! 

More Than Just The Food! 

But, TrebleMakers is now also a great place to have fun every day! Check out this different-each-day entertainment: 

Monday-Rockin’ Bingo 

Tuesday-Trivia 

Wednesday-Line Dancing (1st & 4th Wed.) or Karaoke (2nd & 3rd Wed.) 

Thursday-Free, Themed Dueling Pianos 

Friday-Live Bands (free cover, but $8/ person for reserved tables) 

Saturday-Dueling Pianos (also free cover, but $12/person for reserved tables) 

Sunday-Sip n’ Sing Brunch solo piano show (11 a.m.-1 p.m.) 

Sunday Night-Live Open Mic Night, 6 p.m. -9 p.m. 

And, whether you’re a hospitality worker or just a night owl, TrebleMakers is now open Sun.- Wed. until midnight and Thur.-Sat. until 2 a.m. 

For more info about TrebleMakers Sports Bar & Dueling Pianos (6034 Wesley Grove Blvd.), visit TrebleMakersofWC.com or call (813) 406-4371. — GN 

HOPE Services Hosts Another Successful ‘Dance Your Dream’ Event

Congratulations to Cindy Bray (front right in left photo), the founder & CEO of Hope Services, for the success of the nonprofit’s fifth annual “Dance Your Dream” event held Apr. 16, at the Wesley Chapel District Park’s Recreation Complex. 

Dance Your Dream is an inclusive, high-energy evening designed for individuals with special needs ages 14 and older. This year’s theme was “A Night at the Circus” and included dancing, food, games, entertainment, a raffle area, and a newly added Community Resource Room, offering access to representatives from local organizations that provide valuable assistance and support. 

Happy to make an appearance at this year’s event was published author Chris Angilella (right), who hasn’t let Asperger’s Syndrome stop him from self-publishing (and co-illustrating at least six books, including Oakley’s Sanctuary Friends and Speckle Delivery, which he was signing copies of at this year’s Dance Your Dream. 

Angilella’s books feature characters with special needs, which made him a great addition to this year’s event, which also included appearances by Elsa from “Frozen,” stilt walkers and multiple Chick-fil-A cows, since Chick-fil-A was again a major sponsor of the event.. 

All proceeds from Dance Your Dream benefit Hope Services’ Life Skills & Vocational Training Center, which provides hands-on, nationally recognized certification programs, including Culinary Arts, Construction, Customer Service, and more. To support Hope Services, visit HopeGetsJobs.com. — All photos by Charmaine George