St. Mark Choir To Perform For Pope Leo XIV In Rome!

Dr. John Paul Cappa (center, with brown sport jacket) is bringing members of the St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church Choir on a “Peter’s Way” tour of Italy, including final stops in Rome, where the choir will perform for Pope Leo XIV, and have a Papal audience at Vatican City. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

I’m not Catholic, but I can’t help but feel proud to have seen and heard the amazing choir at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd. perform shortly before 15 members of the choir and St. Mark director of music Dr. John Paul Cappa before the group embarked on a 10-day “Peter’s Way” tour culminating with a performance for Pope Leo XIV in Rome. 

St. Mark director of music John Paul Cappa 

Dr. Cappa, who has served in his position at St. Mark the past 18 years, has made this pilgrimage to perform for the Pope with two previous choirs — the St. George Parish Choir of Erie, PA, and the Mother of Sorrows Parish Choir of Murrysville, PA — but this will be the first time he has brought a group from St. Mark on such a journey. 

After watching the choir rehearse prior to Sunday Mass at the church, all I can say is that this is a truly talented group of singers of different ages who will do St. Mark and the entire New Tampa community proud when they perform for the Pope and 2,000 people at the St. Paul Center, next to the Vatican. 

Pope Leo XIV (Photo source: Wikipedia.com) 

“And, all of these folks are local,” said Dr. Cappa. “It’s really a blessing to be able to take this group on this journey.” 

He noted that, unlike his previous Peter’s Way tours of Italy, the St. Mark group is starting its tour on the western coast of Italy — Milan, Turin (to see the Shroud), Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii — and ending with a mass with the Pope at the Vatican. “A lot of the choir members and musicians are seasoned travelers who have been to Venice, Florence and Naples before,” he said, “so we’re doing a different trip this time.” 

And, even though he has brought groups to perform for the Pope before, “It’s a different Pope now. And, it is always exciting and an honor to perform for the Pope.” 

Soprano soloist Ashely Shalna 

It’d been years since I had attended a service at St. Mark, so I didn’t realize that the church’s choir has 30 singers, including soprano soloist Ashely Shalna, bass soloist Marty Angiulli and accompanist Maureen Hartung. “But, when some of our college students come back during breaks, we have as many as 42,” Dr. Cappa said. 

Of that group, he added, only 15 actual choir members will make the trip to Italy, “but with spouses and other church members, we’re bringing 37, I believe,” he said. 

Bass soloist Marty Angiulli 

On Nov. 2, the day photographer Charmaine George and I visited — and 9 days before the group was leaving for Italy — there were at least a dozen incredible musicians from the Florida Orchestra, as well as some USF professors, practicing and performing with the group for the 10:30 Sunday Mass. The rehearsal of composer Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem” hymn with these woodwind, brass and string musicians was absolutely captivating. 

But, Dr. Cappa — who has a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Organ Performance from West Virginia University and is working on a second DMA degree in Choral Conducting at USF — says the choir will perform five pieces for Pope Leo: the “Orbis Factor” ordinary chant, the “Cantate Domino” by Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni; the “O Domine Jesu Christe” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; the “Locus Iste” by Anton Bruckner; and the “Adoramus Te” by Jacobus Clemens non Papa. 

I wish them all “Bonam Fortunam!”— GN


Some of the musicians from the Florida Orchestra 

Accompanist Maureen Hartung 

Linda Is Back At The New & Improved Bagels Of Wesley Chapel!

When you visit Bagels of WC, say hi to (l.-r.) Cheyanne, Liani, David, Sierra, Linda & Wayne. 

You may have heard that Linda Henry (you may remember her last name as Carr, however) is back at her former location in the Freedom Plaza at 30032 S.R. 54, which is now called Bagels of Wesley Chapel (WC). 

The former owner of Bagelicious & More in the same location is happy to bring a renewed energy, revitalized interior and especially, house-made bagels that are now boiled before they are baked. 

“Do you see how big and fluffy the bagels are now?,” Linda asked as I enjoyed my over-easy eggs, crispy bacon and equally crispy homefries (above left) with a toasted poppy seed bagel (that actually came with the breakfast and was indeed bigger and fluffier than I remembered), all for just $8.95! 

Charmaine also raved about her chicken salad melt with provolone cheese and fresh tomato on a hashbrown bagel (bottom), served with a side of pasta salad (or fries, potato salad or, for $1 more, a bag of chips). 

This was actually my second visit to the new Bagels of WC, where Linda now has pretty much her entire family working (top photo). On my first visit, I had an equally tasty bacon, egg & cheese on a toasted, scooped-out sesame bagel (for just $6.49!). 

Bagels of WC, which features more than a dozen varieties of fresh bagels (for only $14.99 for a Baker’s Dozen of 13; or $21.99 with two 8-oz. tubs of spreads) also serves omelettes, a selection of deli sandwiches and lots of smiles. 

Bagels of WC is open every day, 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. For info, call (813) 575-8300 (DoorDash delivery is available) & tell Linda we sent you.”—GN 

BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital Hosts Pet Blessing & Coffee Social Events

Photos by Charmaine George

Our friends at BayCare Wesley Chapel (WC) Hospital (4501 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.) continue to engage the community so that as many people as possible can get to know the nearly three-year-old, 86-bed hospital. 

On Oct. 6, BayCare WC Chaplain Reid Isenhart (at left in top photo) hosted a Pet Blessing event, in honor of the Feast Day for the Catholic Patron Saint of the animals, St. Francis of Assisi. “We always strive to set high standards for compassionate care for people, Chaplin Reid said, “but we also like to recognize the gift of our animals, including the therapy animals who come to the hospital.” 

With nearly two dozen animals in attendance — including two young piglets, a chicken and a bunny brought by “Connected City” resident Michael Pultorak (left) — Chaplain Reid said, “Research shows that pet owners consider their pets to be full family members. Today, we also have animals who assist us not just emotionally, but also with sight and sound and to recognize seizures and even cancer, so we bless them all.” 

Then on Oct. 15, BayCare WC hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber Coffee Social (photo, right), where the hospital’s director of operations Bill Sedey gave attendees more info about the hospital: “This hospital features a 20-bed emergency room, a 12-bed intensive care unit, helipad for transporting critical patients, all private rooms and a great partnership with the under-construction YMCA next door.” Other hospital staffers also made presentations about BayCare WC’s imaging center, staffing and more. 

For more info, visit BayCare.org. For upcoming Chamber events, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com.events. — GN

New York’s Famous H&H Bagels Has Opened On S. Dale Mabry Hwy. In South Tampa!

Photos by Charmaine George

If you’re a fan of the classic sitcom “Seinfeld,” I’m sure you remember the episode when Kramer goes back to work at H&H Bagels (below left photo) after being on strike for twelve years. 

Well, that episode, and H&H’s appearances on “Sex and the City,” “The Office” “Entourage” and other TV shows and movies, helped keep one of Manhattan’s best-known “real New York” bagel shops in people’s memories for years, after being founded in 1972 on the Upper West Side by Helmer Toro and Hector Hernandez. 

Today, H&H Bagels has 13 locations — seven scattered around NYC, plus one in California, one in Washington, DC, one in Knoxville, TN, and three in Florida, including the newest location at 1155 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. in South Tampa (bottom photo). There also are eight more locations coming on-line, including five in the Sunshine State, one in California, one in North Carolina and one in Chicago. 

Yes, the H&H name is growing again, thanks to CEO and Florida State University grad Jay Rushin (top right photo), who worked on Wall St. in Manhattan for 20 years before taking over at H&H eleven years ago (he also has family in Tampa). 

Having lived just a few blocks from the second H&H location on 2nd Ave. in Manhattan, as soon as I heard it was opening here, I knew I wanted to check it out. The company’s kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels in New York were as good as any I had ever had, so I knew I had to sample the location here as soon as it opened. 

“We bake everything fresh here,” Rushin told me during the Tampa location’s soft opening on Sept. 30. “The bagels are made with that famous New York water, boiled, frozen and shipped here. We then bake them every day.” 

And yes, the bagels are pretty great. I, of course, had to have a toasted, scooped-out sesame bagel with cream cheese, Nova Scotia salmon and I was surprised and thrilled to be able to add a shmear of real whitefish salad, plus a slice of tomato. Just yum! 

Jannah also loved her bacon, egg and cheese on a scooped-out, toasted whole wheat bagel (right) and Charmaine said the avocado on her avocado, egg and cheese on an asiago cheese bagel was just “so fresh and delicious.” Also available are sausage and Jersey-style Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwiches, plus an egg white and avocado option. 

H&H carries 13 varieties of fresh bagels (above photo) — from standards like onion, everything and cinnamon raisin to egg, blueberry and even jalapeño cheddar options. 

And, unlike other bagel places that offer a Baker’s Dozen — 13 bagels for the price of 12 — when you buy a dozen at H&H, you pay for ten bagels and get the last two free. 

“It’s just another one of our different ways of doing things,” Jay said. 

In addition to that perfect house-made whitefish salad, H&H also makes its own tuna, egg and chicken salad, and offers deli sandwiches with roast beef, roasted turkey, Black Forest or Taylor ham and also sells the salads, the deli meats, the Nova and even cheddar, American, pepper Jack and provolone cheese by the pound. Also available are to-go tubs of plain, flavored and even tofu cream cheese, plus lox spread, butter, jelly and peanut butter. 

Also baked in-house are chewy brownies, chocolate chip cookies (photo above), croissants, muffins and chocolate and cinnamon streusel cake slices. 

And, while H&H doesn’t sell cappuccinos, lattes and other “fancier” coffee drinks, Jay says the hot coffee is a private H&H blend roasted in Wisconsin by Ruby’s Coffee Roasters, which was named for founder Jared Linzmeier’s grandmother, Ruby Szitta. Also served are iced and cold brew coffee, a variety of hot teas, iced sweet tea, green teas, apple and orange juice, chocolate milk, lemonade, sparkling water and even Mexican Coca-Cola. 

“We’ve looked for more locations in the Tampa Bay area,” Rushin told me, “including in Wesley Chapel, but the market is tough. We need 1,400 to no more than 2,000 square feet.” 

So, go give H&H Bagels a shot. You’ll put a smile on Jay’s face — and on Kramer’s! For more info, visit HHBagels.com or call (813) 214-7010. You also can order pickup from Grubhub, Seamless, DoorDash, Postmates or Uber Eats. — GN

Wiregrass Ranch Updates On Publix, New Apartments, Medical Offices & Restaurants?

By Gary Nager & Joel Provenzano 

Rendering of the resort-style pool at the under-construction Arcadia at Wiregrass Ranch apartments. (Rendering from ThirdLakeDevelopment.com) 

It seems that there’s never a shortage of news coming out of Wiregrass Ranch these days, so we always try to check in with developer JD Porter and his development right hand man, Scott Sheridan, the chief operating officer of Locust Branch, LLC, to get the latest news. 

After all, the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch already has The Shops at Wiregrass mall, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Hospital, the Porter Campus of Pasco Hernando State College, more than 3,000 single-family homes (and townhomes) and 1,400 rental apartment units. 

Wiregrass Ranch also is home to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, The Beach House assisted living community, Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS), Moffitt Cancer Center and North Tampa Behavioral Health, and coming soon are the Florida Medical Clinic Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch Hospital, two Orlando Health-owned medical office buildings totalling 150,000 sq. ft., a PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital and two additional medical office buildings that Wiregrass Ranch will develop in partnership with Flagship Healthcare Properties, and what Porter says will one day be Wesley Chapel’s true downtown — The Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch. 

Publix could soon begin building its new location east of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. earlier this year. Map locations: 1-Chili’s, 2-Chase Bank, 3-Bank of Amer., 4-Advance Auto Parts, 5-Sweet Nail Spa, Mathnasium, Pizza Hut & Starbucks (Map from Publix plans submitted to Pasco County, modified by NN). 

One of the big things people keep asking me (and online) is about the new Publix planned for the east side of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., just north and east of Walmart (see map above left) on a 9.5-acre site appraised at $3.97 million. 

Of that 48,848-sq.-ft. Publix (with a 2,100-sq.-ft. liquor store), which is being built in front of the newest apartment community — Arcadia at Wiregrass Ranch — the main thing most people want to know is whether or not the opening of that new Publix will cause the existing store in the Hollybrook Plaza (less than a half-mile away) to close. Neither Sheridan nor Porter would address that question directly, but Sheridan says, “Final permitting [of the new Publix] is under way now, and I expect them to break ground by early next year. We have no direct knowledge of [Publix’s] intent to close the old store when they build the new one.” The site plan for the new Publix shows its main entrance lining up directly opposite the northern entrance to Walmart. 

Although most people appear to agree that it seems a little crazy to have two Publixes located so close to each other, we have heard some online chatter that says the Hollybrook Publix will definitely close, while others say that it definitely won’t close. Without confirmation either way from Publix or the Wiregrass Ranch team, it seems ludicrous to me to speculate either way. 

But, speaking of Publix, Porter did mention the possibility of another link in the Lakeland-based supermarket chain coming to the area near the new FCS building on S.R. 56, but Sheridan cautioned that although he had seen a post on Facebook that a preapplication meeting had been scheduled, “there has been nothing from us directly on this.” 

Also important to note is that if another Publix is coming to S.R. 56 in Wiregrass Ranch, that possible location is not the Publix planned for the front of the Two Rivers development five miles or so further to the east on 56. 

In the meantime, the Arcadia at Wiregrass Ranch apartments have not yet gone vertical, but the 15-acre parcel (valued at $7.04 million) has been cleared to build the 320-unit luxury rental community and its resort-style pool, EV charging stations and more, which will be the seventh Arcadia project (and the third in Florida) for Tampa-based Third Lake Development. 

As for the planned medical offices near the Orlando Health hospital, Sheridan says that the first 46,000-sq.-ft. Wiregrass Ranch Medical Pavilion (rendering above), in partnership with Flagship Healthcare Properties, is getting ready to break ground before the end of this year. 

“The second phase will move forward once the initial building is completed and fully leased,” Sheridan says. 

As for the two Florida Medical Clinic/ Orlando Health medical office buildings (MOBs), Sheridan says, “The hospital is expected to open by April of 2026. We expect the MOBs would be under construction soon but can’t say for sure. They are just now completing all of the site work for both of those.” 

Sheridan also said that Wiregrass Ranch is, “coordinating with Mast Capital on their requirement to build the Bypass Loop road within Wiregrass Ranch from S.R. 54 to Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.” as part of Mast’s redevelopment of Saddlebrook Resort (see pg. 44). “But we are not engaged or aware of their developments within the resort.” 

New Restaurants? Although the rumor mill has said that The Tilted Kilt, a Winghouse/ Hooters-style sports pub could be the still-unnamed restaurant planned for next to Cooper’s Hawk, Porter told me that although they have had discussions with The Tilted Kilt, it definitely will not be the restaurant built next to Cooper’s Hawk. 

Meanwhile, Sheridan says, “We are working on several upscale restaurants along the S.R. 56 corridor including next to Cooper’s Hawk, which, we are told, is consistently the #1 or #2 restaurant in that chain.” 

But of course, perhaps the most anticipated development in Wiregrass Ranch is The Legacy, which Porter keeps saying will be the only “true” downtown development in Wesley Chapel, and which will tie together everything already built and still planned for the Porter family’s sprawling cattle ranch. So, is there any Legacy news? 

“We are exploring that now with potential partners but have not committed any timing yet,” Sheridan says. 

To be continued.