Whether or not you were one of the midwestern U.S. natives who lost your minds when it was first announced that Portilloâs Hot Dogs was coming to âsomewhere nearâ the Tampa Premium Outlets, you had a recent chance (on Jan. 26) to check out the Chicago fave in person at the main entrance to the outlet mall.
The Portilloâs âBeef Busâ sat at the mallâs main entrance from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. that day, but a lot fewer people than I expected showed up to sample the Chicago-style hot dogs, chili dogs, crinkle-cut fries and Italian beef sandwiches than I expected, probably because there wasnât much promoting of it beforehand (at least not that I saw).
When photographer Charmaine George and I visited shortly after the Beef Bus first arrived that day, there were no lines whatsoever, but we immediately posted some pics and announced that even if you didnât show up that day, you could still grab one of the âBOGOâ cards (valid at any Florida Portilloâs, including the closest location on E. Fowler Ave., in front of the University Mall) that the restaurantâs marketing crew was giving away that day. They gave us about 50 of the cards, which we mentioned in our Facebook post and asked our readers/ followers to direct message me to say âI Love Portilloâsâ in order to be sent one of the cards in the mail. At our press time, we still had about 20 left, so if you want one, send me an email with âI Love Portilloâsâ in the subject line and weâll mail you one, too, while my small supply lasts!
Our new friends at the Portilloâs Beef Bus donât know when or for sure where Portilloâs will open (or they at least didnât say if they did know), but we have now been told by employees of Rock & Brews, which fronts S.R. 56 in front of the mall, that the KISS-inspired restaurant will close by May 1 of this year, when Portilloâs will begin the process of revamping the Rock & Brews building in anticipation of opening the Lutz/Wesley Chapel Portilloâs before the end of 2025.
In the meantime, I hope you will continue to visit Rock & Brews. For more information about Portilloâs, visit Portillos.com. â GNÂ
Neighborhood News Publisher & Local RealtorsŸ Donate A Prize To First-In-Line Sisters!
Raising Caneâs, the Baton Rouge, LA-based fast casual fried chicken chain founded by Todd Graves in 1996 that serves only fried chicken fingers (also available on a sandwich), crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast and cole slaw (below right), opened as previously announced in the print editions of the Neighborhood News on Jan. 28 at 25952 S.R. 56, Lutz, next to Rock & Brews. And, based on the crowds that were still filling the parking lot more than a week later, we know people are excited about it!
Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and I were there on opening day and we also attended the restaurantâs soft pre-opening VIP event on Jan. 27 â and I have to say that we were all pretty impressed. Yes, the menu is simple, but itâs done right â the chicken fingers are lightly seasoned (NOT at all spicy!), super-crispy outside and moist on the inside. The fries also are crispy and tasty (and seemingly not seasoned, other than lightly salted, which I appreciate), the Texas toast is legit and the cole slaw is creamy and has just a hint of sweetness.
If you only like spicy chicken, this is not the place for you, as even the Thousand Island-style âCaneâs sauceâ offers no heat at all. But, if you like your chicken extra crispy and tasty, Raising Caneâs is definitely worth visiting!
As for opening day, 20 of the first 100 people in line (photo) on Jan. 28 received free Raising Caneâs for a year, but yours truly was saddened by the fact that Wesley Chapel residents (and sisters) Scarlett Sponberg and Fallon Fields (photo below), who arrived before 3 a.m. on the 28th in order to be first in line, were not among those âGrand Prizeâ winners.Â
Even though Raising Caneâs marketing rep Stephanie Wielinski (in red in photo below) made it clear to everyone on line that being first didnât guarantee receiving one of the top prizes, RealtorsÂź Chad and April Emory of Emorys Rock Realty (visit EmorysRockRealty.com) and I didnât think that was fair, so we went ahead and purchased enough gift cards to cover one year of free Raising Caneâs for those dedicated young ladiesÂ
(l.-r. In top photo) Neighborhood News publisher Gary Nager, Scarlett Spongberg, Fallon Fields & RealtorÂź April Emory of Emorys Rock Realty)
Scarlett did receive a nice gift basket for being first in line, but April, Chad and I felt that just wasnât enough for her and her sister!
Raising Caneâs gets props for providing a check for $1,000 to Wiregrass Ranch High (photo below), which brought along its cheerleading squad and other athletes to celebrate the donation.
For more info about Raising Caneâs, call (813) 559-3590 or visit RaisingCanes.com â and please tell them I sent you! â GN
Weâve only been able to even have an Academy Awards/ âOscarsâ contest a few times in the past because of the timing of when the nominees are announced to when the annual Academy Awards are held vs. our deadlines for our print issues of the Neighborhood News..
As devastating as the uncontrolled wild fires in California have been, the fires caused both the announcement of this yearâs nominees and the televised red carpet gala itself to be delayed â so much so that we actually have time to finally include this FREE contest again this year â and you could win some great prizes.
If youâre a movie buff, you probably have seen many of the films included in this yearâs list of finalists/nominees.
But, even if youâre more like me â the only nominated films Iâve seen are âWicked,â the Bob Dylan biopic âA Complete Unknownâ and Best Animated Film nominee âInside Out 2â (the latter thanks to mine and Jannahâs granddaughter Rosie) â you have a chance to win some great prizes by simply telling us which films and actors YOU think will win the coveted gold statuettes.
Hereâs How The Contest Works:
CLICK HEREand provide us with your REAL (youâd be surprised how many entries with fake names we receive in our contests every year â I know Iâm always surprised) first AND last name, the community you live in, email address and daytime phone number. In addition, we ask each entrant in this contest to please pick the winner in each of the following major Oscars categories:Â
1. Best Picture
2. Best Actress
3. Best Actor
4. Best Supporting Actress
5. Best Supporting Actor
6. Best Director
7. Best Animated Feature Film
If only one entrant picks the most winners in those seven categories, that person will win a prize package to the B&B Theatres at The Grove, which could include movie tickets, popcorn, dinner and drinks, valued at about $200.
However, if more than one entry has the same number of correct picks, the winner will be drawn at random from all tied entries. Each of the other tied entries will receive two top-level B&B movie passes.
Thatâs all you need to do/know. Please note that we already have posted a link to the contest page on our âNeighborhood Newsâ Facebook page and will do so again at least once each of the two weeks between when you receive this issue in your mailbox and the ABC-TV telecast of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2.Â
At our press time, we only received a little more than 20 entries, so the contest would appear to be wide open. But please, get your entry in no later than Saturday, March 1, at 11:59:59 p.m., to be eligible!
Please note that B&B Theatres at The Grove is not affiliated with this contest.
So, Just How âChickenâ Are You?
Despite all of the nasty online comments about the sheer number of chicken places now located in or adjacent to Wesley Chapel, the fact is that we probably wouldnât have so many chicken-only (or predominantly chicken) places if there wasnât a demand for them and, it seems, that most locals have both their favorites and least favorites among the following (in alphabetical order):
Chicken Guy!
Chick-fil-A
Chickân Fun
Daveâs Hot Chicken
Hangry Joeâs Hot Chicken
PDQ
Popeyeâs
Raising Caneâs
Slim Chickens
Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken
Zaxbyâs
Since I am not the biggest âfast foodâ chicken enthusiast myself, I decided to give those of you who claim to be true lovers of fried chicken an opportunity to be judges in a Neighborhood News-sponsored contest to find Wesley Chapelâs favorite fast-casual chicken place!
I havenât figured out all of the details yet of how it will work or when it will be (or if any of the places listed will agree to be part of it), but if youâre interested in being one of the judges, please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com with your contact info (name, daytime phone number & community you live in) and âI want to be a chicken contest judgeâ in the subject line!
Wiregrass Ranch Developer Is Still Waiting To Finalize The Agreement With Pasco County Before Proceeding With His âDowntownâÂ
The planned 1,500-seat concert hall and five-story parking structure (far left) planned in Phase One of The Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch, which developer JD Porter says will be the true downtown for not just his development, but all of Pasco County. (All maps & renderings provided by Wiregrass Ranch)
When it was announced back in December that Pasco County had reached an agreement in principle with Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter and his Locust Branch LLC development company on Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch â the 30-acre area set aside by Porter to serve as his uniquely urban downtown â Porter and his chief operating officer Scott Sheridan thought that it would only be a matter of weeks before they would be able to begin moving dirt.
But now, more than six weeks (at our press time) after that agreement in principle was reached, Porter and Sheridan â in an exclusive sit-down with yours truly â said they are still waiting.
âWe need to get Phase 1 of Legacy at Wiregrass going now,â Porter said. âWeâre trying to time the opening of the downtown area â with all of its office and retail â with the opening of the Orlando Health hospital (the largest in Wesley Chapel, which is expected to be done in early 2026). We estimate that if we get started right away, Phase 1 of Legacy could be completed within a few months after the hospitalâs opening.â
Sheridan added, âThe good news is that we already have most of the infrastructure needed for Legacy in place. Weâre ready.â
For anyone who hasnât heard, Pascoâs Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the âterm sheetâ for Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch â where the financial plan for what Commission chair (and Dist. 3 commissioner) Kathryn Starkey called âPasco Countyâs downtownâ on Dec. 10.
The map above shows the location of Legacy at Wiregrass Ranch between S.R. 56 and Chancey Rd. The two maps below are turned on their sides (north is actually to the left instead of up in both) to show Legacyâs proximity to the under-construction Orlando Health Hospital complex, which is actually located south and to the east of Legacy.
Part of the agreement announced in December are ad valorem tax incentives for the developer of $50 million total, spread over 30 years, to offset the $85 million in Wiregrass Ranchâs investment in public infrastructure for Phase One alone. Sheridan and Porter estimate that the construction costs for the entire Legacy project are between $400-$500 million.
Sheridan said that Wiregrass Ranch, the 5,100-acre cattle ranch owned by Porter and his family, which is less than 40% developed at present, already provides a tax base of $1.5 billion, with nearly $11 million annually in county operating revenue. At buildout, he says, that tax base is projected to be as much as $6 billion, with about $50 million in annual revenues for the county.
Among the elements planned for Legacyâs first phase (of 130 acres total set aside for the two phases of Legacy) are 150,000 sq. ft. (in two 75,000-sq.-ft. buildings) of office space, adjacent to the 150,000 sq. ft. of office space (in one 90,000-sq.-ft. and one 60,000-sq.-ft. building) now under construction on Orlando Healthâs campus, next to the hospital. âQuite honestly,â Sheridan said. âThat 300,000 square feet of office will look like one large master development.â
Sheridan also noted that Wiregrass Ranch and an unnamed partner also is developing an additional 100,000 sq. ft. of office space in two buildings to the west of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.
One of the most important parts of the first phase of Legacy is a $37-million, five-story parking structure with about 1,500 spaces to serve the office buildings, retail and 150,000-sq.-ft. âeatertainmentâ complex, all within walking distance of each other, as well as of a planned 150-room hotel and 820 multi-family apartments. If youâve ever been to the new Midtown Tampa, Legacy at Wiregrass is about 30% larger. The hotel and apartment buildings also are expected to be four and five stories tall.
âThis type of density is definitely urban,â Sheridan said. âItâs not suburban sprawl, because weâre doing on 30 acres what Pasco usually puts on 100 acres.â
âEatertainmentâ Galore!
The part of the agreement for Legacy announced in December that yours truly is most excited about is the 150,000-sq. ft.. âEatertainmentâ complex. Sheridan says that this area will include an Armature Works-style food hall, upscale retail stores, some âjewel boxâ standalone restaurants, a concert hall with about 1,500 seats immediately adjacent to the parking structure, plus a hotel, conference center and public art.
And, although neither Sheridan nor Porter were willing to name any of the potential tenants or operators theyâve spoken with to put restaurants in Legacy, both mentioned having conversations with operators of restaurants on Water St. in downtown Tampa, Beach Dr. in downtown St. Pete and other upscale dining areas.
The above rendering and those below show the urban look and feel of Legacy.
âLegacy has been designed by Torti Gallas + Partners,â Sheridan said, âthe same firm that designed GasWorx in Ybor City, the Silversaw apartments (next to the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel hotel) and many of the most beautiful mixed-use projects across the country. And, they told us that Legacy at Wiregrass is unique in its location, planning and design.âÂ
Porter added, âMost of the time, when projects like these are approved, the developer first has to put in the infrastructure, but most of that is already in place in Legacy. Weâre ready to begin building as soon as we get the final word from the county that we can begin.â
To which Sheridan added, âWe donât need another County Commission vote. All we need is for the Planning & Economic Development department to finalize the agreement.â
He also noted that until the agreement with the county has been finalized, âWe canât finalize deals with the tenants weâve been talking with for the retail and restaurant spaces. But, as soon as weâre able to close those deals, we know the community is going to be excited about them.â
To which Porter added, âThese are not going to be the same retail strip centers with the same type of tenants that you see everywhere else in Pasco.â
Sheridan also says that residents in the multi-family apartments will not be parking in the main garage structure. Instead, they will have their own parking structure. At the Dec. BOC meeting, Dist. 5 commissioner Jack Mariano requested that some of those rental units be converted to townhomes for âworkforce housing,â but still voted to approve the Legacy agreement in principle without any such conversion being promised by Sheridan or Porter.
âAnd, even though theyâd have to cross S.R. 56 to do so, Porter said, âstudents and staff from the Porter Campus at Pasco Hernando State College can even walk to Legacy.â
He added, âWeâre not just doing the same thing everyone else in Pasco does. We want this to be the kind of place people are drawn to for years to come.â
Wiregrass Ranch Update
The Orlando Health construction is moving along nicely, and the $300-million hospital complex, which sits on 47 acres at the corner of S.R. 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., just south and east of Legacy, will include 102 beds when it opens and 300 when it is built out.
Porter and Sheridan also mentioned that although Pasco had yet to finalize its deal with Sports Facilities Companies of Clearwater to take over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, âThe county picked the best possible operator to take over.,â Porter said. âIt would just be nice to hear that the deal is finalized, because, in our agreement for the land we donated for it, the county (which has been managing the Sports Campus since buying out the management contract of RADDSports in 2023) was never supposed to be managing that facility.â
Porter also said that with the success of Cooperâs Hawk Winery & Restaurant on the north side of S.R. 56 (at Lajuana Blvd.), âweâve been having some pretty serious negotiations with a number of restaurant operators â some successful Tampa Bay-area operators and some top-level chainsâ â for the restaurant pads adjacent to Cooperâs Hawk.
District 7 Tampa City Council member and New Tampa resident Luis Viera says he hasn’t made a decision yet, but he is looking at either a State House of Representatives or Hillsborough County Commission run in 2026, before his current City Council term expires in March of 2027.
While introducing Viera, who was the guest speaker at North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’ (NTBC)’s monthly Business Breakfast on Feb. 4, NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy mentioned that she had heard Viera might be considering a run for Mayor of Tampa, but Viera said he was more interested in a run for the District 67 State House seat currently occupied by House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, who will reach her term limit with the Nov. 2026 election.
Since that Feb. 4 meeting, Viera says he has been approached by multiple media outlets about his plans going forward. He says he is mulling over the possibility of running not only for Driskell’s Dist. 67 State House seat, but also for one of the County Commission seats up for election in 2026. “I haven’t made a decision yet,” Viera says. “But, once I announce which of those offices I will choose to run for, I will have to give up my City Council seat before my term ends.”
Even though he is a registered Democrat (City of Tampa elections are all nonpartisan), the 47-year-old Viera also discussed his ability to work with other political office holders â including reaching across the political aisle â in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, as well as with Rep. Driskell, Dist. 20 State Senator Danny Burgess and with Dist. 15 U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee. He also talked about New Tampa’s status as the “Alaska” of the City of Tampa, was well as zip code 33647’s cultural diversity, as well as what he has accomplished in the nine years since first winning election â by 65 votes in the two-candidate Special Election runoff in Nov. 2016 â in his first election over fellow New Tampa resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Look for a full recap of Councilman Viera’s Chamber breakfast chat, and more information about his political plans, in the March 4 New Tampa Neighborhood News Issue #5-25.