If you’ve driven recently on S.R. 56 east of Wiregrass Ranch, you may have noticed the signs for Valencia Ridge, a new age 55+ community being developed by GL Homes, which also has developed both The Ridge at Wiregrass and the new Winding Ridge community on S.R. 56.
Speaking of Winding Ridge, the signs for Valencia Ridge lead you into Winding Ridge, as the 55+ community’s Sales Center is located near the community clubhouse in Winding Ridge.
However, Valencia Ridge isn’t part of Winding Ridge — it’s a separate community that actually will be located north of Winding Ridge and Chancey Rd. (see map). Valencia Ridge will have its own multi-million-dollar clubhouse, with pickleball and tennis courts, multiple pools, a resort-like lifestyle with dozens of clubs, from Rock Band to poker, cardio, table tennis club and many more clubs.
The GL Homes Crown Collection floor plans in Valencia Ridge range in price from $449,900 for a 2-bedroom, 2-bath Camelia model with 1,674 sq. ft. of air conditioned space to the 4-bedroom, 4-bath Emerald model with 3,139 air conditioned sq. ft. starting at $819,900.
For more information, call (813) 228-6300 or visit GLHomes.com/Valencia-Ridge and please tell them we sent you!
Among the seven businesses cutting ribbons with the NTBC on Mar. 20 were the Chamber itself (above) and Signature Workspace (below), where all of the businesses were located. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Congratulations to the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC), which celebrated the most ribbon-cutting events on a single day in its history on Mar. 20, when the NTBC itself cut a ribbon at its new office at the Signature Workspace at the Shops at Wiregrass. Among the six other businesses hosting ribbon cuttings that same day were the Signature Workspace itself, plus The Copeland Team, Wesley Chapel Fingerprinting Services, Cornelius Demps for Circuit Judge, Gulf Coast Accounting & Tax and the Injury Law Office of Lucas, Macyszyn & Dyer.
In addition to all those ribbons being cut, the event also featured amazing free food provided by Vesh Catering, Azteca D’Oro, Chuck Lager America’s Tavern, Crazy Sushi, Grillsmith, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Pinchers Crab Shack and The Living Room. If you missed it, you missed something special!
Although the KRATE at The Grove container park has overall been super-successful, any number of the KRATEs have come and gone in a little more than a year. Here are some updates on a few of the newest additions to Wesley Chapel’s dining & entertainment district.
El Pasta & More
One restaurant KRATE that already has changed names and ownership twice is the new El Pasta & More, which originally opened (at 5817 Goldview Pkwy., #107) as The Fry Room and was followed by Top That! Pizza & More.
But, where those predecessors have come and gone, the hope here is that El Pasta survives, as we already have enjoyed a really good penne with pesto and grilled chicken (also available with shrimp) and a unique chicken parmigiana, which is basically a sizable serving of crispy chicken tenders topped with a tasty marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, served over spaghetti.
Other options include lamb shank with spaghetti, cheese ravioli, a “build-your-own” pasta with your choice of pasta type, sauce and toppings, a variety of naan bread pizzas, as well as a number of different desserts and more.
For more information, call El Pasta at (813) 973-9359 or visit ElPastaFL.com.
Bodega Deli
If you’ve never lived in New York City, you may not know that bodegas are small stores selling groceries that also usually have great sandwiches and other tasty treats.
Well, the owners of the new Bodega Deli (who also own the adjacent Bebo’s Cheesesteaks) in the former location (at 5840 Grand Oro Ln.) of Sugar Pop!, have recreated the NYC bodega feel — with yummy hot and cold subs, wraps and soups, as well as a variety of breakfast sandwiches and even a build-your-own pasta option with penne, fettuccine or ziti, and Alfredo, vodka (pink) or marinara sauce and meatballs, chicken or Italian sausage. And, of course, like any good New York deli, the Bodega features a variety of NY-style cheesecakes, as well as house-baked chocolate chip cookies and even Good Humor ice cream.
On our first visit, photographer Charmaine George and I enjoyed a “Chopped Cheese” hot sub with chopped beef and cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo on a sub roll. Very tasty. We also liked the tuna salad cold sub and the Oreo cookie cheesecake.
Although no one is walking around wearing only fig leaves, you definitely also should visit the new Garden of Eden Olive Oil Company, located at 5830 Goldview Pkwy., Unit 102, in the former location of The Rebellious Hippie and Mythos, both of which were eclectic gift shops.
Located next to Paleta Mia, Garden of Eden is anything but eclectic. It features more than 60 different varieties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars and charismatic owner Adel Youssef is always happy to tell you about (and let you sample) each and every kind.
“All of our olive oils and balsamic vinegars come from our supplier in California, but we have olive oils imported from Australia, Greece, Portugal, Spain and others and our balsamic vinegars are both white and dark — and all of them are delicious and available for sampling here in the store.”
Adel, who says he preiously was in the Egyptian Secret Service protecting president Hosni Mubarak, always has fresh bread available to sample his wares, “although some people will just drink them without bread.” He also sells a variety of olive oil-based candles, skin care products and more. Go and check it all out and please tell Adel I sent you!
The New Tampa area already has a much larger number of Asian restaurants of all kinds — Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean and even Nepalese — than Wesley Chapel does, but it seems we should make room for at least two more, as Rain Bistro just opened in the former location of Mei’s Pizza (and a couple of others before Mei’s) on E. Bearss Ave., just west of Livingston Ave., and Nawabi Hyderabad House & Biryani Place just replaced another Indian eatery — Raaga — in the Shoppes at Amberly in Tampa Palms.
Right As Rain!
Rain Bistro, owned by my new friend Will, is actually pretty delicious. Although it is something of an Asian fusion place, Will is Chinese and he says his signature crunchy fried chicken (above right) and delicious fried rice (not pictured) are definitely from his native country, even though he also has great almost-Thai-style spring rolls and Japanese-style fried gyoza dumplings filled with chicken (both in left photo above), as well as a large variety of ramen and other noodle and rice dishes, plus a number of different boba tea drinks. Considering it only opened the day we went to press with this issue, all I can say is the food is great and the place, even though it still doesn’t look impressive from the outside, is much more upscale inside — without the upscale prices. Great job, Will!
For more info about Rain Bistro (2592 E. Bearss Ave.), which is open every day for lunch & dinner, call (813) 977-1688.
Nawabi — More Than Just A New Name!
Although I was never a big fan of Raaga, the most recent Indian restaurant in the same location is the new Nawabi Hyderabad House & Biryani Place at 15345 Amberly Dr. and I definitely enjoyed my first visit.
I didn’t find out why the restaurant is called Nawabi, but Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. Of course, the bottom line is, did I like the food on my first visit to this much nicer new sit-down restaurant? And, the answer is unequivocally “yes!”
Although I didn’t venture very far (if at all) out of my comfort zone, I gobbled down the garlic naan bread and wok-tossed hakka noodles with chicken at Nawabi. The thinner-than-lo-mein noodles had a delicate flavor, with a hint of black pepper and just a bit of a kick, even without the much spicier Schezwan (their spelling) sauce, which I was told to order on the side — and I was glad I did. I really only needed a dab on each bite to savor.
For info about Nawabi (also open for lunch & dinner every day), call (813) 443- 0198 or visit NawabiHHTampa.com.
The Pasco County School District recently named Gretchen Frapwell, whose kids attend Veterans Elementary, the District’s Adult Volunteer of the Year. (Photos: Pasco School District)
Gretchen Frapwell, a volunteer at Veterans Elementary, has been named the Adult Volunteer of the Year by the Pasco County School District.
According to a Facebook post released by the School District, “Gretchen is the definition of a volunteer. She has been volunteering at Veterans Elementary School for five years and has logged in 220 volunteer hours so far. With two children attending Veterans, she serves on the SAC committee and is a PTA member which supports (the school’s) 91 staff members and 675 students. The PTA recently provided recess equipment for each grade level. She is there for every school event, including book fairs, school carnivals, science nights and holiday shops. Gretchen has shown her creativity by planting a pumpkin patch in the courtyard for the teachers and students to utilize. It was a great idea for learning purposes, but also brought beauty to the school. We appreciate everything she does for Veterans Elementary to improve overall morale for the teachers and students.”
Sharon Zurita, of the Veterans Elementary PTA, says that, “Gretchen in amazing. She’s everywhere and does so many things at our school. She’s not only willing to do things we ask, but also suggests things we can do to help the school.”
Among those things, Gretchen says, was that she “Organized closets, planted gardens, ran a carnival last year…Trunk or Treat event, where we handed out actual ice cream, book fairs…anything and everything. My kids are only going to be this young for so long, so I show them, by taking time off from my job, how important their school is. I guarantee that once you (volunteer) for an hour, you’ll want to do more. The kids are just awesome.”
Other Volunteer winners this year are Ann Birch, Gulfside Elementary (Senior Volunteer) and Avery Hoskins, Anclote High & Gulfside Elementary (Youth Volunteer).
Congratulations, Meghna!
Wiregrass Ranch High senior Meghna Manjith was named a Regeneron STS Scholar for her project, winning $4,000.
Our sincere congratulations go out to Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) senior Meghna Manjith, who has been named a Scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) for 2024. She received a $2,000 award for herself and $2,000 for WRHS for her project, “Preventing Surgical Site Infections: Designing a Novel Post-Surgical Treatment Using Silver Nitrate & Ayurvedic Extracts in Combination with DNA Sequence Analysis.” Amazing!
According to SocietyforScience.org, “Regeneron STS is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science research competition for high school students. Started in 1942 as the Westinghouse STS, Regeneron STS recognizes and empowers our nation’s most promising young scientists who are developing ideas that could solve society’s most urgent challenges.”
Only 300 Scholars were selected from more than 2,000 entrants nationwide, with only 40 finalists selected for an opportunity to win the $250,000 top award, which was scheduled to be announced on Mar. 12.
