Qdoba Mexican Eats On BBD In New Tampa Cuts A Ribbon! 

Congratulations to franchise owners Mike and Liz Montante (below left photo) of the new Qdoba Mexican Eats, located in the same plaza in Highwoods Preserve as Namaste (at 17509 Preserve Walk Ln.). The Montantes celebrated the opening of their second Qdoba (the other is in Brandon), the fast-casual Mexican eatery, in the former location Moe’s Southwest Grill on March 6. 

“It’s been a long struggle, but we’re finally here,” Liz said at the fun Grand Opening event, which featured a North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) ribbon cutting, a prize wheel attendees got to spin if they scanned the Qdoba QR code at the restaurant and signed up for email or text alerts. Among the prizes was a year of free Qdoba eats. 

At least 50 people attended the opening event and most of those attendees purchased a freshly made, custom-designed bowl, burrito or taco and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. 

“We’re excited to be open and for the local community to check out not only the quality of our food but also our friendly atmosphere,” Liz said. 

For more information about the New Tampa location of Qdoba Mexican Eats, call (813) 761-0005 or visit Qdoba.com to check out the menu online. 

Rock & Brews Introduces Its New Lunch Menu & Brings Back Live Music! 


Rock & Brews Wesley Chapel general manager Kareem Nelson welcomes everyone to the rock-themed, KISS-inspired restaurant on S.R. 56, in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Like many of you, when Rock & Brews opened to big crowds of people on S.R. 56 in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets in Oct. 2020 — as things began re-opening after the Covid-19 pandemic hit — I was excited to have not only a new restaurant that wasn’t part of a giant chain but also a new live music venue. 

Well, more than three years later, the 23-unit (seven of which are owned by local franchisee Scott Paul) mini-chain that started in California in 2012 — inspired, co-founded and owned in part by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the ‘70s rock group KISS — continues to add new menu items, especially for lunch, and has brought back live music on Friday nights. 

General manager Kareem Nelson says that the new “VIP Early Access” lunch menu (which is available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. every day), which was just rolled out a few days before this issue went to press, has already been well-received by his customers — and for good reason. 

The new “VIP Early Access” lunch menu at Rock & Brews on S.R. 56 includes (below right) the birria beef dip sandwich, the “Bee’s G’s Knees” cocktail (bottom of the page), the “Islands in the Stream” shrimp tacos (above), the personal margherita pizza (below left) and the S’mores Dip dessert (below).

Among those new lunch items are the “Islands in the Sun” shrimp tacos (which of course, I can’t eat, but Jannah and photographer Charmaine George agreed that they were only slightly spicy and delicious), with a sriracha-based sauce and mango salsa; personal-sized margherita and pepperoni pizzas; a BBQ trio special (1/3 rack of signature baby back ribs with a unique mustard BBQ sauce, grilled BBQ wings & smoked pulled pork); and my favorite — the birria beef dip sandwich, which is slow-cooked birria beef served on an artisan ciabatta roll with mayo, Chihuahua cheese, thin-sliced yellow onions and flash-fried jalapeños, with a side of birria consommĂ© dipping sauce. The birria is spot-on tender and the consommĂ© has a flavor all its own. 

Other new $12 lunch menu items include a huge, shareable tray of BBQ pork nachos with mixed cheeses, pico de gallo, primo queso, lime crema, fresh jalapeños and chopped cilantro, “Buffalo Springfield” chicken tacos, roasted cream chicken and mojo pulled pork bowls, “Sweet Heat” fried chicken and cedar plank salmon served with a sweet & smoky BBQ sauce, rockin’ rice and fresh broccoli. 

Kareem says the best-selling lunch menu items, however, are the blackened shrimp Strawberry Fields salad, with baby greens, strawberries, avocadoes, cucumbers, red onions, candied walnuts, feta cheese and lemon pepper vinaigrette — and the new smash burger. “But, everything we make is from scratch,” he says. “Our customers really seem to appreciate that.” 

For dessert, there’s a new S’mores Dip, which is enough for at least 3-4 people. Kareem says they melt milk chocolate chips and toast a large amount of marshmallows and top it with chocolate syrup and powdered sugar, with a generous supply of softer-than-usual graham crackers to dip. It’s so decadent that it’s hard to stop at just one or two graham crackers each (we didn’t), but it was hard to walk out of there after we all wolfed it all down. 

For those who have the ability to day drink, there also are some new drink specials on the VIP Early Access menu, including a very tasty Bourbon Street amaretto sour, with Benchmark single barrel bourbon, Amaretto DiSaronno, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and aquafaba. There’s also a smoked Rock ‘N Roll Old Fashioned made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, Amarena Toschi Italian black cherries and orange peel. 

And, speaking of bourbon, Kareem says that with all of the customer requests for more bourbon at the Wesley Chapel/Lutz location, he has added a huge variety of both popular and rare brands, from Woodford Reserve and Knob Creek to American Legend Hell House by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bespoken…and many more. 

You gin lovers have two new options — the Pink 75 made with Beefeater gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and prosecco (Jannah got it made with Tito’s vodka instead and loved it), and the Bee’s G’s Knees, which is made with Beefeater, blackberries, blueberries, basil, wild berry purĂ©e, honey simple syrup, lemon juice and aquafaba. The Bee’s G’s Knees is served topped with a cool-looking heated bubble that releases smoke when it pops. There also are two new mules, a new mojito and much more. 

The Return Of Live Music 

Although Jannah and I have also always enjoyed the rock videos at Rock & Brews, we weren’t the only ones excited for the return of live bands on Friday nights to the restaurant. 

“Our bands know that this isn’t a concert hall,” Kareem says. “They’re mainly background noise. We want you to still be able to have a conversation at your table when they’re playing.” 

Check the Rock & Brews Facebook page to see what bands are playing on upcoming Friday nights. 

In addition to the live music schedule, Kareem, who recently joined the BNI Alliance networking group, says his assistant GM Devin Johnson comes up with creative ways to attract more customers, including “concert” events where all the videos playing will be of a certain artist’s music, “and we’ll have special drink and food menus to go with the music. We had very successful Tom Petty and KISS ‘concerts’ here. Our next one is a Queen ‘concert’ on Saturday, April 6. For special events like these, we make the entire restaurant feel like a concert hall, so people who never got to see Freddie Mercury can almost feel like they’re experiencing him live.” 

Rock & Brews (26000 S.R. 56 W., Lutz) is open Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-11 p.m., 11 a.m.-midnight on Fri. & Sat. & 10 a.m.- 10:30 p.m. on Sun. For info, call (813) 800- 7625, visit RockandBrews.com.

Special Needs Kids & Young Adults Have Special Skills 

When I notified the winners of our annual “Big Game Squares” Contest to find out what restaurants they wanted gift cards to, it turned out that one of the winners was John Sousa, the On the Job Training (OJT) Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teacher at Cypress Creek High that we had featured in a previous issue. 

You may recall that one of John’s ESE kids needed a tray for her wheelchair and he enlisted the help of two of the school’s young engineering students to create one for their schoolmate’s chair. 

I therefore should not have been surprised when John asked me if, instead of just meeting him somewhere to give him his $75 Bonefish gift card, if I would instead give it to him in person in front of his class. He also asked if I would be willing to talk to his class (photo) of 14 young adults between the ages of 18-22, who participate in his class, which is funded by Florida’s “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA, which was signed into law in 2015) to prepare these young people to join the workforce. 

“Basically, at age 22,” Sousa told me, “they’re no longer eligible for this program and there are very limited opportunities for them to be employed when they finish here.” 

He thought I could give his students — who are on the autism spectrum and/or have other physical, mental, emotional and speech disabilities — some pointers about writing resumes, about the advertising and publishing business and the workforce in general. But for me, it became more about the kids themselves and what their interests were. 

One young lady named Artia said she really wants to be a baker and would love to work at Publix, which offers work opportunities for a lot of differently-abled young adults. 

A shy young man named Tyler, whom Sousa said loves to look inside machines and is fascinated by trains, rail yards, airplanes and rockets, gave me his full attention when I described how the presses that print the Neighborhood News work. 

But, the young man who most intrigued me was Craig Moore, who said he really wants to be a songwriter but also has written a large number of poems. Craig said that what he does is listen to songs on the radio and then write his own lyrics to those songs. I explained that although I have no direct contact with the music business, that I would be happy to publish one of Craig’s excellent poems on this page, to see if anyone would be interested enough in his poetry to publish a book of his unique perspectives on a variety of topics. 

While I hoped that I was able to reach his students, the best part for me was that John sent me a text afterwards and said that not only did the kids really appreciate my hour with them, but that Craig told both his counselor at school and his parents how excited he was to have his poem published in the Neighborhood News.

John, who has been teaching ESE kids for 38 years — the first 20 in his native Illinois and the last 18 in the Pasco School District — said that he is looking for more local professionals who would be willing to talk to his class (photo). 

Cypress Creek principal Karen Hetzler-Nettles says, “Mr. Sousa is a special person who works hard to keep his students from falling through the cracks.” 

John, who also thanks his instructional assistant Keith Reiley for all the help he provides, also told me that one reason he cares so much for his students is because, “I was basically a special needs kid myself. I came to the U.S. from Portugal when I was eight and neither of my parents spoke English. I had to learn English quickly to help them buy their home and do their taxes and I did that by watching cartoons. I wish they had an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) back then. It would have really helped me.” 

If you would like to speak with his class, please email jsousa@pasco.k12.fl.us. 

Former Saddlebrook Owner Tom Dempsey Passes Away 

 The Man Who Put Wesley Chapel On The Map Was 97 Years Old & Surrounded By His Family 

Saddlebrook Resort founder Tom Dempsey, with his granddaughter Alexis and her husband James Doyle, got to meet his great granddaughter Darla Eleanor Doyle while he was in home hospice care. (Photo copied from Alexis Doyle’s Facebook page) 

Even though I knew he had been in home hospice care for several weeks, the news that Saddlebrook Resort founder and former owner Thomas L. (Tom) Dempsey — known affectionately to his family and friends as “T.D.” — had passed away the day before we went to press with this issue was still a shock to my system. 

Mr. Dempsey, who literally put the previously unknown area known as Wesley Chapel on the map, when the Pittway Corp. purchased and began building Saddlebrook way back in 1979, was always so kind to me and said such sweet, complimentary things to me about my efforts with the Neighborhood News. The fact that he ran the huge Penton Publishing empire (a subsidiary of Pittway) in his native Cleveland, OH, for so many years gave his words to me so much more meaning. Even though we only met maybe 10-12 times in all of the years I have owned the Neighborhood News, I still looked upon him as something of a mentor — especially the few times he told me he felt I had gotten something wrong. 

The ironic thing to me is that my first home in the Wesley Chapel area, which I moved my family into in 1993 (after leaving Westchester County, NY) was a condominium I rented in the community around Saddlebrook. My kids loved swimming in the resort’s Superpool and members of my family stayed at the resort when they visited us. 

I was there when T.D. first opened his beloved Dempsey’s Steak House, Saddlebrook’s crown jewel, and when the original European-style spa opened. The Neighborhood News also followed closely the saga of the resort’s sale, which T.D. definitely resisted for years.

Alexis Dempsey (now Doyle) & her brother Masterson received their diplomas from T.D. when they both graduated from St. Leo University (Alexis with her M.B.A.) in 2016. (NN file photo) 

I also became friends with not only Mr. Dempsey’s granddaughter Alexis, but also his former general manager at the resort, Pat Ciaccio, and long-time employee Erik Ravenna, both of whom partnered with T.D. in Johnny C’s Italian Eatery on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa. 

Both Pat and Erik also called T.D. a “mentor” and said that although his passing was tremendously sad, as Pat told me, “at least he is finally at peace, and with his beloved Ellie (his wife of 60 years, who passed away in 2017).” 

Meanwhile, JD Porter, the Wiregrass Ranch developer whose family trust provided the land for Saddlebrook, said, “Mr. Dempsey was both a visionary and a trailblazer for this community. It’s a rarity for someone in an industry as cyclical and tumultuous as resorts to have such a track record of success and the grit to weather storms that most would run from. We had our successes and battles over the years on certain items with Tom but, at the end of the day, he was a man with fortitude who fought the good fight and was essential in helping to shape not only Wesley Chapel but the entire region through not only his vision but his actions. He will be sorely missed.” 

May his soul rest in peace.

Persis Grill — Wesley Chapel’s First Indian Eatery Is A Delicious One! 

As much as I love doing the dining reviews for my publications, I’m sure you long-time readers are aware that Indian food has always been something of a hit-or-miss proposition for my taste. 

So, when I heard that Persis Indian Grill was moving into the space previously occupied by Omnivorous (adjacent to Double Branch Brewing) in The Grove, I didn’t know what to expect. 

Well, rest assured that the first authentic Indian restaurant to open in Wesley Chapel (outside of the clubhouse at Anand Vihar in Meadow Pointe) is an upscale (yet still casual and affordable) restaurant which offers a huge menu of favorites from what seems to be every region of the Indian subcontinent. 

The owner, who goes by Harry, admits that he has never owned a restaurant before but I have to say that his recipes, handed down from not only his own family, but also the family recipes of his chef and many of his employees, are as good as any Indian cuisine I’ve sampled, which includes at least a half-dozen places located in New Tampa. 

I basically always try the menu items that I’m more likely to enjoy on my first visit, which in the case of Persis, was the day before this issue went to press, less than two weeks after the new restaurant first opened. 

And, I’m happy to report that the butter naan bread at Persis (not pictured) has a delicious grilled flavor and just the right amount of butter. Harry suggested that I try the garlic naan on my next visit, “because it adds a different flavor when you eat it along with our other food.” 

I also had to try two of my other usual favorites — the Tandoori lamb chops (top photo) and the Indo Chinese style chicken fried rice (right photo), both of which were outstanding. 

The sizzling lamb chops were tender and not over-seasoned and the fried rice had delicious chunks of chicken, as well as tasty veggies, egg and spices. I planned to bring most of both items home, but I brought home a lot less fried rice than I planned because I couldn’t stop taking additional bites. 

Harry says he has applied for a beer and wine license but alcohol is not currently being served at Persis. Even so, great job, Harry & crew! 

Persis Indian Grill (5956 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 106) is open every day except Monday for lunch and dinner. For more info, visit PersisWesleyChapel.com or call (813) 388-2245.Â