Nibbles & Bytes: A roundup of local dining news

Frances Belisle
New Tampa Financial Center leader Frances Belisle (with scissors) cuts the ribbon, with members of the New Tampa Chamber of Commerce, at the new BB&T Bank branch on Doña Michelle Dr. at Bruce B. Downs Blvd. on Apr. 16.

The latest &greatest news about dining, shopping, retail and more in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

World Of Beer to leave, Ciccio’s to replace it?

Although former Tampa Palms Ciccio’s Lodge managing partner Robert Garofano couldn’t confirm anything about his restaurant reopening in the same space, we do know for certain that the World of Beer (WoB) in the Shoppes at The Pointe plaza in Tampa Palms is closing — and could already be closed as early as the day you receive this issue in your mailboxes.

The WoB anchor space in this difficult plaza with limited parking and tiny parking spaces (which originally was expected to be an Old Chicago restaurant) has been through a few different incarnations since the plaza opened five or so years ago, but WoB definitely seemed to be the most successful endeavor in that location, especially considering how successful some of the other WoB locations are (including the two nearest to us now.

Garofano says that the Ciccio’s management group, which also owns multiple successful restaurants in South Tampa (including Water sushi restaurant, Daily Eats, The Lodge, The Lime and Ciccio’s), has been looking at the WoB space, but at our press time, no announcement was imminent.

We hope you’ll check our website, NTNeighborhoodNews.com, for updates about Ciccio’s, a possible new location for Sushi Tsu Japanese restaurant and other same-day dining news. If we get any finalized, announce-able dining info before our next issue hits your mailboxes, we will make it our “News Item of the Day” on our website, so stay tuned!

Coffee Beanery also closing?

Although, at our press time, no formal announcement had been made, despite our efforts to reach the owners, we have been told by a reliable source that the Coffee Beanery Café in the same Shoppes at The Pointe plaza also was getting ready to close.

We also know that the Beanery hasn’t replaced its broken espresso machine for several months (not a good sign for a coffee shop) and I personally was on hand at the Beanery more than once (because I’m a fan) when the space was being shown by Realtors to possible new tenants during regular business hours, which isn’t good for business if a place plans to stay open. But, we’ll keep you posted.

BB&T cuts a ribbon at former Krispy Kreme locale

Although a few of us miss having a Krispy Kreme Donuts shop at the corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Doña Michelle Dr., just north of I-75, there’s no doubt that the new BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust Co.) Bank that recently opened in the space previously occupied by Krispy Kreme, is already proving to be a great community partner.

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Freedom, Wharton girls fall in respective district championships

Despite some solid offensive plays, including junior Rachel Carlson’s stolen base (above), the Freedom Patriots fell to the Chamberlain Chiefs in the District 7A-9 Championship on April 18.
Despite some solid offensive plays, including junior Rachel Carlson’s stolen base (above), the Freedom Patriots fell to the Chamberlain Chiefs in the District 7A-9 Championship on April 18.

By Matt Wiley | NEW TAMPA

Despite having an outstanding regular season record of 17-2, the hopes of a District title have ended for the girls of the Freedom Patriots softball team. But, even though the Freedom girls lost in the finals of the Class 7A-District 9 playoffs, losing 4-2 to the top-seeded Chamberlain Chiefs in the District title game, which was played at Freedom on April 18. Freedom and Chamberlain both had 7-1 records in the District during the regular season.

Because they ended up as the District tourney runner-up, the Pats would bring their 18-3 overall record into the Region 7A playoffs, where they were set to play Countryside (24-3) on April 23. The playoffs had an optimistic start for the Patriots, following a close 2-1 District semifinal victory on April 17 against the Steinbrenner Warriors. The game remained scoreless until the fifth, Maxpreps.com reports, following a Warriors run, but RBIs from Patriots junior Rachel Carlson (.433 batting average, 21 RBIs & 25 runs scored) and freshman Maddy Hall (.394, 25 runs scored, team-best 9 stolen bases) put the Pats ahead with a 2-1 lead that would seal the team’s victory, advancing them to the District Championship against Chamberlain.

The Chiefs wasted no time against the Patriots, scoring in the top of the first inning and setting the tone for the remainder of the game. The Patriots were playing catchup and wouldn’t cross the plate until the bottom of the sixth inning, when they were already trailing by 4 runs. Seniors Katlin Hall (.452, team-best 6 2Bs, 22 RBIs, plus a 6-3 pitching record with a sparkling 1.09 ERA) and Caitlin Harper (.274, 2 HRs) batted in Maddy Hall and Carlson for a run each, but it wasn’t enough to catch up with the Chiefs.

Other top players for Freedom include senior Caroline Whiteside (.344, 21 RBIs & 6 SBs) and sophomore Grace Street (team-best .460 BA & 29 hits, plus a perfect 9-0 on the mound, a 1.02 ERA and 37 Ks in 54.2 IP).

Wharton Falls To Durant

After rallying past Bloomingdale to advance to the Class 8A-District 7 Championship, the Wharton Lady Wildcats (12- 8) lost 5-0 to Durant in a title game postponed a day due to heavy rains.

Durant (19-8) came out swinging, scoring an early run and never backing down at home on April 18, scoring 3 more in the third before the weather struck. Durant tacked on 1 more run when the game continued the next day to defeat the Wildcats for the third time this season and sink Wharton’s chance at a District title. The rally never came.

That wasn’t the case, however, during the District semifinal against the Bloomingdale Bulls (17-7) on April 17. Like Durant, the Bulls led early with 2 runs in the first inning. Wharton fought back with a run in the second, but couldn’t get any offense going until the sixth inning, scoring 2 runs to take the lead and drop the Bulls. Solid pitching by sophomore Mak Dooley (11-7 on the year, with a 2.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 129 IP, plus a .379 BA and a team-best 7 2Bs & 12 RBIs) kept the Bulls at bay, as she chalked up 8 strikeouts in 7 innings. Juniors Nicole Stannard (team-leading .447 BA) and Nicole Keesee (.328, 10 RBIs) had 2 hits and an RBI apiece.

Other top hitters for the ‘Cats this year include soph Erica Matich (.356, with a team-leading 3 HRs, plus 9 RBIs), junior Nicole Dixon (.333, 10 RBIs) and soph Meagan Bell (.298, with 9 RBIs & a team-leading 15 runs scored).

Wildcats head coach Ashlee Cappucci also could not be reached for comment before we went to press.

The statistics we cite also are from Maxpreps.com, so we can’t vouch for them being 100-percent accurate. Editor Gary Nager contributed to this feature.

UPDATE

Although we do not have specific stats for the Freedom or Wharton regional Quarterfinal games, Freedom moves on to play the Chamberlain Chiefs in the Class 7A Regional Semifinal on Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at Chamberlain. The Patriot girls will have a chance to avenge their District Title loss to the Chiefs and move on to the Regional Finals.

However, the Wharton Wildcat girls fell to the Palm Harbor University Hurricanes in the Class 8A Regional Quarterfinal, finishing the Wildcats’ season at 12-9.

Freedom grad's 'The Exit Room' is entry in Tribeca Film Fest

Left: ‘The Exit Room,’ a short film written and directed by Freedom grad Todd Wiseman, Jr. (blue shirt) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20.
Left: ‘The Exit Room,’ a short film written and directed by Freedom grad Todd Wiseman, Jr. (blue shirt) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20.

By Matt Wiley | NEW TAMPA

Film festivals. Red carpets, celebrities and champagne come to mind. Or, maybe that’s the Oscars. But, for one Freedom High graduate, the Tribeca Film Festival could be a stepping stone to the latter, as he premieres his short film, “The Exit Room,” during the New York City festival to help get his name out there and bring exposure to his work.

Todd Wiseman, Jr., 25, graduated in 2005 from Freedom, where he worked on the school’s morning news. Now, he works on the sixth floor of a building in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, the building that his production company, Hayden 5 Media, LLC, calls home.

On April 20, Wiseman was expected to premiere his ten-minute film, a look at the punishment of a captured journalist awaiting execution during a futuristic American revolution, to a theater of festival attendees.

“I had been to (the) Tribeca (festival) before as a guest, and it was a really exciting experience,” Wiseman explains. “(The festival) is really cool because it brings together international filmmakers and local filmmakers. Tribeca has a ‘narrative’ category, so we entered ‘The Exit Room,’ and it got selected, which is a huge honor.”

Wiseman says that the short, which stars Christopher Abbott (HBO’s “Girls” series), already had generated some prefestival “buzz” and that he already has received offers for distribution and representation, which are usually the goals when an independent filmmaler takes a film to a festival.
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