If you haven’t yet driven to, or by, the new Chicken Guy! restaurant, which finally opened on Jan. 7, on the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, at 25769 Sierra Center Blvd.), well, let’s just say you might be the only person in Wesley Chapel who hasn’t.
The brightly colored eatery, founded in 2018 and co-owned by restaurateur Robert Earl (the founder of the Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich chains) and Food Network star Guy Fieri, has been packed virtually all the time from the moment it opened, especially the drive-through, which has caused some backups onto 56 from the traffic circle adjacent to the restaurant.
The Neighborhood News was on hand for both the Friends & Family event on Jan. 6 and the actual opening the next day, when (l.-r. in top photo) Marcelo Cardoza (the manager of culinary operations for Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich, LLC), franchise co-owners Suhail Rifae and Moe Khalil were joined by Jason Taliaferro (the senior VP of Chicken Guy!) to introduce the Wesley Chapel/Lutz community to Chicken Guy!’s always-fresh chicken.
Fieri, the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Flavortown,” offers several varieties of chicken at the new fast-casual chain, including his seasonal limited menu items like the pepperoni chicken parm sandwich (right photo, shown with Guy fries and the chopped cheese & chicken eggrolls), as well as “Big Bite,” two-tender sandwiches like the BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato; above photo, shown with mac & cheese and a thick, hand-spun Oreo Flavortown shake); the CG Classic and Buffalo Mac ‘N’ Cheese Sandwich.
All of the fried sandwiches and tenders come lightly seasoned, so you can add your favorite Fieri-created sauce from “The Boss of Sauce” list (below).
The good news is that if you’re not a fried chicken lover, all of the sandwiches and tenders also are available grilled, instead of fried, and there are two salad options (including the chopped chicken Caesar with chopped grilled tenders below left).
About the only menu items we haven’t yet sampled are the fried chicken dumplings (topped with smoked bacon, green onions & sesame seeds) and a few shake varieties. Go give it a try!
For info, call (813) 344-3311 or visit ChickenGuy.com & tell GM Trevor McIntyre (below) I sent you!
Congratulations to the owners of the new Tous les Jours bakery franchise at 27209 S.R. 56 — in the former location of Capital Tacos.
Like the Tous les Jours inside the Lotte Plaza Market in New Tampa, the Wesley Chapel location offers a large selection of freshly baked croissants, pastries, donuts, breads and more — in both sweet and savory varieties — as well as cakes, coffee drinks, teas, smoothies, lemonades and much more.
Photographer Charmaine George and I have visited the new Tous les Jours twice and the first thing we both noticed is how much nicer and more spacious the new location is than the one in the Lotte Plaza Market food court. There are several tables, as well as couches, for enjoying your purchases inside the shop, which in no way still resembles the old Capital Tacos.
As for the baked goods, among the sweet options we’ve sampled are an almond croissant, a large Mont Blanc pastry (which is like a huge, crispy outside-flaky inside cinnamon roll), a strawberry croissant filled not only with super-fresh strawberries, but also whipped cream, and a mini caramel apple pie. The savory items we’ve tried and enjoyed include a ham-&-cheese croissant, a spinach and feta pastry (which is both sweet and savory), a croque monsieur sandwich (a grilled French-style ham and cheese sandwich) and a sausage onion pastry, which is like a hot dog surrounded by a pastry with onions, cheese and ketchup. There also are several different kinds of milk breads, full bread loaves stuffed with whipped cream and so many more. We haven’t tried any of the cakes yet, but give us time!
As for beverages, I’ve enjoyed both the vanilla latte and caramel macchiato and Charmaine and I agreed that the fresh, thick, hand-spun mango smoothie (below) was delicious. There also is a huge selection of hot and iced teas available and more!
Tous les Jours is a French-inspired — its name literally means “Every Day” in French) — Korean-owned chain of bakeries with 1,700 locations around the world, including more than 100 (and growing) in the U.S.
The Wesley Chapel Tous les Jours is open every day from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and although the menu doesn’t include some of the freshly made sandwich items other Tous les Jours stores carry, the hope here is that they’ll add some of those items in the future.
For more info, call (813) 388-5612 or visit tljus.com. — GN
As previously announced, the last remaining New Tampa Winn-Dixie supermarket, located at 6425 County Line Rd. (in the same plaza as LA Fitness), closed on Dec. 8 and is in the process of being converted to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area’s third ALDI grocery store.
We were told that it would be several months before the new ALDI would open, but this Germany-based international brand already has nearly 2,500 U.S. supermarkets and more than 200 stores in Florida, including at 18002 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in New Tampa and at 2215 Sun Vista Dr. in Lutz (in front of Costco).
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the still-open (at least at our press time) Winn-Dixie in the Towne Center of Wesley Chapel plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd. told us there are no plans to close that store. — GN
(l.-r.) Jordan Kornberg of Mast Capital, Pasco County Comm. Jack Mariano & Florida Sports Coast exec. director Adam Thomas were among those who took the first swings on the new driving range at Saddlebrook Resort on Dec. 11. (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)
Since Mast Capital purchased Saddlebrook Resort & Spa from the resort’s late founder and owner Tom Dempsey back in 2022, the Wesley Chapel community has been anxiously waiting to see what Mast was going to do to update and upgrade what was once the jewel of Wesley Chapel.
To that end, on Dec. 11, Saddlebrook and Mast unveiled the resort’s newly relocated golf driving range with a “first drive” ceremony, a champagne toast and a great party that thunder, lightning and the possibility of heavy rain cut short.
With Saddlebrook’s former driving range along S.R. 54 being replaced with apartments, the range was relocated to a portion of the former Palmer Course, one of two Arnold Palmer-designed 18-hole courses at the resort. But, Mast decided to do away with nine of the Palmer Course’s 18 holes and the new driving range takes up about six of the other nine holes.
When the renovations are complete, Saddlebrook will be left with 27 holes of championship golf.
(Above, l.-r.) Saddlebrook managing director Raj Mohan, Kornberg & Mariano all spoke at the event.
Mast Capital chief investment officer Jordan Kornberg promised that the new driving range “is just the beginning. We will be returning Saddlebrook to its former glory.”
Among those joining Kornberg for the ceremonial first drive (complete with exploding golf balls) were the resort’s managing director Raj Mohan, District 1 Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and Florida Sports Coast executive director Adam Thomas.
Mohan said he was looking forward to the community seeing the changes now in motion at Saddlebrook and Mariano also expressed excitement for the future of the resort.
Attendees were treated to a picnic-style lunch with fried chicken, beef brisket and curried pork with all the trimmings, as well as enough umbrellas for everyone in attendance, as heavy showers were a looming possibility.
For more information about Saddlebrook Resort, visit Saddlebrook.com or call (813) 973-1111.
Commercial lender Vanessa Ng (photos) knows that busy entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses don’t have time to call a bank, apply for a loan, wait to hear back and then call a different bank if they’re turned down by, or just not sure they like, the first option.
That’s why she works for CommLoan, a company that allows her to help business owners apply for a loan through a streamlined process that provides many options to meets their needs quickly.
“CommLoan is really efficient and can provide a quote to the borrower within minutes,” Vanessa explains. “We have a database of 750 lenders we work with through a proprietary system called CUPID, and, in some cases, it will give us back 300 options.”
CUPID, which stands for Commercial Underwriting Pricing Index Data, is an innovative platform developed by CommLoan, a company that was founded in 2014 in Scottsdale, AZ, by long-time mortgage banker Mitch Ginsberg. CommLoan lends nationwide, except in Nevada and North and South Dakota.
Vanessa joined CommLoan about a year ago, adding commercial lending to her 12-year career as a residential lender.
She currently works with business owners all over the country and says she is hoping to increase awareness of CommLoan locally in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas.
Vanessa is originally from South Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Finance in 2012. She went straight into the mortgage business out of college and first moved to New Tampa for five years, and then, to Wesley Chapel, where she now lives in Estancia at Wiregrass Ranch.
“There is a lot of expansion and growing businesses in Wesley Chapel, Dade City and Zephyrhills,” she says, “and I’m trying to help out those entrepreneurs.”
She says she often provides loans for new commercial properties, such as gas stations or car washes, multifamily properties and single-tenant-use buildings, such as medical offices.
Vanessa also helps business owners who have equity in their current properties refinance their existing loans to get cash out, or help those who have a maturing loan and want to refinance.
Vanessa says her loans are for a minimum of $300,000 and can go up to as much as $100 million. She notes that some of these loans are as low as zero percent down.
“CommLoan provides tailored solutions,” Vanessa explains. “So, whether a buyer is looking for no prepayment penalty, a non-recourse loan, or some other specific criteria, I’m able to filter the search for that. Within seconds, I can get the best rates and the best programs for my buyer.”
CommLoan’s hundreds of lenders include everything from large national, commercial and regional banks to midsize banks, credit unions and debt funds.
Easing Frustrations
Vanessa explains that, sometimes, clients come to her feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.
“If someone goes to a bank for a loan, but then gets turned down, it can leave them scrambling if they’re already under contract to buy a property,” Vanessa explains. “Once I understand the scenario, I can send it to a dozen lenders at the same time and, sometimes, I’ll get offers the same day. It’s very different from waiting a week to just get turned down by one bank. These are busy entrepreneurs who don’t have time to waste hours or days trying to get a loan.”
She says her job is to remove the frustration from the process. “I do all of the legwork so you can keep running your business.”
Steven Sockwell and his wife, Lindy, have several investment properties near Rockville, IL. A few months ago, they were working with a Realtor® to purchase a new rental property and the Realtor recommended Vanessa and CommLoan as a lender. Even though Vanessa was far away in Florida, Steven decided to reach out to her.
“Ever since then, she’s been great to work with,” Steven says. “We’ve had several things she’s helped us with, including two transactions from start to finish. She’s very helpful and the transactions have been smooth.”
He adds that Vanessa has, “a wealth of knowledge” and credits her experience with helping them get the properties they wanted.
“She’s a very hard worker,” Steven adds. “Anything I have questions about, she’s able to answer them.”
He says he’s in the process of buying another rental property and that he will continue to work with Vanessa and CommLoan because it’s been such an easy process.
“One thing I’ve noticed about CommLoan is that everything is very streamlined,” he says. “The information in documentation is very straightforward and to the point. It’s so different than going to a local bank here where everything is so convoluted and you have to read, re-read, and re-read again to understand it. Instead, everything is very orderly and tells you want to do next, step-by-step. And, anything we don’t understand, we ask and Vanessa answers quickly.”
Steven says Vanessa also helped him look at his current portfolio of properties and figured out how to use the equity in those properties to, “seize the moment” to buy other properties.
“I didn’t know how to go about doing that and she walked us through it,” Steven says.
He also says working with Vanessa has been so easy, even if he wasn’t in the process of purchasing a property and needing a loan, he would still feel comfortable reaching out to ask her questions.
“She would answer,” he says. “I’m sure of it. She’s a great person to work with.”
For more information, contact Vanessa Ng via email at vng@commloan.com, call or text her at (561) 310-4720 or visit VanessaNg.CommLoan.com.
