As much as most of our readers say they want them, itโs just never easy to be successful with unique concept restaurants in our distribution areas โ there is always just too much competition from other chain restaurants โ so you need all of the little factors to come together to โmake it,โ including location, quality, demand for the product, management and more.
Thatโs why it wasnโt much of a shock to me that the Mochinut โMore Than Just A Donutโ location on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just north of I-75 (in the small plaza located north of Glory Days Grill) made the announcement shown lower left on Instagram a week or so before we went to press with this issue that the New Tampa location had closed, even though the Mochinut locations in Citrus Park, Temple Terrace and on the north S.R. 56 (near Mellow Mushroom) were staying open.
Whether or not Mochinutโs light-and-airy Korean-style donuts were a hard sell for folks raised on Krispy Kreme and/or Dunkinโ Donuts, the location of the New Tampa Mochinut (the second eatery to fail there; Mahana Fresh was the first) is extremely difficult to find and get to for a lot of people, even though it is visible from BBD.
Enter: Box Of Cubans!
I happened to stop by the already-closed Mochinut location to take the exterior photo to your left when I was able to see two people sitting inside the vacant eatery. They were Marcos and his wife Onelia (โOniโ) Silverio โ the owners of the Box of Cubans restaurant in Riverview, who were waiting for contractors to come in to help them get the former Mochinut location ready to become their second fast-casual Cuban eatery.
โOur Riverview location was named the Best Restaurant to Eat At in Tampa Bay by Yelp for 2023,โ Marcos told me. โWeโre famous for our authentic Cuban sandwiches and empanadas.โ
Marcos and Oni said that in addition to those popular Cubans and empanadas, Box of Cubans also receives high marks for its outstanding breakfast items โ including Cuban-style French toast (also known as Torrejas) and egg, meat (choice of bacon, ham, sausage, turkey or chorizo) and cheese and โPipoโs Breakfastโ (tender, juicy roast pork, aka lechon, sautรฉed onions and Swiss cheese inside a pressed fluffy egg omelet) sandwiches and more.
For lunch, try the restaurantโs signature Mojito Pork Sandwich with lechon, Swiss, sautรฉed onions and pickled jalapenos, the Pan Con Bistec (grilled palomilla steak marinated in mojo with Swiss, sauteed onions, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, crispy potato sticks, house cilantro sauce and mayo) sandwich or the ham croquette sandwich.
The empanadas come with a variety of fillings, from traditional chicken or beef and cheese to bacon, ham or sausage, egg & cheese, Empanada Cuban and even cheeseburger and lasagna options and more.
The โanatomyโ of a Box of Cubans Cuban sandwich. (Source: BoxofCubans.com)
There also are black or red bean & rice Cuban bowls with one of four house proteins (Lechon, Palomilla Steak, Chicken, or Picadillo), served with three pieces of Cuban bread garlic toast made and three sweet plantains.
Bakery items will range from savory ham croquettes to cream cheese churros, flan, tres leches and even cheesecake and key lime pie. โWeโre also famous for our specialty Cuban coffee drinks,โ Marcos says, including cafรฉ con leche and cold brew ice coffee.
He says Box of Cubans also has a cool story to tell. Marcos, who is Cuban and a lifelong Tampa native, and Oni both left other jobs to open the original Box of Cubans together in a BP gas station in Brandon in 2017. They were able to stay open and continue serving their community during Covid because the gas station was considered to be an โessentialโ business. Their son โMJโ (Marcos, Jr.) joined the team as COO and GM in Jan. 2023 and were looking to open a second location when the Mochinut spot became available. โWe hope to be open by the end of October or the first week of November,โ Marcos says. โWe know the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area will love our food!
(Above, l.-r.) Attorney Elizabeth Devolder, case manager Camelia Howard and attorney Rachael Alexander make up the team youโll have on your side if you choose the Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in Tampa Palms.ย (Photos by Charmaine George)
When Dwan Kleinโs dear friend of 37 years called to say her checks were suddenly bouncing, Dwan immediately knew something was wrong.
Her friend, now 86, had been widowed for many years, had no family, and had signed documents appointing Dwan and her husband as her caregivers if she were to become incapacitated.
Dwan had no idea that day was so close.
Dwanโs husband, an accountant, realized someone was stealing from their friend. They were able to determine it was an online scammer, but Dwanโs friend didnโt believe it. She refused to close her accounts to stop the perpetrator.
At an absolute loss of what to do, Dwan turned to attorney Elizabeth Devolder of The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center, just off the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. exit of I-75.
โIt was the best thing we could have done,โ Dwan says. โElizabeth understood immediately what our issues were, and gave us direction on what do to, and how to do it.โ
Elizabeth says her firm is seeing many instances of such financial exploitation. In addition to this example, she has seen elderly people who have left their financial and medical decisions to some unexpected people, including a dog trainer, someone who painted a personโs car and even a taxi driver.
โSometimes, people donโt know who to trust,โ Elizabeth says. โSometimes, their families live far away and arenโt able to be on site, but thereโs a neighbor or a person from church who offers to help. We often donโt know those peopleโs bad intentions until much later.โ
Elizabeth and her team have the legal expertise to help people understand and think through their options when it comes to establishing caregiving and financial responsibility, should they become incapacitated.
โPeople come into my office to set up a will and they arenโt thinking about the kinds of decisions that might need to be made if they become ill and canโt make them [for themselves] anymore,โ she says. โThey have this idea in their mind that, in the future, they will either be dead or perfectly fine. They donโt anticipate incapacity.โ
Elizabeth established The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in 2021, five years after she earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree from the Tampa campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Riverview in 2016, following a successful career in advertising and sales management. She had previously earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston, SC, in 1997. For five years, Elizabeth worked jointly with her ex-husband Bryan Devolder at their Devolder Law Firm.
The newer firmโs associate attorney Rachael Alexander was previously a case manager, working closely with Elizabeth and helping her found the firm while going to law school herself. The team also includes case manager Camelia Howard.
Elizabeth says there are ways to set up your documents to ensure a system of checks and balances, so that no one person has total control and thereโs always someone looking out for your best interests, even if itโs not your primary caregiver.
She emphasizes that this is why setting up an estate plan with an attorney is so important,ย and that online documents from a website donโt give you personalized, customized advice from an expert who takes your individual circumstances into account.ย
Thereโs another benefit to hiring an attorney, too. The attorney who prepares and signs your documents can testify to your capacity and intentions in court if that becomes necessary.
Dwan and her husband were grateful for Elizabethโs immediate action to help their friend. They ended up going to court, where three separate experts evaluated their friend and determined that she was unable to make good decisions for herself. Her paperwork was crystal clear about who she wanted to make decisions on her behalf if that were to happen.
The court gave Dwan the authority to close the accounts that were being attacked and protect her friendโs assets. By the time they were able to do that, the scammer already had taken $150,000 from their friend.
โWhen we met Elizabeth, we knew immediately that she was the right person to help us,โ Dwan says. โShe knew exactly what we needed to do.โ Dwan adds that she is grateful that Elizabeth helped her to ensure her friendโs assets could no longer be stolen.ย
โWe talk regularly, and we ensure that all of her needs are met,โ says Dwan. โIt was very difficult, and very hard to see her unable to accept the fact that she was being taken advantage of, but the judge was so kind and actually said, โI wish I had a friend like you.โโ
Elizabeth says this is a perfect example of how one situation is very different from another. Not everyone has a friend who would take such good care of them and manage their finances in their best interest. In those cases, when a person has no family present, there are professionals who can manage these decisions for them.
Sometimes, though, a professional isnโt needed. Remember the dog trainer, taxi driver, and car painter who were given control over someoneโs entire estate? One of those actually had no bad intentions at all.
In fact, Elizabeth says the person who asked her taxi driver to care for her had no family. She had formed a bond with the lady who drove her to all of her appointments. That taxi driver ended up caring for her for the rest of her life, ensuring she had all she needed, and looking out for her best interests.
โEvery family and every personโs situation is different,โ she says. โThe important thing an attorney can do is help to create a system thatย avoids the potential for abuse, and can provide testimony about your capacity when you signed the documents.โย
Elizabeth says for her clients, she is willing to take the time to be incredibly detailed, as long as thatโs what the client wants. She tells of visiting a client in the hospital who was refusing to eat and the clientโs nurses were frustrated. Elizabeth glanced at the papers she had brought with her.
โI told the nurses his favorite treat was ice cream, and they looked at me like I was a genius,โ Elizabeth laughs. โYou can have sufficient documents that donโt go into that level of detail, but with it, you can provide direction for how to provide better care for you.โ
Elizabeth also specializes in valuating and managing collections of art or other tangible personal property, such as gun or coin collections, or antiques.
โIt may require calling in a special appraiser who is familiar with that type of collection, because 1980s rock posters are very different than a collection of china,โ Elizabeth says. โOur goal is to maximize the value of the collection, which takes some effort, and the person who is best at knowing how to maximize the value is the one who collected it.โ
Elizabeth says she and her team offer their clients experience, knowledge and care that may be hard to find, especially as the market grows and many attorneys offer estate planning.
โIn addition to eight years of experience doing estate planning here in our area, we live and work in Tampa, and we work together to answer our own calls in our own office,โ she says. โWeโre not working out of a coworking space or having a virtual assistant in another country answering our phones. My clients want to walk in and see the person they spoke to on the phone, and meet my staff, who is then also able to testify about you if necessary. Those details are important to look for when hiring an estate planning attorney.โ
The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder is located at 5383 Primrose Lake Cir., Suite C, in the Tampa Palms Professional Center. It is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.โ6 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (813) 319-4550 or visit ElizabethDevolder.com.
Dr. Rachel Burke demonstrates how the AdventHealth Care Pavilion mammography machine works. (Photos by Charmaine George)
As most people know, October is โNational Breast Cancer Awareness Monthโ across the U.S. and here in Tampa, the AdventHealth Care Pavilion at 8702 Hunterโs Lake Dr., in front of the Hunterโs Green community on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., hosted a breast cancer awareness event on Oct. 3 to encourage women to get their mammograms.
โOne in eight women will be touched by breast cancer in their lifetimes,โ said Dr. Rachel Burke, the medical director and head breast radiologist at the Kay Meyer Breast Care Center at AdventHealth Tampa. โThe median age is around 62 and the highest risk is for those over age 70, but we diagnose it in all ages. Pretty much everyone knows someone who has been affected by it. I always tell people that the biggest risk factors for developing breast cancer are being born female and getting older โ and if youโre alive, youโre getting older, so nobody is immune to it.โ
In fact, she said, โThis year alone, more than 300,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, the kind that can possibly spread, and another 56,000 with the non-invasive or โStage 0โ breast cancer, and thatโs just here in the U.S.โ
Dr. Burke says that not only is a mammogram the only diagnostic test approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), it also is the โgold standardโ for detecting breast cancer.
โAnd honestly, itโs so easy,โ Dr. Burke said. โIt only takes a few minutes, isnโt painful and it can definitely save your life. I donโt know why some women have built it up in their heads that itโs this scary thing. Itโs really just a couple of seconds of pressure on each side.โ
She added that she started as a diagnostic radiologist specializing in breast radiology, โbefore I turned 40, so I hadnโt actually had a mammogram myself yet. But, I had heard many scary things about mammograms from patients. And, when I finally had mine, I said, โOK, that wasnโt so bad.โ I didnโt know what the whole fuss was about. It was over and done with so fast and wasnโt terrible at all.โ
Dr. Burke also said that since the 1990s, with widespread screening becoming the norm, โMortality from breast cancer has been reduced by 40% and up to 50% in some studies. Yes, it works. I donโt know why anyone wouldnโt want to have a test that took five minutes of their time that could save their life.โ
Cost Isnโt An Issue
And, she noted that considering that an annual mammogram is a covered test for women over age 40 on virtually all health insurance plans, โCost isnโt an issue, either. Even if you donโt have insurance, there are programs โ like through our AdventHealth Foundation โ that offer free or low-cost mammograms to women, regardless of their insurance status, if they canโt afford to get one. We will find a way to help youโ
In addition, Dr. Burke said, โMost mammography facilities offer special programs and lower fees during October. I know we have a special for a $99 mammogram this month.โ
The Care Pavilion staff โcelebratesโ Breast Cancer Awareness Month.ย
Dr. Burke also noted that although African American women have a lower incidence of breast cancer when compared with Caucasians and other races, โThey have a higher mortality rate from it. We donโt know exactly why โ but Black women have a higher incidence of dense breast tissue and there are some other factors, including socioeconomic, but it absolutely is something to be aware of. We donโt want any women to die from breast cancer, but we also donโt want this type of disparity either.โ
Speaking of breast density, however, Dr. Burke said that it is harder to read the mammograms of women who have more dense, glandular tissue than fatty tissue, which puts any woman with dense breasts at higher risk for breast cancer.
โMammograms are still our best diagnostic tool,โ she said, โbut the test isnโt perfect. Just as itโs harder to see when youโre driving in dense fog, itโs harder to read the mammograms through dense breast tissue. Some women will need a supplemental test โ like an MRI or ultrasound โ if they have dense breasts and thereโs a concern.โ
Dr. Burke also talked about BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, which significantly increase a womanโs risk of developing breast cancer. Statistics show that 55%-65% of women found with a BRCA1 mutation and 45% of women with a BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70.
โMore and more celebrities are coming out and discussing that they have gotten prophylactic bilateral mastectomies and reconstruction after being found with either mutation,โ she said. โYou know, the Angelina Jolie effect. So now, there are a lot of women with these mutations who arenโt celebrities who were inspired by that and also are having mastectomies to prevent breast cancer and thatโs great. A surgery without cancer is easier to recover from than a surgery with cancer.โ
And now, she added, โWe have found a lot of different genes that are proving to be risk factors not just for breast but for a lot of different cancers.โ
Dr. Burke also said that although there are some risk factors that women canโt change, like aging and genetics, โThe risk factors we can change are alcohol consumption, diet and exercise and smoking. I never tell women they have to give up alcohol altogether,โ she said. โI still like to have a glass of wine, too, and I have friends who are oncologists who still have a drink here and there. All we say is to limit your alcohol consumption because it definitely is related to breast cancer.โ
She also noted that itโs important to tell women who are diagnosed that, โItโs not your fault. I tell them, โYou did not cause this. This is one rogue cell that decided to proliferate. There wasnโt one particular thing you did to cause it.โโ
The stage of the cancer itself also is important. โThe chance for long-term survival goes down with each stage,โ Dr. Burke said. โHowever, even though we canโt โcureโ Stage 4, we do have many patients who live for a number of years with Stage 4 disease.โ
Dr. Burke then demonstrated how a mammogram works in the Care Pavilionโs Mammography Suite. And, after the interview,Charmaine and I enjoyed pink cupcakes, donuts and lemonade with the Care Pavilion staff, who also painted provided stones pink with the name of someone they lost to the disease for the Care Pavilionโs garden. They also took home pink light bulbs.
(L.-r.) Executive Director Meagan Kopstad, Director of Admissions Melissa McDaniel, Community Relations Director Lilly Gonzalez and Assisted Living Administrator Courtney Dyer of Blue Heron Senior Living off Bruce B Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel invite you to check out the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel areaโs only assisted living facility that also offers skilled rehab, long-term care & memory care. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Blue Heron Senior Living, located on Eagleston Blvd. off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Seven Oaks (near the new BayCare Wesley Chapel Hospital) is home to four distinct lifestyle communities.
Community relations director Lilly Gonzalez explains, โWe are the only community in the Wesley Chapel or New Tampa area that combines assisted living with memory care, skilled rehab and long-term care, all on one campus.โ
This allows people to move between areas as needed โ whether that means aging in place in a move from an active assisted living lifestyle to memory care or long-term care, or moving from rehab back to home in assisted living.
Blue Heronโs campus also is expanding, as a long-awaited new wing was supposed to be unveiled at a Grand Opening ceremony this Thursday, but has been postponed due to Hurricane Milton. We will post the rescheduled date on here as soon as itโs announced.
The expansion will add 35 skilled nursing rooms to its existing 106 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 141. Each room is private to accommodate one person who is either in long-term care (meaning they need more medical assistance than can be provided in the assisted living facility) or for rehabilitation, which is when someone needs care after leaving the hospital but before returning home.
Edward Ley recently had hip replacement surgery and needed physical therapy before he could return to his home in Lutz. He chose Blue Heron for his rehab care.
โThe stay here has been far more than I ever expected,โ Edward said. โThe facility is great, but the rehab also has been really, really good.โ
He says heโs been so impressed with the quality of care heโs received that, once heโs released to return home and recover with in-home care, he plans to return for outpatient physical therapy.
โI like these people,โ he says. โTheyโre good at what they do.โ
Edward says his occupational and physical therapists recognized his love for golf and have worked with him on the facilityโs putting green, making the therapy more fun and personal for him. He says his therapist sometimes even picks him up from his room with a cup of coffee for him in hand.
Executive Director Meagan Kopstad says that with the growth in the area and a third hospital being added in Wesley Chapel (Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch), the need for rehab facilities and long-term care beds is significant. Meagan says she is excited for the new wing to open to accommodate more people who need those facilities.
Sheโs also happy to have a new partner on board who is able to give additional attention to the assisted living side of the campus.
In May, Assistant Living Administrator Courtney Dyer joined the team, bringing about 15 years of experience to the community. She was most recently the regional director of operations for a much larger company.
Courtney says that what drew her to want to work at Blue Heron is the companyโs care for people, both its residents and staff.
โOur care is above and beyond a typical assistant living facility,โ she says. โOur staffing ratios are way better than normal, and the quality of people and their length of employment is well above whatโs typical.โ
Amenities & Activities
Blue Heronโs assisted living community includes about 100 residents in studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments (with no buy-in required). Some of the units have balconies that overlook a courtyard and pond, offering beautiful views.
The main dining area serves up to three chef-prepared restaurant-style meals a day to residents. There is a resident exercise room, on-site salon for hair and nail appointments, community games such as BINGO and Bunko, live music, movies in the cinema and transportation provided to go to the local grocery store or to doctor appointments.
Whatโs inside the building housing the new skilled nursing expansion at Blue Heron will be unveiled at an open-to-the-public event.ย
The bustling activities are resident Beverly Flemingโs favorite thing about living at Blue Heron. โItโs where the action is,โ Beverly says, โand it keeps me busy.โ
Beverly also says she enjoys playing games and being part of Blue Heronโs resident council, which chooses what activities will be offered for weekly outings. These outings could be shopping, a meal in a restaurant, or to go see a play. The group visited a winery recently, and loved it so much that they plan to go back. Beverly also got to attend her first Major League Baseball game โ to see the Tampa Bay Rays play โ and tried to take in the whole experience, including eating hot dogs in the stadium.
Beverly says new experiences that might feel overwhelming are more comfortable with the Blue Heron staff who take them on these trips.
โThe people who drive us arenโt just drivers,โ Beverly says. โIf someone has trouble figuring out a tip or needs help ordering off a menu, they are there to help, and Iโm so thankful for them.โ
Beverly also serves as a resident ambassador, helping to welcome a new resident to the community, giving them a tour of the building and sitting with them at meals until they get comfortable in their new home.
โWe have staff who help with that transition, of course,โ Lilly notes, โbut itโs nice to have a peer helper from a different perspective.โ
For Blue Heron residents with dementia or Alzheimerโs disease, the community offers a separated, secured, but intimate Memory Care community, which allows those residents to thrive and not be overwhelmed. Offering a smaller home-like environment also ensures these residents receive the personalized attention and programming they deserve.
The Memory Care community provides a supervised neighborhood for residents, while also allowing them to maintain some independence.
For those who already live at Blue Heron, if skilled nursing or long-term care is needed, the transition to that care is seamless. It allows a husband or wife to visit their spouse with just a walk down the hallway when that spouse is in need of additional care โ no need for transportation or spending long hours in an unfamiliar facility.
For residents such as Beverly, Blue Heron is a place of joy that keeps her active and fulfilled.
โThis is a beautiful place, a lovely place to be,โ she says, โand they really do take good care of you.โ
Blue Heron Senior Living is located at 5071 Eagleston Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, and its hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the weekends. For more information, call (813) 454-0513 or visit SeniorLivingAtBlueHeron.com.
The smaller dirt mound near Enterprise care rental on Mansfield Blvd. is expected to be home to a drive-through coffee shop & self-storage facility.ย (Photos by Joel Provenzano)ย
If you thought we were done after last issueโs updates about some of the new businesses now open or still coming to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe (and Wiregrass Ranch), guess what? Weโve got quite a few more for you!
Drive-Through Coffee & Self Storage
Ever since the end of 2023, when a 400โ long and 25โ tall dirt mound, perfectly shaped like a car jumping ramp, appeared along Mansfield Blvd. in the dirt lot near the new Enterprise car rental place, bets could have been made that more than a few passing motorists probably envisioned what it would be like to take a Dukes of Hazard or Evel Knievel-style jump off the end of it. It was just beckoning.
Well, if you didnโt do it โ and weโre assuming no one did โ you wonโt get the chance again, as that dirt mound has been whittled away over the past few weeks and is being used to level out the rest of the roughly 21 acres of property owned by Wiregrass Ranch upon which it sits. The property is now being prepared for some new and future developments.
On the 1.6 acres immediately adjacent to Enterprise, itโs been long rumored that a drive-through coffee shop, specifically Ziggiโs, was going there. That is still a possibility, as site plans for the coffee shop were approved by Pasco back in June of 2023, showing a 1,947-sq.-ft. building, plenty of parking (23 spaces), and a long drive-through lane that could handle a 14-car queue from the window, which would put most Starbucks to shame.
Itโs still not known for sure if Ziggiโs will still be the brand coming, or if whatโs shown in the approved plan is what will be built at all. Time will tell after theyโre done moving the dirt. Nothing else has been submitted yet for that parcel.
On the remaining 19.30 acres, thereโs only one other development currently being proposed โ and itโs likely to be the subject of still more jokes on local Facebook pages โ a 102,600-sq.-ft., 3-story self-storage facility on the southern half of the property, furthest away from Mansfield Blvd. (near the school access road).
Plans for this storage facility were started months ago, but the most recent layout was submitted this month, making it a safe bet that this project is moving forward towards vertical construction. This would be the second self-storage place in Wiregrass Ranch, as a Morningstar storage (located behind the Audi dealership) opened in late 2018.
On the northern half of the property (closest to Mansfield), no business development plans have yet been submitted to the county, so Wiregrass is likely just making it โpad-readyโ for future development with all those bulldozers โ where the land is compacted, graded (leveled), zoned & platted, with approvals and utilities ready to go.
In these cases, specific building permits might be all thatโs needed in the future.
Bay Paws Pet Resort
Back in our Apr. 16 issue, when we first announced Bay Paws Pet Resort was coming next to Wiregrass Ranch High, construction had not yet begun and building materials were being piled up behind a temporary chain link fence, in preparation for what will surely become a popular place for local pet owners.
Thereโs been a lot of progress on the Bay Paws Pet Resort on Mansfield Blvd.
Those materials have now taken shape, and the 15,000-sq.-ft. pet resort is coming together at a fairly brisk pace, with substantial and visible progress being made every week.
As the sign hanging outside states, Bay Paws will offer boarding, daycare and grooming on site (along with numerous other services). With it being located next to the schools, Iโm sure many parents will be dropping off all their children (furry ones included) in one trip. The facility will offer a portal where customers can use cameras to monitor their pets throughout the day.
In addition to the building, thereโs also going to be a generous 17,375-sq.-ft., fenced-in โoutdoor turf group play areaโ and, according to the recently created Bay Paws Wesley Chapel Facebook site, this outdoor area also will include a โstate-of-the-art splash padโ (thereโs a cute video of what that looks like, with dogs enjoying it, on the Facebook page), like the one at the new Bay Paws location that just opened in Trinity. The page also says that a โFall of 2024โopening is planned, with the exact opening date still to be announced.
MH Nail Studio
Two suites down from the new Enterprise Car Rental, and also in front of Wiregrass Ranch High, is the recently opened MH Nail Studio. While this isnโt the first nail salon in Wiregrass, it is the first one centrally located and closest to all the neighborhoods surrounding Mansfield.
The inside of the 1,800-sq.-ft. nail studio is a pleasant place to be, nice and bright (while still having soft lighting), with a very airy feeling, not too big or too small, with tall ceilings and everything appropriately spaced apart โ MH has a well-executed and modern upscale layout with a welcoming staff.
Originally planning to open in August, some delays ended up pushing the salonโs Grand Opening to Sept. 12. Owner/operator Rubin Bao said that he lives just outside of Wesley Chapel, but decided to start looking for a location in Wesley Chapel, specifically the Wiregrass area, because he saw it as a developing and expanding area poised for growth.
Rubin explained that they signed this location in November of 2023 and had permits for construction in April of this year, and have worked diligently since then to get everything ready. Rubin credits his family and friends for helping him out, and getting him quickly past the learning curve of how to start and operate his very first Nail Studio.
He also credits and appreciates his customers for getting word out about their opening and says that being right near multiple schools has worked out pretty well, as staff from those schools, including one of the principals, has visited and told others about their experience.
And, since a lot of parents pick up their high schoolers from that plaza/gas station area, many have come in to check it out and decided to get their nails done together. He said itโs typically hard to find parking for about a 15-30-minute window each school day in the afternoon, but the exposure is a great upside!
When asked if he knew what was coming to the empty suites on either side of his nail salon, Rubin stated that he heard one might be a ramen noodle place. Weโll see!
Meadow Pointe II To Build Onย Empty Mansfield Blvd. Lotย
A game plan has been formulated, and preliminary designs are finally moving forward for the large empty grass lot next to the Kids R Kids Learning Academy, on the southeast corner of the signalized intersection for Mansfield Blvd. (photo below) and County Line Rd., directly across the street from the neighborhood CVS Pharmacy.
This empty lot sits right in the heart of Meadow Pointe II, caddy-corner from the existing clubhouse, and is being planned as additional facilities for the community.
Justin Wright, the operations manager for Meadow Pointe II, says that, โThe plan is to build a multiuse building for Meadow Pointe II. There are no plans [drawings] at this time as we just selected an architect to start the design process.โ
The architect referred to will be Renker Eich Parks Architects, who were selected by community staff in August of this year. They are a local firm from St. Petersburg, who specialize in historic preservation and urban planning, but have done a number of public school and government building design projects, including for USF and the Pasco County School Board.
According to Wright, the uses of the future space are being specifically envisioned for maintenance operations, meetings and staff office space. The target year for construction to begin is 2025, and the community has currently set aside $900,000 for the building.
The additional land was purchased by Meadow Pointe II in November of 2018 from Trout Creek Properties for $850,000 (according to appraiser records). The total size of the parcel the community owns on that corner is now 5.32 acres, which includes the existing paved access road and the drainage pond behind (to the east of) Kids R Kids, and part of the wetland to the south. The buildable project area, that most residents see as the empty grass lot next to the signal, will be between 1.5-2 acres of the total 5.32 acres.
This current proposal might be a relief to many who have seen this lot sit mostly empty for 25 years, except for some rubble/rock piles and the occasional semi-truck that used to park out there.
The previous major proposal, that caused an uproar with the community residents in 2017-18, even leading to a signed petition against it and the eventual purchase of the property by Meadow Pointe II, was for a 7-Eleven gas station, which ended up going in front of Wiregrass Ranch High instead, at Mansfield and Hueland Pond Blvd., and which opened in 2022.
