Even though I wasn’t able to try it when it opened last month, and I’m therefore not 100% sure that it’s a Chinese restaurant (or maybe Korean?), all I can tell you is that, based on the pics from its website (guweifood.com), the new Gu Wei Noodle & Grill restaurant that is now open in the former location of Sukhothai (a long-time favorite of mine at 18101 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. at Galbraith Rd., across from the AMC Movie Theater) looks like a truly delicious winner!
From the pan-fried dumplings (above) to its signature noodle dishes and more, Gu Wei definitely looks to be a must-try for all of my fellow Asian food fans.
For more information about Gu Wei, which is closed on Monday and Tuesday, call (813) 615-2345 — and please tell them where you read about them!
A potential water park at The Grove in Wesley Chapel would be similar to something like Splash Harbour Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach..
Jamie Hess hadn’t even opened his dueling piano bar, Treble Makers, before he was on to the next thing.
A water park for The Grove?
“I get bored easily,” Hess jokes.
According to Hess, he was having a conversation with Gold only about a month back when the developer asked what he thought about the idea of a water park, which could be built on 1.8 acres next to the Chuck E. Cheese’s.
I thought it was absolutely brilliant,” Hess said, who went ahead and jumped in as the point man on the project. He signed a letter of intent that day.
Hess says it wasn’t hard to convince him. After all, he was the first person to sign a lease with Gold. (Note – Double Branch Artisanal Ales had actually signed with the previous owners shortly before Gold bought the property.)
“I think his vision for this area is great,” Hess says. “I wanted to be a part of it right from the beginning.”
The water park will not be sprawling like Tampa’s Adventure Island, but will be family-oriented, says Gold, and small enough where parents will have no trouble keeping an eye on their kids.
Hess says he envisions the park as something similar to Splash Harbour Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach, but larger — Splash Harbour is on roughly 1.3 acres, compared to the 1.8 acres planned for The Grove’s water park.
The Grove park will have a lazy river and a variety of slides and splash zones. It won’t need a mini-golf course like Splash Harbour, because Gold is building a standalone course as part of his theater complex.
The water park will have season passes, as well as one-day and four-hour passes. Although it is still very early in development, a one-day pass might cost $25, with a four-hour pass running $16. Season passes will be “very very reasonable” according to Hess.
He adds that he is in the feasibility phase and, once that is determined, the design phase begins, followed by permitting.
Within a year, Hess says, the park could be ready and he has already shown the county pictures of what he has planned and, “they were enthusiastic.”
There’s already a taproom, dueling piano bar and mini-golf, and a unique movie theater and a container park are on the way to The Grove. But, if you think developer Mark Gold of Mishorim Gold is done, it looks like the joke might be on you!
Side Splitters Comedy Club will be bringing the same nationally-known comics. like America’s Got Talent finalist Preacher Lawson, to its Wesley Chapel location that it regularly schedules in Tampa.
Two guys walk into a bar.
One guy says, “Hey, how would you like to bring your comedy club to The Grove theater in Wesley Chapel?”
The other guy says, “Hey yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s do it!”
Okay, so that’s not much of a joke — we’ll leave that to the pros, who will be headed to Wesley Chapel in a few months, when the renowned Side Splitters Comedy Club opens a its second location in The Grove on S.R. 54.
Developer Mark Gold, who is redeveloping The Grove into an entertainment space unrivaled in the area, says he has forged a deal with Brian Thompson, the owner of Side Splitters in Carrollwood, to bring a full-fledged stand-up comedy club to the area before the end of 2020.
As part of the former Cobb theater’s dramatic makeover — which already is set to include a huge video game area, a high-tech spin room, theaters that cater to kids and moviegoers and two new restaurants — Side Splitters Comedy Club will take over one of the theaters for its stand-up shows.
“We have gotten a ton of requests to get another location and Wesley Chapel is one of the areas with the most requests,” says Thompson. “We know it’s a growing area and, when the opportunity came up to get in there, we took it. We see it as a win-win for both of us.”
And, for the record, Gold and Thompson didn’t forge the deal at a bar. Instead, Thompson, who says he has been unofficially scouting the Wesley Chapel area for years, came across a 3-D video online showing the new things happening at The Grove and inquired about any vacancies.
He was told one unit was available, but it was smaller than what he was looking for, so he declined.
However, five minutes later, after Gold found out a comedy club had called — just what he had been looking for — the developer arranged to meet with Thompson that same day.
“He said he was one of the top comedy clubs in the U.S.,” Gold says. “I had a theater available in what will be an entertainment complex. It’s perfect. It’s a good fit.”
April Macie has performed at Side Splitters Comedy Club, as well as on Netflix.
While the original Side Splitters is a 5,500-sq.-ft. location and seats 250 patrons at tables and chairs below the stage, the comedy theater at The Grove will seat roughly 170 above the stage, with food and drink service.
“It will be a little different, but it will be the same intimate feel of Side Splitters that people dig,” says Thompson met with Gold’s management company this past week to hammer out the details.
Thompson, who was the general manager at Side Splitters since 2007 before buying the club in 2019, says it draws 70,000-80,000 people a year while mostly holding shows Thursdays through Sundays. That built-in audience is likely to translate nicely to the Wesley Chapel location, which also happens to be the home of some of Side Splitters’ more popular comics, like Rahn Hortman and JB Ball.
Side Splitters Carrollwood has hosted a number of nationally-known comics, and Thompson says some of those big names also will come to Wesley Chapel.
“We’ll definitely get comedians with some strong TV credits — some late night appearances, “America’s Got Talent,” “Last Comic Standing” — people like that,” Thompson says.
Open mic nights also are popular at the club and will carry over to The Grove.
“It’s a nice partnership,” Thompson says. “Mark’s vision is having a one-stop shop, where people can walk around, grab dinner, play a round of golf and see a comedy show, without having to get in their cars to drive to each place. We’re very very excited to be part of that.”
For everyone who missed it the first time around, if you were one of those folks who said, “Wow, it looks like they had a lot of fun,” when the Neighborhood News brought what we called “Car Karaoke” to Bubba’s 33 (located just east of I-75 off S.R. 56) back in May, you’re in luck!
The Wesley Chapel Rotary, in conjunction with long-time club member Troy Stevenson of Acme On The Go Billboard Trucks and the print and online editions of the Neighborhood News, are proud to announce that “Parking Lot Karaoke 2” will again be held in the parking lot at Bubba’s 33 on Wednesday, September 9, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. (or later, if there are still singers).
Ah, but no matter what you call it, round 2 promises to be bigger and better than round 1. While I know that some people don’t want to have to wear face masks in public, by holding the event in the Bubba’s 33 parking lot (there will be more tables and chairs set up than last time, too), we can guarantee social distancing.
Plus, when it’s time for you to sing, the microphone(s) will be wiped with disinfecting wipes; we’d also appreciate it if you wear your mask when you sing because, let’s face it, I know I can get a little juicy when I sing — and I also know I’m not the only one.
We’re calling it “Parking Lot,” rather than “Car” Karaoke this time because some folks told us they thought it meant you had to stay in your car to sing. But, while a few folks did sing in their cars last time, most were like our buddy Lochlan (photo, right) because they came over to the Acme On The Go billboard truck, which displayed the lyrics of every song about as big as Lochlan himself — much easier to read than on a TV screen!
And, I’m also excited to have former Q105 FM on-air talent Allan Hudson Brady as Parking Lot 2’s karaoke jock. Many of you know Allan from his shows every Thur.-Sat. at Joe Whiskey’s (which was still closed at our press time) on S.R. 54, . Allan will be taking sign-ups to sing starting at 6:30 p.m.
And, best of all, our friends Jeff and Crista Dean and the entire Bubba’s 33 crew will be serving the tasty Bubba’s 33 food and drinks we love both inside and outside.
So, come on out to Bubba’s 33 (26340 Silver Maple Pkwy.). It’s a free event, but food and drinks are not free and we ask that you make a small donation to the Wesley Chapel Rotary Foundation every time you sing. For info, call Bubba’s 33 at (813) 522-5090 — GN
So, as it turns out, you literally can get anything at a Walmart Supercenter.
Even a drive-in movie.
On August 18 and 19, the Walmart on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel converted a large portion of its parking lot into a drive-in movie theater, which was part of a nationwide pop-up drive-in movie event touring the country and visiting 160 Walmart locations.
At this free event, Walmart stationed two large digital screens and cleared out a big section of its parking lot. Anyone was welcome to go online and register to see a showing of “Spy Kids” on Tuesday evening and “Selena”’ on Wednesday evening.
Both showings were sold out, with about 70 cars lined up with families and couples
who received goody bags full of snacks and water at check-in.
“We love this,” said Wesley Chapel resident Janet Perez, who, with her son, enjoyed some drive-thru Taco Bell while watching “Spy Kids.” It didn’t even matter that the movie was a hit 20 years ago.
“You don’t know how much we’ve missed movies!,” Perez said. “Plus, this is both of our first time at a drive-in, so it’s been great. It was great of Walmart to do this.”
Families with little kids huddled in the front seat(s) of the cars to watch the movie and snack on popcorn, as the audio for the film could be heard by tuning the radio to 92.1 FM. Many of the cars enjoyed the experience with the windows down, as the Florida evening sky turned orange with the sunset.
In the end, it was a fun event that even new Wesley Chapel residents enjoyed.
“This was definitely great, especially for families who don’t have a lot going on, or are low on money because of the virus,” said new Wesley Chapel resident Tiffany Hardy, who said she recently moved here with her family from Leesburg.
Tiffany watched the movie with her husband, Jason, in the driver’s seat and her son, Talon, on her lap (photo, right).
“It’s nice to be able to get out of the house and do something a little different, too,” she said.
