Beep beep! The Taco Bus is rolling into Wesley Chapel

The Taco Bus is rolling into Wesley Chapel.

According to permitting records filed with Pasco County, the popular food-truck-turned-mini-restaurant is planning to set up its ninth Tampa Bay location within a month inside the Tailgate Mart convenience store on the northeast corner of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R. 56, behind the Shell Station.

“We just finished getting permitting done and are aiming to get that location up and running by September,’’ said Heather Chaudhry, director of marketing and operations, adding that another location in Treasure Island is also set to open around the same time.

The Tailgate Mart, located at 25195 S.R. 54, currently has a deli that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner items, but it will be remodeled to accommodate the latest entry into the busy eatery scene along S.R. 56/54 corridor.

Chaudhry said Taco Bus typically prefers stand-alone locations, but they do make exceptions in high-volume areas, like the intersection of S.R. 56 and S.R. 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd.

“We’re not looking to do many locations like this,’’ she said. “Wesley Chapel is an up-and-coming location, so it’s a very good place to be, with all the development and expansion in that area.”

Taco Bus has achieved something of a cult status since its humble and quirky beginnings in 1996 as a converted school bus operating as a food truck on E. Hillsborough Ave. selling authentic Mexican fare.  Chef Rene Valenzuela quickly expanded to St. Petersburg, before taking the food truck concept inside and opening a restaurant in downtown Tampa, although he retained the school bus setting and charm.

Taco Bus achieved notoriety in 2011 when it was featured on an episode of Food Network’s Man v. Food, as well as an episode of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

The nearest current location to Wesley Chapel is on E. Fletcher Ave. in the University of South Florida area. With its late hours, affordable prices and popular conchintina pibil (slow-roasted pork), el hefe burritos, 99 cent empanadas and $2 tacos on Tuesdays, it is a popular stop for local college students.

“Wesley Chapel is not far from many of our other locations,’’ Chaudhry said. “We’re lucky in that aspect, that we have some exposure in the area. We are always looking to bring the bus experience to our other customers in the area.”

The Taco Bus will be located in the westernmost portion of the Cypress Creek Town Center DRI, directly north and across S.R. 56 from a proposed Aldi store.

Directly west of the Taco Bus is the Brightwork Crossing project, which is expected to bring a Wawa and Burger King to S.R. 54 as well. Representatives from both of those companies have already met with the county to pursue permits.

Burger King is looking to construct a 3,349-sq.-ft. restaurant on S.R. 54, just west of the proposed 5,636-sq.-ft. Wawa.

More Eateries & Shops Getting Closer On S.R. 56 Across From The Outlet Mall

The long-dormant stretch of S.R. 56 from Wesley Chapel Blvd. to I-75 has been bustling the past two years. On the south side of 56, development has boomed with the Tampa Premium Outlets, Costco, Cheddars, BJ’s Brewhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, Culver’s, Chick-fil-A and others, with more yet to come.

Now, it looks like the Cypress Creek Town Center North development across S.R. 56 is starting to catch up.

According to Pasco County building permit records, at least 10 other businesses — including Tex-Mex restaurant Chuy’s and psychedelic pizza place Mellow Mushroom, are in construction on the more than 200 acres of property on the north side of S.R. 56 owned by the Sierra family’s Pasco Ranch, Inc.

Wesley Chapel’s second Wendy’s restaurant has opened on S.R. 56, next to Pollo Tropical.

The coming businesses, all of which are located on Sierra Center Blvd. (which runs through the Cypress Creek Town Center North development), will join the recently opened Ford’s Garage, Pollo Tropical and Wendy’s (which opened the day we went to press), as well as the soon-to-open Taco Bell, all on the north side of 56.

Another popular restaurant, Bahama Breeze Island Grill, is planned a little further to the east of Chuy’s. The owners of that restaurant, which specializes in Caribbean-inspired food and tropical drinks, had their pre-application meeting with county planners on Jan. 30. Bahama Breeze is expected to be roughly 8,000-sq.-ft. with an outdoor seating area.

Mellow Mushroom and Chuy’s Tex-Mex will add to the area’s quickly growing chain food scene. Tennessee-based Hutton Development is building a strip center between the Taco Bell and Bahama Breeze site that will have seven tenants (including Mellow Mushroom).

While new to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, Mellow Mushroom is a chain founded in 1974 in Atlanta, and has more than 150 locations in the U.S., including Brandon, Clearwater and West Tampa.

It serves up a variety of specialty pizzas and dozens of different craft beers while specializing in creating an atypical vibe and unusual decor. It offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free alternatives as well. Some have referred to Mellow Mushroom as a “hippie” pizza place, as many locations pay homage to the tie-dye style.

Chuy’s is a Tex-Mex chain headquartered in Austin, TX, and established in 1982. It now boasts nearly 100 locations nationwide. The nearest to Wesley Chapel is in Kissimmee, one of the restaurant chain’s five Orlando-area locations. It also has locations in Tallahassee and Gainesville, and is building one in Jacksonville.

Chuy’s offers made-from-scratch Tex-Mex inspired dishes, and varies the look of each link in its chain. According to county permit records, the Wesley Chapel Chuy’s will be 8,492-sq.ft., with 605 of those for an outside patio.

While no opening date is available, let’s hope it’s before Jan. 8, Elvis Presley’s birthday. Each Chuy’s has a shrine to Elvis, and his birthday is celebrated each year at the restaurants with a party…often with an Elvis impersonator.

Many of these new locations appeared on a map produced by leasing agents last year, but one that did appear on that map (that we also ended up showing on our map of the area in our April issues) but is apparently not coming to Cypress Creek Town Center North is Newk’s Eatery. A spokesperson for Newk’s said that the company, based in Jackson, MS, is looking at other options in the Wesley Chapel area, but had no specific locations.

Green Grocer Alert!

And, it’s not just restaurants coming to the north side of S.R. 56.

County permitting records reveal that a Men’s Wearhouse, Great Clips, Mattress Firm and T-Mobile store are on the way, as well as a Five Below discount store, which caters to the pre-teen and teen market and doesn’t sell anything more expensive than $5.

Founded in 2002, Five Below has nearly 600 stores nationwide. The nearest locations are in the North Pointe Plaza on N. Dale Mabry in Tampa, and in Plant City. The Wesley Chapel location will be 8,960-sq.-ft.

Permitting also shows a 24,230-sq.-ft. PetSmart and 89,995-sq.-ft. Dick’s Sporting Goods store coming to the Cypress Creek Town Center, as well as a Burlington Coat Factory. We were unable to find out before our press time how the new Dick’s store would affect the sporting goods chain’s existing Wesley Chapel location in The Grove plaza off S.R. 54

If you think the restaurant scene along S.R. 56 is becoming crowded — which is likely to add almost 20 dining choices in a half-mile or so stretch, the grocery store scene may not be far behind.

Hutton also met with Pasco County planners last month to propose a development of 3.84 acres on the northeast corner of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd. that has appeared on our map as “Regency Shopping Center.” That development (west of Ford’s Garage) would encompass a 35,320-sq.-ft. retail center, which will include a 23,820-sq.-ft. grocery — expected to be a green or boutique grocer — and the remaining 11,500 square feet will house general retail stores.

The proposed grocery store would be just northeast (across S.R. 56) from the proposed Aldi store, and east (across Wesley Chapel Blvd.) from a possible 16,000-sq.-ft. grocery store in the Brightwork Crossing project (north and west of Walgreens; look for more about this new development in a future issue).

Even though many locals still wonder if we’ll ever have anything other than a Publix or a Winn-Dixie in the Wesley Chapel area, these three new stores and the new Costco means a much more competitive marketplace for your grocery dollar is coming very soon.

Irish 31’s Opening Brings Even More Restaurant Excitement To Wiregrass!

The first of the two new restaurants to open at the Shops at Wiregrass mall is the fifth location of Irish 31, which opened on July 7.

Although I missed the actual Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on July 6 (I arrived a little late; the ribbon-cutting photo on this page was taken by Steve Miller of Stephen John Photography), Irish 31 owner Jay Mize and general manager Mike Forsyth were on hand for it — as was former Tampa Bay Lightning star and New Tampa resident Brian Bradley (who works for the Lightning; he gave away some cool memorabilia), as hundreds of people found their way inside to check out the cool décor, the unique menu and the South Tampa vibe of Mize’s newest Irish 31.

I have only sampled a few items so far on Irish 31’s chef-driven menu, but I did enjoy the boneless wings with Thai chili sauce and the corned beef and cabbage and loaded “boxty” (almost tennis-ball-sized balls of mashed potatoes, mixed with generous helpings of corned beef and cabbage, or bacon, Velveeta cheese and chives, and fried to a golden brown), served with an “Emerald Isle” dipping sauce.

Also among our favorites, at least so far.: The fried zucchini appetizer, the Ploughman’s salad (mixed greens, bacon, roma tomato, hard-boiled egg, bleu cheese, candied pecans and avocado tossed in Irish 31’s really tasty Guinness vinaigrette) and the “Farmer’s Fried chicken — two boneless chicken breasts breaded with seasoned flour, then fried golden brown, and served with mashed potatoes and onion gravy, with a nice side of  fresh market vegetables.

For more information about Irish 31 (28358 Willett Way), visit Irish31.com or call (813) 907-2306. Irish 31 is open every day at 11 a.m. (at 10 a.m. on Sun.) and stays open until midnight Sun.-Wed., until 1 a.m. on Thur. and until 2 a.m. on Fri. and Sat. I haven’t checked it out yet for live music or for Sunday brunch, but the website claims that Irish 31 is renowned as one of the best brunch spots in the Tampa Bay area!

Noble Crust Is Wesley Chapel’s Best Restaurant From Its First Day Open!

(L.-r.) Manager Colin & Chef Rob Reinsmith, Will Perez & TJ Thielbar of the new Noble Crust at the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

About a year ago, when we first started our seemingly neverending updates about the anticipated opening of the new Noble Crust in the Shops at Wiregrass mall, my fiancé Jannah and I started visiting the original Noble Crust location on 4th St. in St. Petersburg.

We were hooked from the moment we walked in. The vibe…the buzz…the enticing aroma of fresh garlic in the air inside owner TJ Thielbar’s not-fancy-but-nice creation had everything we’ve been looking for in a true mom-and-pop addition to the Wesley Chapel dining scene.

I was fortunate that Noble Crust Wiregrass managing partner Will Perez — who worked his way up the ranks in St. Pete — is a long-time Wesley Chapel resident who pushed his friend and business associate (Thielbar) into expanding so close to home I can almost taste it from my apartment.

It also was Will who sought me out — as the restaurant coordinator for the recent Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, to make sure Noble Crust would participate in that event.

I feel lucky just to know these guys, much less get to sample the incredible Italian cuisine with a Southern flair given life by Noble Crust’s Chef Rob Reinsmith.

Here’s all of the dishes we already love at Noble Crust — the too-tasty-to-be kale Caesar, topped with a deep fried soft-boiled egg (Will says he spent most of his first day at the St. Pete location carefully hand-peeling those eggs); the Southern fried chicken parmigiana (with al denté bucatini, or hollow spaghetti); the current grouper special (served with succotash, mashed potatoes, a frise salad and the best chimichurri sauce ever); the beef, pork and veal meatballs; the Noble Pig (with house-made sausage and incredible pepperoni) and Margherita pizzas; and our surprise current favorite special — the cauliflower gratin (pictured) with crumbled bacon.

Yes, although I still can’t get an amazing Cowboy ribeye at Noble Crust, the fact its prices are less than half the cost of dinner for two at Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook Resort (my other favorite), make this hot new eatery my #1 favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel! Now, I just have to convince them to open for lunch, at least for me!

Noble Crust Wiregrass (28330 Paseo Dr.) is open every day for dinner at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. on Fri.), and at 10 a.m. for brunch on Sat. & Sun. It stays open until at least 10 p.m. every day (til midnight on Fri. & Sat.). Ask about their “Sunday Gravy” early dinner on Sundays and please tell them that you read about Noble Crust in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News! For reservations & info, call (813) 703-2602 or visit Noble-Crust.com!

WCNT-tv One-Year Anniversary Party Ends With A Surprise Marriage Proposal!

For those who don’t know me personally, I was separated in 2006 and have been divorced since 2009 and, although I’ve done a lot of dating and had a few relationships since then, I honestly never thought too seriously about getting married again.

Two-and-a-half years ago, when I was a member of the Wesley Chapel Noon Rotary Club, a fellow club member and I who had known each other through business only prior to that, met by chance at what used to be Stage Left (now Brunchies). She was sitting with a few other fellow club members and invited me to join them at their table.

By the end of that super-fun evening (it became my birthday at midnight that night), Jannah McDonald (who was working for the American Cancer Society at the time, but became the marketing and events coordinator for the Pasco Education Foundation shortly after that evening) and I had arranged our first date, where we embarked on a journey that has had a few ups and downs (as all of our friends know all too well). But ultimately, the good times far outnumbered the bad, which led to the night of the one-year anniversary party for WCNT-tv (Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television), which was held in and outside of my office on June 30.

When we hired mine and Jannah’s favorite local band — Restless Soul (search “Restless Soul” on Facebook) — to not only provide the entertainment for the event, but also to learn a song (“Saint Valentine’s Day, by Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist, Miami Steve Van Zandt, who recorded the song with his own band, called Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, which was released in February 2017) for us to sing with them, I wasn’t actually planning anything other than to have a kick-butt invitation-only party to thank all of our friends and sponsors, but…

A couple of weeks before the event, I decided that Jannah and I should also do a little dance routine during the song’s 45-second musical interlude and it was during our first lesson (anyone who knows me can tell you that I maybe can sing a little bit, but have never been much of a dancer) at the Rhapsody Ballroom on N. 56th St. just north of E. Fowler Ave. that I decided that there would be a surprise ending to the song (you can check out excerpts of the song and the entire dance on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page).

The evening did not go off without a hitch, which had me concerned about whether we would even get to perform the song, much less whether I would get to spring the beautiful faceted garnet-and-diamond ring I got a great deal on from my friends at Leiva’s Jewelry (in the New Tampa Center shopping plaza) on her.

Although we had a little more than 100 people on hand at around 7, the skies opened up — as they so often do during the summer here in Florida — around 7:15, while everyone was enjoying the truly amazing food from my friends Jessica and Carl Meyers of Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering in Lutz, Ramses and Ana Garcia of Las Palmas Café and Phil and Natalia from Olde Heights Bistro in Seminole Heights, plus the incredible desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes (right now in Carrollwood, but looking to secure a Wesley Chapel location) and my friend Evelyn Barreno from 7 Layers Bakery.

The plan was for our song to open the band’s second set — and for us to do a Facebook Live event for the song — at 8 p.m. But, by the time the rain stopped shortly before 8, more than half of the people had left. Undaunted, we went ahead and performed the song when the rain gave us about a 15-minute window and I ended the song by asking Jannah if she would marry me “some Saint Valentine’s Day?” And yes, even though no one actually heard her say it, she did say yes.

Obviously, those who stuck around for it were glad they did and Jannah and I thank the hundreds of you who have already posted well wishes on Facebook.   

Getting A Taste-y Reward!

Although I am now a member of the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Mulligans Irish Pub in the Pebble Creek Golf Club), the Rotary club that put on the successful 2017 Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel is actually New Tampa’s original, or “breakfast” Rotary Club, which meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club (TPGCC).

In the spirit of Rotary, I agreed to help (more like forced myself on) the Rotary’s Taste coordinator (and now, newly inducted president) Karen Frashier and her committee with restaurant procurement for the event and the rest, as they say, is history. Or so I thought.

At their club’s annual banquet at TPGCC on June 23, Jannah and I were invited as honored guests and even though it was on one of my deadline Fridays, we were thrilled just to be there. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I received the plaque on this page from outgoing president (he of the newly shaven head) Brice Wolford. Calling me “Mr. Taste” was pretty sweet, but I had to acknowledge the amazing “You Believed. You Made It Happen” inscription in these pages. Thanks so much!.