Red Lobster To Become Sushi Masa!

In case you missed the new sign that just went up, New Tampa’s shuttered Red Lobster in The Pointe at Tampa Palms is going to become Sushi Masa, the latest link in a nine-link chain of all-you-can-eat “premium” Japanese restaurants, with existing locations in Texas, Louisiana, Pensacola, FL, and the closest to us in Lakeland. 

Like Koizi in The Shoppes at The Pointe plaza (less than 500 feet from the future Sushi Masa), the under-construction Japanese eatery offers all-you-can-eat lunch and dinner options — however, Sushi Masa only offers hibachi/teppanyaki entrĂ©es separately from the all-you-can-eat fare.

But, don’t expect Sushi Masa to open anytime soon, as the former Red Lobster has been completely gutted inside (photo below) and the manager we spoke with at the Lakeland location didn’t know when it was expected to be completed. Our best guess is sometime during/towards the end of the first quarter of 2025, but we’ll keep you posted. 

For more information, including menus and photos of the other locations, visit SushiMasaUS.com.

Check Out The Hyatt Place’s Thanksgiving Buffet! 

If you don’t feel like having to cook a big meal at home for Thanksgiving, why not check out the big Thanksgiving Buffet at the beautiful Hyatt Place Hotel Tampa/ Wesley Chapel (26000 Sierra Center Blvd., just west of I-75, Lutz), on Thursday, November 28 (obviously), with three seatings — one at 10:30 a.m., one at noon and the last at 1:30 p.m. 

The buffet menu will include most of your Turkey Day entrĂ©e favorites, including a not-so-traditional (but also extremely popular) fried turkey, as well as honey-glazed ham and tender, slow-roasted prime rib served with a savory au jus. Less traditional main course options include citrus-glazed salmon fillets and beef tips sautĂ©ed with portobello mushrooms in a rich, savory sauce. 

Starters include lobster & crab bisque and a butternut squash soup, Italian chopped salad, a “berry bliss” salad, as well as classic creamy potato salad and a “melody” of pasta salad. 

Side dishes include creamy garlic mashed potatoes, Southern macaroni & cheese, sweet candied yams, wild rice pilaf, sweet & savory glazed carrots and green beans sautĂ©ed in lemon butter. 

Save room for dessert, as there will be (of course) sweet potato pie, traditional apple pie and rich cream carrot cake. 

The meal also will include live music at all three seatings and bottomless mimosas (for ages 21 & older), although the Hyatt Place also will offer its full premium-liquor bar (Note-All bar drinks will incur an additional charge; soft drinks are included in the per-person price, however). 

The price for this sumptuous meal with no post-meal cleanup at your house? It’s just $75 per person, $30 for children under age 12 and children under age three eat for free. The prices do not include tax or gratuity and an 18% gratuity will be included for all parties of six or more. 

Reservations are definitely suggested, as the hotel believes that all three seatings are likely to sell out. To reserve your table, call (813) 803-5600. For more information, visit Hyatt.com/WesleyChapel. — GN 

TGI Friday’s Closes In Highwoods Preserve; Nothing Bundt Cakes & Cookie Plug Coming Soon? 

When I lived in Manhattan, New York, in the 1980s, my apartment was a couple of blocks from the original TGI Fridays on 1st Ave. Not only was it the location where Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown served drinks in the movie “Cocktail,” it also was a truly great non-chain restaurant. 

Then, when I moved to Tarrytown, NY, one of the first TGI Fridays franchises opened and I was disgusted by the “chain-ing” of this fabled eatery. My favorite potato skins on earth went from giant, crispy spuds filled with real cheddar cheese and topped with crumbled hunks of real bacon to mini-potatoes with low-quality American cheese and fake bacon bits. I swore to never visit a Fridays again. 

But, when the Fridays on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Highwoods Preserve opened nearly two decades ago, I still visited fairly frequently, as it often had live music, a hoppin’ bar and the food seemed better than it was in Tarrytown, even though the potato skins were still less than overwhelming. 

So, I wasn’t surprised to hear that the New Tampa Fridays was one of nearly 50 to close its doors on Oct. 24 (see notice, above), following a purge of 36 locations in January, leaving the chain with 164 remaining links and the parent company reportedly ready to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

Hopefully, something good will replace Fridays in this prime BBD location, but can a mom-&-pop even afford to move in there? 

The better news is that zip code 33647 is about to get its just desserts, as Nothing Bundt Cakes (NBC) will open a location about eight miles south of its popular location in The Shops at Wiregrass. Although NBC is limited to moist bundt cakes with amazing icing, it will still be a better choice in the former Subway location next to China City in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center. 

The most interesting news is that Cookie Plug, which also is getting ready to open in The Grove at Wesley Chapel (next to the Ice Dreammm Shop), also is getting ready to open in the former Weight Watchers location about 11 miles to the south in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza. 

We had no further information as to when NBC or Cookie Plug were expected to open, but we will keep you posted. — GN

You’ll Love It When You Find Silva’s Coffee Grind On S.R. 54 (In Front Of One-Stop Landscape Supply)!

When Angela Silva called our office a week or before Hurricane Helene hit, the first thing that stood out to me was her New Yawk accent. That’s not always so important to me, but when that accent is telling you that her and her husband Hiram (photo below) had just opened a “new caw-fee and New Yawk bagel place called Silva’s Coffee Grind” (on S.R. 54, in a tricked-out trailer in front of One-Stop Landscape Supply at 34100 S.R. 54), I was suddenly even more interested in what she had to say.

The week after Helene decimated the Gulf coast, Jannah and I went to sample what the Silvas had to offer.

And, we both came away impressed. The coffee is delicious (they get their espresso for their cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos & espresso affogatos from Coffee Latitudes) and the bagels? Oy! Legit!

“We import them from New Yawk,’ Hiram says, “but I won’t tell you where from because I know you’re gonna write about it and I want us to be the only place that has them.”

I, of course, had my bacon, egg and Swiss cheese on a toasted everything, while Jannah opted to have her bacon, egg and cheddar on a toasted croissant. Both yum.

By the time of our next visit, a few days before Hurricane Milton hit, Angela was making sure they could get an ad in this issue of the paper and I prom- ised I would tell 105,000 or so of my closest friends in Wesley Chapel a little bit about them.

We opted for a lunch sandwich this time — a delicious turkey BLT on a toasted plain bagel, with lettuce, tomato and Angela’s zesty homemade pesto cream sauce. “I like it on everything,” Hiram says. And, who could argue with him?

Hiram, who does the on-site cooking, is all about giving the people outstanding breakfast and lunch items at a fair price and he is planning to expand the menu offerings in response to people’s requests. As seen in the ad below, Silva’s Coffee Grind also features iced coffee, cold brew, iced lattes and frappes, hot and cold teas, including green tea matcha, flavored iced teas and lemonades, bursting boba tea drinks and even smoothies and sorbets — all from that one little trailer? Ya gotta try it, yo!

Silva’s Coffee Grind is open Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. & 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sat. For more info, search “Silvas Coffee Grind” on Facebook or @Silvas.Coffee.Grind” on Instagram. — GN

Jimmy John’s Opens On Wesley Chapel Blvd.

While Jimmy John’s has never been my favorite sandwich place, the company has built its reputation for “Freaky Fast” service, freshly-baked bread, with fresh meats and hand-sliced veggies on its sandwiches.

The newest Jimmy John’s in Wesley Chapel is in the same new plaza at 5478 Post Oak Blvd. as the newest Moe’s Southwest Grill and franchisee Eric Edmonds, a long-time Wesley Chapel resident, is excited about the store. “We’ve had great response from our customers already,” Eric told me. “A lot of people love Jimmy John’s.”

Maybe that’s because of actor Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) & his portrayal of Tony Bolognavich in an ongoing series of commercials but the guess here is that it’s more about Jimmy John’s over-stuffed sandwiches, including new options like the smoked cheddar bourbon club sandwiches, with turkey or roast beef, lettuce, tomato, mayo, smoked cheddar cheese and sriracha bourbon sauce. With more than 2,700 locations nationwide, the company is doing just fine.

Of course, there’s also favorites like the Hunter’s Club (top photo), with double roast beef, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes & mayo, and Charmaine’s “usual” — the Beach Club (below left), with turkey, provolone, avocado spread, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo.

Whatever sandwich you choose, you can make it a combo with Jimmy John’s own branded chips and a fountain drink. The brownies and chocolate chip cookies are pretty good, too.

The new Jimmy John’s is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. every day except Sun., when it is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. For more info, call (813) 991-7700 or visit JimmyJohns.com & please tell Eric I sent you!—GN