Get Your Tickets Now To The Last Weekend of “The Putnam County Spelling Bee!”

If you like your musical comedies to be fun, with great songs and maybe a little bit of vulgar language, you should get your tickets now to “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the laugh riot being presented tomorrow — Thursday, February 9 — through Saturday, February 10, by Mad Theatre of Tampa at the Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa.

The show — the first of MAD Theatre’s 25th anniversary season — which promises some audience participation in the craziest Spelling Bee (with six mid-pubescent spellers, all played by young adults) ever, features a super-talented ensemble cast that includes two lead characters from recent New Tampa Players (NTP) productions — Chris Cordero (who played Shrek in “Shrek The Musical”) and Dylan Fidler (who played Danny Zuko in “Grease”), as well as choreography by Evan Lomba (who played Donkey in NTP’s “Shrek”). The MAD Theatre show’s director is Casey Vaughn, with music direction by Megan Zeitler and artistic direction by Tony Gilkinson.

And, after checking out one of the show’s rehearsals — which included at least two spelling words I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t spell — I can assure you that “Spelling Bee” is not only fun and funny (the dialogue won both the Tony and Drama Desk awards in 2005 for Best Book of a Musical by Rachel Sheinkin), but also chock full of great, catchy songs, with the fresh and vibrant score by William Finn. 

But, tickets (starting at just $20) are going fast, so to get yours, visit StrazCenter.org or MadTheatre.com.

All Remaining Performances Of The New Tampa Players’ “Dreamgirls” Are Now Sold Out!

After seeing the New Tampa Players production of “Dreamgirls” at the New Tampa  Performing Arts Center last weekend, I can understand why all three remaining performances this weekend are already sold out!

Anyway, here are some pictures from last weekend. Look for more info In upcoming issues of the Neighborhood News!

Visit NewTampaPlayers.org to get on the waiting list!

Double The ‘Big Game’ Squares, Double The Fun! 

We had so many entries so quickly for this year’s “Big Game” Squares contest that I decided to add a second grid of 100 squares for the “Big Game” between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 11! That means we will have two $100 prizes, two $50 prizes and four $25 prizes, all to be awarded as gift certificates to the restaurants of each winner’s choice! And, best of all, there is no purchase necessary to enter or win any of our prizes!

As of today, we have fewer than 40 squares left out of the 200 total between the two grids, so either completely fill out the entry form by clicking HERE or email your entry with your Name, Street Address, the Community You Live In (Tampa Palms, Seven Oaks, etc.), your Daytime Phone Number & your Valid Email Address and email your entry to Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com by no later than this Friday, February 9, to be eligible. 

Please note that NO entries sent by U.S. Mail will be accepted for this contest!

We will continue to accept entries until all 200 squares are taken. Once both grids have been filled, I will email you your square, so you can have a little added excitement when you watch the Big Game! Good luck to all! 

Official Neighborhood News ‘Big Game’ Squares Contest Rules! 

1. No purchase of any kind is necessary to enter or to win. 

2. To enter, completely fill out the entry form by clicking HERE.

*Note—Entries sent by U.S. mail will NOT be accepted. 

3. Only one entry per person, whether online or by email, not both. 

4. All entries must be received by Friday, February 9, to be eligible. 

5. Entrants will NOT get to choose their squares. 

6. The first 200 properly filled out entries we receive will receive one of the 200 available squares. 

7. The publisher will assign squares at random on both grids on Saturday, February 10. 

8. If we receive fewer than 200 entries, those spaces will have no name entered in them and no one will be eligible to win a prize for any of those spaces. It doesn’t appear that this will be a problem, based on the overwhelming response so far. 

9. After all eligible names have been entered, the publisher will assign numbers 0-9 at random in both the top row and the far left column of the grid. 

10. The contest has been posted at NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net since January 9. The filled-out grids will be posted before kickoff on Feb. 11. 

11. Prizes to be awarded (one prize per quarter per grid): 1Q-$25; Half-$50; 3Q- $25; 4Q or OT-$100. ALL prizes will be gift cards to the restaurant of each winner’s choice. Winners must submit the name of the restaurant of their choice or no prize will be awarded. 

12. Contest results will be posted at NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net by Feb. 14 & in our Feb. 20 Wesley Chapel & March 5 New Tampa issues. 

Qdoba Ready To Move Into Moe’s Spot In Highwoods 

By the time this issue reaches your mailbox, the new Qdoba Mexican Eats should either be open or within just a few days of opening in the former location of Moe’s Southwest Grill in the Highwoods Preserve area at 17509 Preserve Walk Ln. (off Bruce B. Downs Blvd., next to EggTown). 

Considering that Moe’s was pretty popular for years in the same spot, I’m guessing Qdoba will do pretty well there, too, even with a Chipotle located less than a half-mile north (Chipotle is in the same outparcel building in the Walk at Highwoods Preserve as Panera Bread). 

“We make everything fresh and have no freezers,” franchise owner Mike Montante, who also owns the Qdoba franchise on Falkenburg Rd. in the Brandon area (but not the closest location to us on E. Fowler Ave., next to MOSI, where I took the photos below), told me when we met him at the North Tampa Bay Chamber’s Final Friday event at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux on Jan. 26. 

Qdoba allows you to craft your own entrĂ©e — whether you want a bowl, burrito, grilled quesadilla, nachos, salad or three tacos. Available proteins include veggie, grilled adobo chicken, ground beef, CholulaÂź hot & sweet chicken, pulled pork, grilled steak or brisket birria. There also is a nice variety of salsas and toppings — from tortilla strips, shredded cheese and pickled jalapeños, pico de gallo, salsa roja, chile crema and more, as well as both hot and mild queso sauces. 

For my bowl (right), I chose grilled steak, white rice, red beans, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, chile corn salsa and the chile crema sauce and everything did indeed taste very fresh. 

The New Tampa Qdoba was still hiring at our press time, but I can’t be sure whether or not positions will still be available as you’re reading this, but you can text “116A” to 31063 to find out for yourself. For more information, call (813) 761-0005 or visit Qdoba.com. 

Neighborhood Nibbles — Barberitos & Oishi Express Out, Fazoli’s & Namaste XP Coming Soon!

Here are a couple of updates on restaurants we’ve written about before. In New Tampa, Oishi Express, a decent fast-casual Japanese place, lasted only about a year in the spot in Highwoods Preserve between Taste of New York Pizza and Lapels Cleaners (behind EggTown), as a sign in front of the location says that Namaste Express (or XP) is “Coming Soon.”

According to the restaurant’s website (NamasteXP.com), Namaste Express’ vision is to bring the varied rich flavors of Indian cuisine to cater to Tampa area communities…We will present a menu featuring authentic Indian delicacies which includes North Indian, South Indian, Street side food, kids favorites and fusion dishes (Indo-Chinese) – all crafted with fresh, locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. Executed by a highly skilled chef who is specialized with decades of experience in Indian cuisine, we aim to provide high-quality, fresh, affordable and convenient flash chilled grab & go and take out options, including catering services tailored to your needs. We prioritize your dietary preferences, offering options including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.   

Considering how many Indian restaurants there already are in New Tampa — including Saffron, Minerva, Raaga, Dosa Hut and the cafĂ© inside the Taaza Mart (as well as the Nepalese Gorkhali Kitchen, which also offers Indian specialties) — we hope that Namaste XP will be able to find its footing in what has so far proven to be a difficult location.  

We do not yet know how long it will be before Namaste Express is expected to open, but we will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, according to Jon Mott of plaza developer Paradise Ventures, the new 8,000-sq.-ft. building to be called The Shoppes at Cypress Creek that will soon be home to the only Tampa-area location of Fazoli’s (since the only other Tampa-area link in the fast-casual chain on E. Busch Blvd. closed a couple of months ago) on S.R. 54, less than a mile west of the Tampa Premium Outlets, should be completed within the next couple of months and turned over to the tenants, who will then have to build out their respective spaces. 

And, while Mott says that Fazoli’s is still among those tenants, he also says that Barberitos, the fast-casual Mexican place that was previously announced as the three-space plaza’s other restaurant tenant — but is still listed as “Coming Soon” at Barberitos.com â€” is no longer going to open in that location. Mott says that among the interested tenants to take over for Barberitos are a popular juice bar chain as well as a “well-known national taco place.” 

It seems unlikely that the taco place would be another Taco Bell, considering that there already is one less than a mile to the east, next to the coming-soon Shake Shack across S.R. 56 from the Outlets, and another on Collier Pkwy., or less than two miles west of this new plaza. There also already is a Taco Bus in the Shell gas station located between the S.R. 56 Taco Bell and The Shoppes at Cypress Creek.

Mott also says that the space between Fazoli’s and whatever restaurant takes over for Barberitos in the plaza will be an orthodontic office. We’ll keep you posted when we get any additional updates.