Sushi Masa in Tampa Palms has a huge variety of Japanese cuisine, including a sashimi variety display (bottom photo), chicken & Steak teriyaki, fried rice & Udon or Soba noodles (above), tempura cheesecake (below left), assorted sushi rolls & gyoza (below left). All Items on this page, except the sashimi display, are included on the all-you-can eat dinner for $36.95 or lunch for $23.95.
Congratulations to owner Ryan Chen and his team (photo below) for finally opening the beautiful new Sushi Masa Premium in the former Red Lobster location (at 17021 Palm Pointe Dr.) in Tampa Palms. Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and her friend Austin and I got to sample pretty much everything on Sushi Masaâs all-you-can-eat (AYCE) menu (for $36.95 for dinner, $23.95 for lunch) the day before it opened and we agreed that the sushi rolls (maki), sashimi (no rice) and nigiri (sashimi on rice) were all fresh and delicious â especially the tuna and yellowtail options. The appetizers, like the assorted tempura (not shown) and gyoza dumplings (below) were excellent and the Udon and Soba noodles (we all preferred the latter), the fried rice and chicken and steak teriyaki were all pretty tasty, too. And, save room for dessert (also included) â the tempura cheesecake, fried Oreos and green tea ice cream were all delish.
For those who were sad to see Forty Thieves Irish Pub, located at 2741 E. County Line Rd. (at Livingston Blvd.) in Lutz, suddenly close, the good news is that another familiar name â The Wexford Irish Pub & Grille â is preparing to move into that former Forty Thieves location. Mark Birkin, the owner of the new Remington’s Steak & Seafood in the Palms Connection plaza at 2836 E. Bearss Ave., says that he and his crew are working hard to re-open The Wexford, which is the Irish Pub that the new Remington’s replaced, at the former Forty Thieves location. Birkin, who also owns the upscale Birkin’s Steak & Sushi at 16411 N. Florida Ave. in Lutz, says that he doesn’t know at present when The Wexford will open in its new location, but we’ll provide updates for you as soon as we have them.
Although this second Wesley Chapel location (at 5478 Post Oak Blvd., off Wesley Chapel Blvd.) has been open for more than six months, Jimmy Johnâs hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on May 20 to introduce Chamber members to this location, the sandwich chainâs âFreaky Fastâ service and, of course, new âFreaky Freshâ toasted sandwich items like the chicken bacon ranch, Ultimate Italian and roast beef & cheddar subs.
Jimmy Johnâs franchise owner Eric Edmonds said he was âexcited to engage with the local communityâ at his location and he told the Chamber members in attendance that he is planning to open some additional Jimmy Johnâs locations, including one at nearby St. Leo University.
Of course, Ericâs Jimmy Johnâs is one of more than 2,600 nationwide (including 140+ in Florida). The Jimmy Johnâs parent company was purchased in 2019 by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, which also owns Arbyâs, Sonic and Buffalo Wild Wings.
For more info, call (813) 991-7700 or visit JimmyJohns.com. â GNÂ
Lots of new restaurants are beginning to build and/or are getting ready to open in and around the Wesley Chapel area and we have updates on many of them in this issue. On this page alone, weâll tell you about the delayed (but finally happening) Grand Opening of the new Rodizio Grill, the first-ever brick-&-mortar location of Pastelitos Papichyâs, as well as the beginning of construction of both The Cheesecake Factory and Swig soda shop.
Rodizio Grill
Clearly, the opening of the Wesley Chapel areaâs first-ever Brazilian steakhouse is big news for our community, as the announcement on our âNeighborhood Newsâ Facebook page that the opening of Rodizio Grill (2802 Grand Cypress Dr., Lutz, behind Costco and in front of Kohlâs by the Tampa Premium Outlets) was delayed from its originally announced opening date of May 28 to Tuesday, June 10, was viewed (at our press time) by a record-breaking (for us) 327,816 people, with more than 1,000 likes and 109 shares! Weâve had a couple of previous posts that reached more than 200,000 people, but this post â without being boosted â has far surpassed our previous record. In other words, you can expect big crowds at Rodizio Grill as this issue is reaching your mailbox. In the meantime, we have a sneak peek first look inside this beautiful, new restaurant (top photo) on this page. We wish franchisee Charlie Haney and his crew lots of luck.Â
For reservations & more info, call (813) 996-3880, visit Rodizio.com or search âRodizio Grill – Wesley Chapelâ on Facebook.Â
Pastelitos Papichyâs
Although the Venezuelan food truck Pastelitos Papichyâs (above left) has been stationed near the LA Fitness and Five Guys Burgers & Fries (just south of County Line Rd.& west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa) a for some time, a sign recently went up at the Grand Oaks Plaza on the under-construction Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz (above right) announcing that Papichyâs will be opening its first-ever brick-&-mortar location in the space previously occupied by the also-Venezuelan Arepa Mia, which sadly closed at the end of 2024.Â
We havenât yet been able to speak to anyone who could tell us when the new Papichyâs is expected to open, but you can expect a similar selection of Venezuelan-style empanadas, pastelitos (similar to empanadas, but round wheat dough filled with sweet guava or savory meats and cheeses), tequeños (fried cheese) and more.
For more info, call (813) 576-9970.
The Cheesecake Factory
If our post about Rodizio Grill is record-setting, thereâs little doubt that if weâre able to break the story of when The Cheesecake Factory will finally open in the parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets, that post could double or even quadruple the traffic Rodizio Grill has generated.
But, while some rumors had Cheesecake Factory opening before the end of this year, that seems pretty ambitious, considering that the area that will one day be home to the full-service restaurant chain and cheesecake bakery (which currently has more than 200 U.S. locations) has only recently been fenced off near the mallâs main entrance. There is some heavy equipment on the site, but the parking lot hasnât yet been leveled so that the restaurant can actually go vertical.
Swig
This rapidly-growing drive-through âdirty sodaâ chain featuring seasonal favorites and concoct-your-own sodas, revivers and refreshers, as well as frozen hot chocolate, sugar cookies and pretzel bites, is starting to go vertical just east of PopStroke and west of Academy Sports + Outdoors (photo above), across from the outlet mall.Â
Wesley Chapel/Lutz will be only the third Florida location for Swig, a Utah-based company which currently has more than 100 locations in 14 states, with agreements for 500 franchise units and plans for more corporate-owned stores. For more info, visit SwigDrinks.com.
Los Chapos Tacos, a small local chain of authentic fast-casual Mexican restaurants that began as a food truck business, has opened its new fourth location at 24799 W. S.R. 54 in Land OâLakes, in the same small strip retail center as Fazoliâs.
Unfortunately, I canât tell you much about the food at the new Los Chapos Tacos because the restaurant cooks all of its food on the same grills and there are a few shrimp options on the menu.
This kind of bummed me out because there are several unique options on the menu, including Guacamole de Chicharron â slow-braised pork belly finished on the grill with Asian BBQ sauce, served over hand-smashed guacamole with queso fresco, cilantro and chips. Iâd also be interested in sampling the elotes appetizer, or Mexican street corn on the cob, with cotija cheese, chipotle aioli, lime and tajin.
There also are house specialties like the Torta Ahogada or âdrowned sandwich,â which is a version of the signature sandwich of Guadalajara, with crunchy-outside sourdough bread filled with shredded âBirriaâ beef and melted cheese, with a spicy dipping sauce on the side. The same birria beef is available on tacos, and there also are âSurf âNâ Turfâ tacos with grilled steak and shrimp, corn salsa, avocado and chipotle cream on a grilled flour tortilla.
Jannah and I just couldnât leave without at least letting her sample something and she ended up having that birria beef on a tasty grilled quesadilla with melted cheese (top photo). She said it was delicious, but I (heavy sigh) simply had to take her word for it.Â
She also tried and enjoyed the lavender sangria (photo right), and Los Chapos Tacos would probably be a place we would frequent fairly often if I could eat the food. My Victoria Mexican beer was ice cold and unlike most fast-casual establishments, the restaurant does have a limited (and cute) full-liquor bar with several different tequilas available (above left photo) to make your favorite margaritas.Â
Considering that it has two grills in the kitchen, if they could keep one grill dedicated to non-shrimp orders, people like me could still enjoy it.
But, as one manager-in-training told me, âEven if we could do that, weâd still need both grills when we get busy.â Truly sad for me.
Los Chapos Tacos opens for lunch & dinner every day at 11 a.m., except Sun. (when itâs closed). For more info, call (813) 868-3056 or visit LosChaposTacos.com. â GNÂ
