With the world having gone completely crazy over Covid-19, the Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon rightfully decided to postpone this year’s New Tampa BrewFest (which was seriously packed last year; photo, top right).
Recognizing that the original August date was too soon to host even a socially-distanced event, BrewFest chair Jeff Ulbrich said the Rotary Club decided to postpone the 2020 BrewFest until Saturday, November 7, beginning at 6 p.m., again at the Venetian Events Center on Cross Creek Blvd.
Attendees can again expect a huge variety (90 or more!) of craft, micro and other brews (from 30 top local breweries), including ciders and “hard” seltzers, plus top-notch wines and deliciously “legit” food trucks.
Look for additional updates in these pages and go ahead and pre-buy your tickets now at NewTampaNoonRotaryClub.eventbrite.com.
Saying Goodbye To Pier 1
I have never been the biggest fan of Pier 1 Imports in either of its New Tampa locations — I felt it was always just a little too pricey for the quality of the merchandise — but I am never happy to see another major anchor store close, and the Pier 1 located at 18047 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza on BBD was clearing out its inventory in preparation for the local store’s closing, as part of the Ft. Worth, TX-based chain’s shuttering of between 400-450 of its 1,000 or so locations nationwide.
But, this store appears to be in no hurry to close. The 20%-50%-off promise on every sign inside (photo, far right) still only brings Pier 1’s prices down to almost as low as the regular prices at Target or even At Home. I’m guessing that until the discounts hit 50%-70% off, there will still be plenty of inventory to keep it open.
Coming To The Grove In WC!
Here are some of the new eateries and businesses that are either open now, are opening soon or are under construction in The Village at The Grove at Wesley Chapel:
• Double Branch Artisanal Ales (now open, but currently to-go only)
• F45 Training (open)
• Jillian Joseph Photography (open)
• Roman Group Realty
• Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar
• Lagoon Realty
• The Dessert Box
• Brooklyn Bagel Co. (frontage on S.R. 54)
• King of the Coop (fried chicken; located next to Brooklyn Bagel on 54)
• Falabella Family Bistro
• The Kilted Axe
• Pizza Worx NY pizza
• Pasco EDC Business Incubator
• Japanese Restaurant (unnamed; replaces Casa Cubana, which will open a different eatery in the under-construction Krate container park at The Grove).
For The Grove leasing info, email Keren@mgoldgroup.com; for event info, email matheus@mgoldgroup.com! — GN
A mini golf course, being built by Ryan Mortti (who also happens to own the new Mahana Fresh restaurant in New Tampa), is currently in the design phase in The Grove at Wesley Chapel and could break ground by early September.
The course will be in front of The Grove theater and will be visible from I-75. According to Mortti, the course will feature a Hawaiian theme, with tiki huts and other tropical and water features.
By day, the course will keep golfers shielded from the sun with overhead sail shades and, at night, the holes will be illuminated with neon lights and glow-in-the-dark flags and balls.
“We’re looking to make it as comfortable as possible,” says Mortti. “We’d like to see at least 70 percent of it or so covered for shade.”
DON’T AXE ME WHEN: The Kilted Axe, plagued by permitting issues and a few aborted grand openings due to issues related to Covid-19, now has new owners.
Former minority partners in the Kilted Axe Brian and Rebecca DeCook have purchased the axe-throwing venue from previous primary owners Michael and Alicia Esenwein and hope to have it open sometime this month, with leagues beginning in mid-September.
The Kilted Axe, originally cast as a hip beer-and-wine bar and hangout for axe-throwing enthusiasts, as well as a venue for corporate events and leagues, was the first project to break ground within The Grove since the 200-acre retail development was purchased by developer Mark Gold, and it appeared ready to open on time back in January, when its original opening was scheduled. More than 3,700 people replied on Facebook that they were interested in attending that opening.
Permitting issues caused a delay in those plans, and a smaller, soft opening was held in February. An official ribbon cutting, later scheduled for March 7 and then moved to March 28, was then scrapped due to Covid-19 concerns.
The new owners say they plan to carry out the original plans. Rebecca says the most noticeable changes will be inside, where the facility’s original rustic look is getting a makeover into something more upscale and “more Armature Works-style, something that fits into the aesthetics here (at the Grove).”
Otherwise, the original vibe is expected to be the same.
“We plan on making the Kilted Axe something fun and something the community will get behind,” Brian says. “It’s going to be safe, healthy and fun. We think it’s a great business idea and that it’s going to be very successful.”
FEEL THE POWER: Power Martial Arts is the latest business to open in The Grove.
Owned by martial arts master instructors Matt Brown and his wife Lori, who have been teaching at Avalon Park and other locations in and around Wesley Chapel the past five years, Power Martial Arts began holding classes on July 20.
Matt, a 6th degree black belt (Lori is a 7th degree black belt), said he has been eyeing The Grove location for years, but due to inaction in the development, held off while teaching in Lake Bernadette in Zephyrhills and Avalon Park. “We think now that Mark bought the Grove, this is a really good location,” he says.
The Browns started Power Martial Arts in 2006 in Billings, MT, before moving to Florida. They teach five different martial arts styles, from Jiu-Jitsu to Tang Soo Do, or Korean Karate. They offer classes for children, teens and adults, as well as family classes. Classes in other self-defense methods and anti-bullying safety also are available.
Power Martial Arts is located at 6027 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 201. For additional information, visit PowerMartialArts.com.
When CMX, the parent company of Cobb Theatres and CineBistro, filed for bankruptcy in April, citing the damage done by the coronavirus, it officially brought to an end Wesley Chapel’s popular movie theater in The Grove.
It also, however, has ushered in a new opportunity.
Developer Mark Gold, whose Mishorim Gold Properties owns The Grove, is remaking the popular 85,000-sq.-ft. movie theater into something that he says will be bigger and better.
“I am bringing something for the whole family,” he says. And, don’t worry, he adds, the new project will still be a movie theater, it’ll just be, “unlike any you have seen before.”
To name a few of the major changes: Instead of 16 movie screens (and roughly 3,000 seats), there will be 12 screens, with at least one or two dedicated to children. The additional space freed up by consolidating the screens will be used to create a video game area that Gold says will resemble the popular arcade and restaurant/bar Dave & Buster’s. There will be a sushi restaurant upstairs and one with more traditional American/theater food options below.
Outside, new landscaping and a mini-golf course will create an area for people to gather and make a night of it.
Gold says the entire facility will be redesigned, reimagined and most important, rejuvenated, and that there already are plans for an adjoining housing development featuring 540 townhomes and apartments.
“This is going to be an entertainment complex like no other,” says Tom Peck, the director of operations for The Grove Theater (working title).
The large arcade area — which, in most theaters, is just a small room set off to the side with a dozen or so games set up — will replace the current lobby, with games designed for teens and adults in one area, and games for younger players in another.
At least one or two of the movie theaters will be modified to serve as a “kids zone,” with things like bean bag chairs and sofas for those watching the movie and a play area for those who’d rather climb through tubes and tunnels. The kids theater will be ideal, Gold says, for parents looking to watch a movie or enjoy dinner while their children watch something more suitable for their age.
Gold says he also is considering converting one theater into a ninja-style obstacle course for younger kids.
Before….…and after.
The other movie theaters will carry the latest Hollywood releases and will be fitted with newer, and more comfortable, leather reclining chairs. There will be VIP theaters, will full-fledged dining options like the old CineBistro model. “The name won’t be there,” Peck says, “but the same concept will continue.”
You Still Have To Feel Safe
Gold says he is most pleased, however, with his plans to ensure safety. In an era where the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything about the way the world does business, Gold promises that with each movie ticket, gaming pass and meal purchased, customers also will receive the one thing that will best allow them to enjoy the experience — peace of mind.
State-of-the-art cleaning equipment will be employed to keep the theater virus-free. There will be hospital-grade fog machines and ultraviolet lights to disinfect walls, floors, handles, seats and the air in between each movie, and temperature monitors at the front door that will keep those showing coronavirus symptoms from entering.
Social distancing will be implemented, as will face masks, depending on the state of the virus when the theater opens.
“Our theater will be extremely safe,” Peck says. “It will have things in there no other company has ever been able to do because of the (costs associated with the) large number of theaters they control.”
And, if you wonder what happens when (or if) Covid-19 finally passes, Gold says he is still playing the long game with his safety measures, because there will still be plenty of other germs out there and families will be looking to stay safer than ever in the future.
“Everyone is going to want to feel safer, more secure,” Gold says. “Even 2-4 years down the road. The idea is we will be much safer than your grocery store. This place will be 3,4, 5-times safer because we are taking all these steps.”
Only with these safety measures, Gold says, can he see his vision fulfilled, where families come out to play a round of miniature golf, enjoy a dinner together, see a movie and play some games afterwards. Instead of two hours in a theater, families can spend 4-5 hours enjoying a night of entertainment.
“It will have everything in one complex,” Gold says. “At a normal movie theater, maybe you go eat before you come, then see the movie and go somewhere else after. But, this will have everything. It’s going to be a real destination spot.”
The theater renovations, which Peck says could be completed sometime in September, are another part of a massive project at The Grove, which Gold purchased last September for $62.7 million.
By the end of the year, The Grove is expected to have more than 60 converted and redesigned shipping containers open at the trendy KRATE by Gold Box container park, which is being built on nearly 7 acres of land just west of I-75 and east of The Grove’s big box retail stores like Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
A host of other restaurants, bars and businesses are opening now, or are expected to open soon in “The Village” portion of the 200-acre complex.
For leasing & other info, search “Grove At Wesley Chapel” on Facebook, call (407) 636-1266 or see the ad on pg. 1 of every issue of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!
First Watch, the popular restaurant chain known for its healthy breakfast and lunch items featuring items like power wraps, avocado toast and quinoa bowls, is coming to the Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza in New Tampa.
“They have signed their lease,” says Mark Elias, the leasing agent for Regency Centers, the developer of the plaza, which will be anchored by a Sprouts Farmers Market that is opening Aug. 12. “They haven’t physically started swinging any hammers yet, but they have started the process (of permitting).”
Located right across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the entrance to Hunter’s Green, and just a few miles south of the First Watch on BBD in Wesley Chapel that almost always, in pre-Covid times, had a waiting list, the New Tampa location will join a number of new restaurants in the Hunter’s Lake project. It will take over the 3,530-sq.ft. spot between Fresh Kitchen, which also is readying for construction in the spot on the northernmost end of the plaza, and Via Italia Woodfired Pizza & Bar, which is opening tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Headquartered in University Park, FL, First Watch serves breakfast, lunch and brunch at its more than 300 locations in 26 states.
For an area lacking in a true breakfast place for years, New Tampa will soon have two of Tampa Bay’s most highly-rated selections. The Brunchery, a long-time and popular breakfast staple in Valrico, expanded to New Tampa last December when it opened a new location in the old Boston Market space next to the Moe’s Southwest Grill on Preserve Walk Ln. at BBD.
Scallop season for Pasco County, which runs July 17-26, is a great way to get outside while social distancing. (Photo: Florida Sports Coast)
To use a sports metaphor, you might say that the Florida Sports Coast, from the moment it was created as Pasco County’s new tourism “brand” in 2018, jumped out to a huge lead, outscored the opponent, boasted a deep bench and an impressive farm system and was on top of the world.
Then, it was as though every single player got injured.
That pretty much describes Pasco County’s tourism in the era of Covid-19.
But, players heal from injuries and so, too, is the Florida Sports Coast ready to get back on the field. Despite rising numbers of positive cases of the virus in June, Pasco County tourism director Adam Thomas has been eyeing July as a launching point for a major comeback.
“July will be big,” Thomas says.
The Tohrs Roller Hockey National Championships accounted for 1,800 hotel room nights in 2019, although those numbers were expected to be down in the current Covid-19 environment. The tournament was held last week at AdventHealth Center Ice; according to the event’s schedule posted online, roughly 130 teams competed.
On the leisure tourism side, scalloping season (July 17-26) is one of the county’s more popular events. Thomas says more than 300,000 people took part or were impacted by the bay scallop season last year.
“People look forward to that,” he says. “It’s a seasonal activity. And, you can practice social distancing in the water. It’s a fun, family activity…like a great underwater Easter egg hunt.”
This will be the third season for scalloping in the county. In 2018, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) finally granted Pasco County an annual scallop season following a 25-year hiatus.
Participants can collect up to two gallons of the bay scallops per day. There are a number of areas on the west coast of the county from which to collect them, from Anclote Village Marina to Hudson Beach Marina, as well as a number of local fishing guides who will be happy to help you catch your limit.
Thomas is hoping both events can begin the reboot of what was expected to be a record-setting year for tourism in Pasco.
In late March, hotel occupancy dropped to 18-20 percent, and is only now back up to around 44 percent. In April of 2019, the county pulled in $430,000 worth of tourist tax revenue, compared to just $93,000 this past April, which is typically Pasco’s biggest tourism month.
The county and private facilities like AdventHealth Center Ice, had to cancel a number of events that typically fill local hotel rooms, like the 2020 Adult Men’s and Women’s National Ice Hockey Championships on back-to-back weekends in April.
“It impacted our revenue stream greatly,” Thomas says.
The county was projected to pull in $3.2 million in tourist tax dollars in 2020, which Thomas says would have been the largest total ever. And, Pasco’s tourism was on pace to hit a number of historical marks.
“In a matter of three months, we went back three-and-a-half years,” says Thomas, who adds that a full recovery could take 20-24 months.
There was some good news —while many events were outright canceled, 13 events have been rescheduled or postponed to a later date.
The county has launched a Get Back To Adventure recovery marketing plan, hoping it encourages people to visit and leave their homes.
“We’re now seeing additional booking that is going to increase our economic impact and demand for visitor and consumers alike to come and enjoy what our destination has to offer,” he says.
For more information about scallop season and other tourism plans, visit FlSportsCoast.com.
