Our Return To St. Pete Beach — Still Recovering As The 2025 Hurricane Season Begins 

St. Pete Beach has been an important part of mine and Jannah’s relationship since we first started dating ten years ago. It’s where we were married six years ago and where have spent some of the most magical times of our lives — with the most beautiful sunsets, the greatest live music and some of the most delicious meals we’ve ever enjoyed together. 

But, as pretty much everyone knows, all of the Gulf beaches from Clearwater south to St. Pete were devastated by last year’s trio of major hurricanes, especially Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida on Sept. 26 of last year. That was only six weeks after Hurricane Debby brought record flooding, also to the Big Bend area, despite “only” hitting as a Cat 1, because the storm stalled along the Gulf coast of our state. Helene was followed less than two weeks later by Cat 3 Hurricane Milton, which did as much damage to inland areas as it did to the coast. 

But, Helene — which hit roughly 35 weeks before the 2025 Memorial Day weekend, when Jannah and I finally returned to St. Pete Beach — did the most damage of the three storms to Pinellas County’s beloved beaches. 

That means its been eight eight+ long, difficult months for the hotels, restaurants and merchants in those Gulf Coast communities, so even though we’d seen and read news reports about how difficult it’s been for those areas to fully recover, we (wrongfully) assumed things had to have gotten back almost to normal by now. Um, no. A thousand times no. 

During our visit, we drove from Pass-A-Grille Beach, at the southern tip of the strip, almost to the Sand Key Bridge just south of Clearwater and, even though the weather was beautiful and there were still plenty of great places open for business, what we found saddened us to our cores. 

Pass-A-Grille seemed mostly intact, but the fabled Don Cesar Hotel had only recently reopened and still was not fully restored to its former glory. 

Still closed were many of our local favorite St. Pete Beach haunts like the Bellwether Beach (formerly the Plaza Grand) Hotel, home to the popular rotating Level 11 rooftop bar and Spinners restaurant. Even the Beachcomber Resort, home to our favorite live music spot Jimmy B’s, was still shuttered. Popular restaurants like The Frog Pond and further south to Caddys on the Beach (photos) also were still shut down, although the owners of Caddys at least had a tented bar, food trucks and picnic tables on-site so those enjoying the live music at Ka’Tiki across the street could come out to take in the still-breathtaking sunsets. 

We continued north through Treasure Island, where the fabled Thunderbird Beach Resort, which opened in 1957 and had survived many hurricanes and tropical storms, had never reopened since Helene and was getting ready to be demolished. 

We then headed to John’s Pass, which was mostly reopened, although our bartender at the Pirates Pub & Grub told us that all of the first-floor businesses on the boardwalk had 5-7 ft. of water inside them and had to be completely renovated for weeks and even months, while the second floor restaurants and shops were pretty much still OK. 

Continuing north of John’s Pass, through Madeira Beach, the Redingtons, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks and Bellaire, where it has always been less crowded, also was chilling. Those areas seemed even emptier than usual. And yes, I realize that Sand Key, Clearwater Beach and Dunedin, forming the more northern, but equally touristy, part of the Pinellas strip, are all also still suffering, even though we didn’t drive that far during this visit. 

And again, our stay was the better part of a year after all of this devastation, so it was hard not to have a queasy feeling about what might be in store for our favorite beach communities this year, as the 2025 Hurricane Season began the day (June 1) that I wrote this story. 

All I can say is that until we get word that our amazing beaches are again in the projected track of a storm, Jannah and I plan to return to — and pray for — St. Pete Beach as often as we can. 

News About Restaurant Openings & Closings Continue To Increase Our Readership 

Anyone who actually knows me will tell you that even though I don’t love the term, I am a genuine “foodie.” 

Whenever I’m out and about, whether in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel or elsewhere, I’m always on the lookout for signs that new restaurants — whether chains or mom-&-pops — are opening, as well as, of course, those that are closing or have already gone out of business. 

And, I’m obviously not alone in my quest to keep up with openings and closings of places to eat. Jannah and I get recognized a lot when we go anyplace local to eat and people often ask me things like, “What new restaurants are opening?,” “Did you hear about this new place?” and “Whatever happened to such and such place?” 

In this issue ‘s dining section alone, there are stories about the new management and direction of Café Zorba at the KRATEs, the opening of the new Rudraksh Indian Cuisine in Downtown Avalon Park, the new chef at The Grill at Morris Bridge, the coming-soon Remington’s Steak & Seafood just south of Tampa Palms, the reopening of the super-popular Bagels Plus just west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. on E. Fletcher Ave., the addition of Breakfast Kitchen & More to the Kabob Café in Highwoods Preserve and the soon-to-open latest entry into our local fried chicken wars — Kay’s Kitchen Authentic Chicago-Style Fried Chicken (which, I’ll admit, I didn’t know was a thing). 

And yet, there is so much more dining news to tell you about, I couldn’t fit it all at the ever-popular back section of this issue. Hold on tight! 

The container park continues to be tough to keep up with as, in addition to the new management (and Bosnian cuisine?) at Café Zorba, the nearly adjacent Tutti Frutti Café, owned by the same owner (Eddie Nasr), has closed, as has the Indian Street Kitchen, which is owned by the same owners as Persis Indian Grill. This comes on the heels of the two changes we told you about last issue — PeppaJak replacing the Bacon Boss HQ and Grilltopia opening in the former Yummy Tablas spot. 

As far back as October of 2024, 365 Café Italiano owner (at both the KRATEs and the Shops at Wiregrass) Tarek Yordi had announced that 365 Woodfired Pizza was going to “open soon” in the plaza anchored by Abdoney Orthodontics behind the Jammin’ Car Wash on Windcrest Dr., off BBD Blvd. There’s no word yet on when 365 Pizza will open, but someone at the location said “maybe next month” a few weeks ago. 

Even further back, an adjacent spot in that same building also was supposed to be home to a new location of Provisions Coffee &Wine Bar, but not only hasn’t Provisions opened, the space still has a dirt floor and the door is always propped open, with no progress. We were told that Provisions is no longer going in the space. 

Speaking of pizza, just as the location of MOD Pizza closed in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets, the second Wesley Chapel location (the other is in front of the Super Target on BBD at County Line Rd.) of Little Caesar’s Pizza was just about ready to open (at 5450 Post Oak Blvd., next to Jimmy John’s), and could be open by the time (or soon after) this issue reaches your mailbox. 

Just around the interior road from the former MOD Pizza location is the long-awaited first-ever Brazilian steakhouse in our area — Rodizio Grill, which franchise owner Charlie Haney has announced is expected to open on Wednesday, May 28. Until then, visit Rodizio Grill-Wesley Chapel on Facebook by May 20 to win free Rodizio for you and a guest once a month for a year (photo). 

I was alerted by readers Marisa and Theo Panopoulos to the sign on BBD (in the same plaza as Nutrition Smart) that Einstein Bros. Bagels is getting ready to open. So, I had a nice chat with Kurt, a Wesley Chapel resident who is the general manager of the closest currently open Einstein Bros. location, on E. Fowler Ave., near USF. 

Kurt told me that although the Einstein Bros. corporate entity (both of these locations are corporate-owned, not franchises) was hoping to have the Wesley Chapel location open by the end of May, “It looks like sometime in late July or early August is more likely.” Kurt also said he believes he will end up moving to become the GM at the new store. 

We have not yet heard of the opening date for the Los Chapos Tacos Wesley Chapel on S.R. 54 in Lutz (in the same plaza as Fazoli’s) but the last announcement we saw had it opening sometime last month, so it should be soon. 

Check our Facebook page every day for updates on these stories and more! Bon appetit! 

Why Do We Offer Contests? Check Out These Happy Neighborhood News Readers! 

When I first bought the Neighborhood News back in Feb. 1994, I knew I wanted to get people not only reading what we put into print, but also engaging with our content. 

One of the ways I decided to make that happen was to put contests in these pages. We started with things like labor-intensive, Gary-created crossword puzzles and Fantasy Baseball and Football contests, trivia contests (which have now been rendered obsolete with the advent of Google) and our most popular annual contest, our Reader Dining Survey & Contest, which is still going strong some 30 years since I started it. 

Over the years, I’ve added other contests, such as our “Big Game Squares,” “March Madness” and “Oscars” contests, but the timing from when either the Academy Awards nominations are announced or the teams are set for the sports contests hasn’t always worked with our every-four-week deadlines. 

This year, however, we were able to make both the “Squares” and “Oscars” (the latter with the delay in the announcement of the nominees and the televised broadcast both delayed by the California wildfires) contests work with online-only entries. 

While only about 100 people total entered this year’s “Big Game” and “Oscars” contests, that doesn’t mean that folks like (l.-r. above) Eddie Mancuso of Highwoods Preserve, who won the Grand Prize of $200 (he chose Stonewood Grill & Tavern); Lianne Kowiak of Arbor Green (with me), who won $100 (and picked Ulele); and Wharton High alum and West Meadows resident MaeLee Rich — who has been entering our contests since her teens and who won one of the two $50 prizes (to Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood) in the Squares contest — weren’t thrilled to win those Squares prizes. The fourth Squares winner, Allison Smith of Pebble Creek, hasn’t yet received her $50 gift card to Grillsmith. 

We also have three winners in our “Oscars” contests. Our Grand Prize winner — one of only two contestants to correctly pick the winners in six of the seven major Academy Awards categories, chosen at random, was Meadow Pointe resident Dawn Kidle, who wins a $200 gift card to B&B Theatres at The Grove. The other tied contestant was John Bailey of Palatine, IL, who not only doesn’t live here — he says he searched “Oscars Contests” online and entered all of them! — Illinois doesn’t even have a B&B Theatre, so I mailed him a $60 gift card to AMC Theaters. There were four contestants who correctly picked five of the seven categories and that winner, drawn at random to receive the $60 B&B gift card I bought for John, is Gail Bialk of Watergrass. I just gave Dawn her prize (4th photo above) and I plan to give Gail hers soon! 

We also now also have 25 local residents who have told us they want to be judges in our contest to pick the Wesley Chapel area’s favorite chicken restaurant. I’m still working out the details of how that contest will work, but I think we now have enough potential judges to make it happen! Look for details in our next issue (hopefully)! 

So, why do we still have contests, with prizes we almost always pay for ourselves (we occasionally have had a restaurant agree to donate prizes, but that’s pretty rare)? Since most of us will never win the Lottery or hit it big in Vegas, it’s nice to have much better odds of winning one of our contest prizes — and my pleasure to provide them. Congrats, winners! 

Congratulations, Dawn & John!

Actor Mark Eydelshteyn and Oscar Winner Mikey Madison in “Anora” (Photo: IMDB)

So, we ended up with 46 entries into our 2025 Oscars Contest, although that number would have been 51 entries, but there were five people who submitted their entries after the posted deadline of Saturday, March 1, at 11:59:59 p.m.

Of those 46 on-time entries, only two people — Dawn Kidle of Meadow Pointe and John Bailey of Palatine, Illinois — picked six of the seven Oscars categories correctly. We did have four other contestants who correctly picked the Oscar winner in five of the seven categories, but the amazing thing to me is that not one of our 46 on-time entrants correctly picked Mikey Madison as the Best Actress winner for her starring role in this year’s Oscar-winning film, “Anora” — as 35 of our 46 contestants picked either Demi Moore for her lead role in “The Substance” or Cynthia Erivo’s portrayal of Elphaba in “Wicked” as their Best Actress winner.

Our Grand Prize winner, drawn at random from among the top two entries, is Dawn Kidle, who will receive a prize package valued at $200, which will include two top-level movie passes, plus dinner for two and popcorn at B&B Theatres at The Grove in Wesley Chapel!

John Bailey will receive two top-level movie passes that will be valid at any of the 54 B&B Theatres locations nationwide.

Congrats to both of our winners!  

Enter Our FREE, Online-Only ‘Oscars’ Contest; Plus, Just How ‘Chicken’ Are You?! 

Oscar nominees Monica Barbaro & Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” (Photo: IMDB)

We’ve only been able to even have an Academy Awards/ “Oscars” contest a few times in the past because of the timing of when the nominees are announced to when the annual Academy Awards are held vs. our deadlines for our print issues of the Neighborhood News.. 

As devastating as the uncontrolled wild fires in California have been, the fires caused both the announcement of this year’s nominees and the televised red carpet gala itself to be delayed — so much so that we actually have time to finally include this FREE contest again this year — and you could win some great prizes. 

If you’re a movie buff, you probably have seen many of the films included in this year’s list of finalists/nominees. 

But, even if you’re more like me — the only nominated films I’ve seen are “Wicked,” the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” and Best Animated Film nominee “Inside Out 2” (the latter thanks to mine and Jannah’s granddaughter Rosie) — you have a chance to win some great prizes by simply telling us which films and actors YOU think will win the coveted gold statuettes. 

CLICK HERE and provide us with your REAL (you’d be surprised how many entries with fake names we receive in our contests every year — I know I’m always surprised) first AND last name, the community you live in, email address and daytime phone number. In addition, we ask each entrant in this contest to please pick the winner in each of the following major Oscars categories: 

1. Best Picture 

2. Best Actress 

3. Best Actor 

4. Best Supporting Actress 

5. Best Supporting Actor 

6. Best Director 

7. Best Animated Feature Film 

If only one entrant picks the most winners in those seven categories, that person will win a prize package to the B&B Theatres at The Grove, which could include movie tickets, popcorn, dinner and drinks, valued at about $200. 

However, if more than one entry has the same number of correct picks, the winner will be drawn at random from all tied entries. Each of the other tied entries will receive two top-level B&B movie passes. 

That’s all you need to do/know. Please note that we already have posted a link to the contest page on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page and will do so again at least once each of the two weeks between when you receive this issue in your mailbox and the ABC-TV telecast of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2. 

At our press time, we only received a little more than 20 entries, so the contest would appear to be wide open. But please, get your entry in no later than Saturday, March 1, at 11:59:59 p.m., to be eligible! 

Please note that B&B Theatres at The Grove is not affiliated with this contest. 

Despite all of the nasty online comments about the sheer number of chicken places now located in or adjacent to Wesley Chapel, the fact is that we probably wouldn’t have so many chicken-only (or predominantly chicken) places if there wasn’t a demand for them and, it seems, that most locals have both their favorites and least favorites among the following (in alphabetical order): 

Chicken Guy! 

Chick-fil-A 

Chick’n Fun 

Dave’s Hot Chicken 

Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken 

PDQ 

Popeye’s 

Raising Cane’s 

Slim Chickens 

Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken 

Zaxby’s 

Since I am not the biggest “fast food” chicken enthusiast myself, I decided to give those of you who claim to be true lovers of fried chicken an opportunity to be judges in a Neighborhood News-sponsored contest to find Wesley Chapel’s favorite fast-casual chicken place! 

I haven’t figured out all of the details yet of how it will work or when it will be (or if any of the places listed will agree to be part of it), but if you’re interested in being one of the judges, please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com with your contact info (name, daytime phone number & community you live in) and “I want to be a chicken contest judge” in the subject line!