Nibbles & Bites: Gorkhali Kitchen Wins Michelin’s Bib Gourmand Award!

Although I admit to having missed it when three Tampa restaurants were awarded Michelin Stars last month, I wanted to congratulate the owners of Gorkhali Kitchen, the Tampa Bay area’s only Nepalese-Himalayan restaurant, located in the Cross Creek Center plaza at 10044 Cross Creek Blvd., which was one of only two Tampa eateries to win the Michelin Bib Gourmand award (the other was Psomi, a Greek concept in South Tampa).

Michelin Stars are offered to the best of the most upscale eateries, while the Bib Gourmand awards are given to restaurants with “consistently good quality, good value cooking,” but both awards are presented only after multiple Michelin Guide inspectors make multiple visits and all agree on the restaurant’s quality.

Gorkhali’s Nepalese (and Indian) fare includes the country’s signature Momo dumplings, sizzling Tandoori lamb chops and chicken wings, tender goat dishes and the Nepalese fried rice (with chicken) shown here.

Gorkhali Kitchen co-owners Rajesh Pathak, Reena Widdoes, Poonam Gurung and Menora Panthi have rightfully been inundated with new customers since the announcement.

Gorkhali Kitchen is open every day for lunch and dinner. For more information, call (813) 388-6404 or visit GorkhaliKitchenTampa.com.

Grand Hampton: The Movie Series Makes It To Orlando Film Fest!
Photo provided by Antony Capers.

Speaking of congratulations, I also have to give big props to filmmaker Antony Capers and his talented cast and crew of “Grand Hampton the Movie Series – Super Vita,” which has been invited to the nonprofit Orlando International Film Festival (OIFF) the weekend of July 13-16. 

Capers says, “Being a part of the OIFF is huge, and a great accomplishment. We have no celebrity actors or figures in our movie, we had no production budget, nor any high-end specials effects, but yet myself, and Annette (Simmons-Brown)wrote a movie that had a strong enough story to make an impact.”

Capers & crew, who got to present (photo) and even film a portion of the series at the historic Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa earlier this year, says that although “Grand Hampton” will be one of about 200 short and feature-length films presented at the OIFF, “I think being in this film festival will help expose our ‘Grand Hampton the Movie’ brand to a wider audience… Hopefully being in the festival, we can get enough eyes on it and possibly get a movie or production deal from Netflix, HULU or a service like that because our story is very unique and different.”

To see all episodes of “Grand Hampton,” visit “Grand Hampton the Movie Series” on Youtube.

Sportsman’s Warehouse To Replace Best Buy In August

Those who enjoy outdoor activities — including hunting, shooting, fishing, camping, boating, outdoor cooking, etc. — will be thrilled to know that Sportsman’s Warehouse is expected to open in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve (in the former location of Best Buy) on (or around) Thursday, August 17. 

For more info, including how to register to win a GMC AT4 truck and outdoor gear package, visit Sportsmans.com.

Azteca D’Oro Is Open At The Shops At Wiregrass!

Although it wasn’t yet open when we went to press with this issue, the opening of the new Azteca d’Oro Mexican restaurant at the Shops at Wiregrass (across from The Living Room; left photo) took place last week, with a Grand Opening event the weekend of June 24-25.

We were planning to visit and take both pictures and video last week, so look for updates on NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net as soon as you receive this issue in your mailbox.

I met with co-owner Victor Ramos and the rest of the Azteca team the day this issue went to press, where I got the only picture I could (right photo) of a fully completed area inside this beautiful new, upscale Mexican dining experience. 

Azteca d’Oro (2000 Piazza Ave., Unit 170) is open every day for lunch and dinner, with Azteca’s “Buy One, Get One” Happy Hour available all day on Sunday and Monday-Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.). For more information, visit Aztecadoro.com.

Checking Out The Third Annual Rum & Seafood Festival! 

Our congratulations go out to Florida Penguin Productions for putting on a successful third-annual Rum & Seafood Festival at the Tampa Premium Outlets on June 3, despite the constant threat of bad weather that could have caused the event’s cancellation.

A steady stream of adult visitors paid $15 per person to get into the Festival, which featured live music, dozens of vendors — including Siesta Key and Sailor Jerry rums, FishHawk Spirits and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey — and great seafood food trucks like Charm City Eats, Super Grouper, Got Lobstah? and From the Soul to the Sea. Among this year’s highlights were the Crab Races (that I unfortunately missed) and the “rooftop” bar. 

The  North Tampa Bay Chamber received a portion of the event’s proceeds.

Introducing Astro Craft Ice Cream’s New Ice Cream Chef!

This is just a sampling f the delicious flavors at Astro Craft Ice Cream on S.R. 56. (All Photos by Charmaine George).

It was only six months or so ago when we first told you about the new Astro Craft Ice Cream, located in the same plaza on the north side of S.R. 56 as Mellow Mushroom.

Even so, there’s so much new happening at Astro that we knew we needed to update that story.

Still owned by Ferdian Jap and Gio Tran, the co-owners of Zukku-San Sushi (located about a 1/4-mile east of Astro) and Ato at the KRATE Container Park, Astro now has a new ice cream chef — Adrian Carter. Carter, who is proud of his love of ice cream, completed an online course through the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts based in Boulder, CO, and also completed the intensive one-week Penn State University Ice Cream Short Course in University Park, PA, now in its 128th year — where representatives of Ben & Jerry’s, Baskin-Robbins, Blue Bell, Haagen-Dazs and many others have learned the secrets of ice cream making.

New Astro ice cream chef Adrian Carter prepares the signature sundae for June (below, left).

“It’s super-competitive,” Carter says of the course. “But you really learn the best ways to make the best ice cream.”

Carter, who first met the Astro owners at their location at Armature Works near downtown Tampa, is proud of the changes he’s already made to Astro’s already delicious flavors and he promises to continue to add new varieties, starting with the unique new passion fruit-raspberry sorbet, which is made with oat milk, “so it still has a creamy, more ice cream-like texture and taste,” Carter says.

He also has made subtle changes to many of my already favorite flavors at Astro — including adding real bananas to the banana pudding peanut butter cookie flavor (which is still my #1 favorite).

Father’s Day-inspired June signature special.
Ube chocolate chunk ice cream cone.

Carter says that most months, Astro offers a new “signature” creation. For June (which still has a few days left), the Father’s Day-inspired special was the brown sugar whiskey cookie dough (made with a newly upgraded whiskey), with chocolate-covered pretzels, a caramel “flavor shot” and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Also new is the ube ice cream with dark chocolate chunks. Ube is a purple Fillipino yam (sweet potato) with a mellow flavor that blends well with the chocolate.

Astro’s exclusive Cuban ice cream sandwich.
The revamped brownie sundae.

And, despite my concerns, Carter also has begun baking Astro’s brownies and chocolate chip cookies in-house, rather than buying them from Mike’s Pies. I loved the Mike’s brownies, but the house-baked brownies are equally delicious, chewy and decadently dense — so good as the base for a brownie sundae with a chocolate, caramel or honey flavor shot.

One thing Carter didn’t mention changing was Astro’s exclusive Cuban ice cream sandwich (above, right), made with Cuban bread from Tampa’s La Segunda Bakery, pressed around Tampa guava cream cheese or creme brulée café con leché ice cream. So good.

Photographer Charmaine George and I both also raved about the cinnamon snickerdoodle marshmallow ice cream, made with marshmallow Fluff, graham crackers and lots of cinnamon. Charmaine said it “tastes like Christmas.” The seasonal flavor for July is red, white & blue vanilla ice cream, “for the kids,” Carter says, adding that Astro’s mobile ice cream van also is available for catered events. 

Astro Craft Ice Cream (25700 Sierra Center Blvd.) is open Mon.-Thur., noon-9:30 p.m.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. & 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sun. For more info, visit AstroCraftIceCream.com, find the location on Facebook or Instagram.

A dish of the new passion fruit-raspberry sorbet with a honey flavor shot.

Story Update: Wesley Chapel Area Continues To Add More Auto Dealerships

Both Jacobs Mitsubishi of Wesley Chapel (top) and Wesley Chapel Subaru (above) have opened recently, increasing the number of new car dealerships in the Wesley Chapel area to 19 (see chart), with perhaps more still on the way.

Story Update – Although this story already was posted here, it was missing the Volvo showroom that is coming soon to the Shops at Wiregrass, so we’re posting it again now.

When someone asks you what Wesley Chapel is known for, how do you respond? I used to say that we were known primarily for shopping malls and chain restaurants, but that was before the opening of the KRATE Container Park at The Grove gave us more than two dozen new non-chain eateries over the past year.

Yes, we do also have a lot of nail salons, storage facilities, car washes and mattress stores, but until I added them all up, I didn’t realize that there also are now 19 new-car auto dealerships in the Wesley Chapel area, with only one of those — Ferman Buick-GMC on S.R. 54 — having a Lutz address.

The remaining 18 dealerships — with Wesley Chapel Subaru (now open less than two months at our press time) and Jacobs Mitsubishi of Wesley Chapel (open about a month) as the two newest — are actually all located in one of the Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes (33543, 33544 & 33545).

The Subaru dealership on Silver Maple Pkwy. south of S.R. 56 is one of only two Wesley Chapel showrooms still owned by the Fink Automotive Group (the other is the adjacent Volkswagen of Wesley Chapel), headed by Scott Fink (known for his “Where volume makes the difference” TV ads), as the four others previously owned by the Fink group — the Chevrolet, Mazda and Hyundai (and Hyundai’s separate luxury brand Genesis, located inside the Hyundai dealership on S.R. 54) of Wesley Chapel dealerships — were sold to the Oregon-based Lithia Motors, Inc., in 2021. 

Lithia, which also purchased Wesley Chapel Honda and Wesley Chapel Toyota from the Williams Automotive Group in 2019, now owns six Wesley Chapel auto dealerships among its more than 260 nationwide, making it one of the three largest owners of dealerships in the country. 

Despite those dealership sales, Williams retained its ownership of Lexus of Wesley Chapel just south of S.R. 54 on Eagleston Blvd., east of I-75, and its Wesley Chapel Super Center used car and truck dealership on Wesley Chapel Blvd., a mile or so west of I-75.

The other company that owns the most Wesley Chapel dealerships is the Morgan Auto Group, owned by the father-and-son team of Larry and Brett Morgan, which purchased Wesley Chapel Nissan in 2019, Fuccillo Kia of Wesley Chapel and MINI of Wesley Chapel in 2020 and opened BMW of Wesley Chapel in 2022. The four Wesley Chapel showrooms are among about 60 that Morgan — which is either the 10th or 11th (depending upon whose figures you use) largest owner of auto dealerships in the U.S. — owns throughout the Tampa Bay area.

The only other company which owns at least two dealerships in Wesley Chapel is the Parks Automotive Group, which started all of this in 1999 by moving its Heritage Ford (now Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel) dealership from Zephyrhills a few miles to the west on S.R. 54 (to just east of I-75, and the current Kia and Nissan dealerships). 

The Parks group opened Parks Lincoln of Wesley Chapel (located adjacent to Parks Ford) earlier this year, after shutting down its Fiat and Alfa-Romeo dealership (in essentially the same location as Parks Lincoln) in 2020.

According to recent documents filed with Pasco County, Auto Nation, which already opened and operates the Mercedes-Benz of Wesley Chapel dealership on the north side of S.R. 56, has filed plans to open an as-yet-unnamed auto dealership in front of Main Event on the south side of S.R. 56, next to the under-construction Paradise Grills outdoor furniture store. 

Auto Nation, which operates both new and used car dealerships among its 300 locations throughout the U.S. (more than Lithia, but just behind it in terms of sales), is the fourth largest auto dealership company in the nation.

Also opening soon, in the Shops at Wiregrass, is a Volvo showroom, which will not be a full-blown dealership with a service department, but will add even more new car options to our area. 

Pride Elementary Hosts Parent Meeting With Viera, Vaughn & County

At a June 7 meeting at Pride Elementary, (l.-r.) Pride principal Paulette English, Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, Hillsborough School Board member Jessica Vaughn and School District director of operations Chris Farkas discussed transportation issues at Pride with about 30 concerned parents. (All Photos by Charmaine George).

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera takes pride in his ability to organize public town hall-style meetings and bring folks together, apparently even when the city isn’t the primary focus of the meeting.

Case in point: Viera contacted District 3 Hillsborough School Board member Jessica Vaughn because a number of residents of K-Bar Ranch had contacted him about transportation issues at Pride Elementary and he felt a public meeting would help at least shed light on some of the concerns of these local residents (including some who live in the Hillsborough County-based developments of Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve) to work on issues like buses, long pick-up and drop-off queues at Pride and the safety of the students, parents and staff at the school.

Vaughn agreed, and on  June 7, about 30 Pride parents and local residents attended a meeting at the school hosted by Viera, Vaughn, Pride principal Paulette English and the director of operations for the Hillsborough School District Chris Farkas. Also on hand were Rich Reedy, the legislative aide to Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner (and Board chair) Ken Hagan, as well as the School District’s general manager for transportation Laura Hill. 

The residents in attendance were mainly from a group of at least 45 Pride parents who live in the Andover Place apartments, which are located just under two miles from Pride and who had emailed Farkas because they all have to drive their children who attend Pride to school. The reason? As Vaughn explained during her opening comments, a new law passed by the state legislature dictates that students who live closer than two miles to their school are not eligible to be bused.

Vaughn also explained that the issue these parents have been experiencing is common throughout the District at many other schools. Meanwhile, Farkas said that although it is possible for the District to “charter” a bus for a specific group, “there is a huge shortage of bus drivers throughout the District. We’re about 275 drivers short right now, and we only receive about $30 million of the $64 million the District spends on transportation from the state, or about 41 cents of every dollar. The rest has to come from the District’s general fund, which is the same pot of money used to pay teachers, aides and staff.”

Farkas also noted that hiring additional drivers has been a priority for the District, but “when Pinellas County Schools pays their drivers about $4 more per hour than we do, it’s hard to attract more.”

He added, “If enough parents are willing to share the cost of that additional bus, it is possible we could at least look into it.”

Farkas also noted that Hill is responsible for the plan of how to get all bused students to and from school on time, “and we already have to drop kids off at Pride and then the driver has to go right back out and pick up the second group of kids and drop off again.” The buses also have to drop off the first set of kids at home and return to school to then drop off the second group in the afternoon, too.

“That creates another problem,” Farkas said. “If we have to have a third set of kids picked up and dropped off by that same bus, how early in the morning would the first set of kids have to be dropped off at Pride in order for all three busloads get to school on time each day?”

Parents who are driving their kids to school are not allowed to leave them there until 7 a.m., English said. And, Farkas added, “if a bus had to drop off the first ‘load’ of kids at 6:30, we would have to make sure that there was proper supervision for those kids to keep them safe. So, as you can see, it’s a logistical problem for us. It’s not an impossible one to work out, but it is an issue.”

Rec Center To Help?
County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s legislative aide Rich Reedy (far left) discusses transportation issues at Pride Elementary with members of the community at the June 7 meeting.

Reedy mentioned that he believes the new indoor county recreation center now in the planning stages adjacent to Pride would actually help with the number of parents currently queuing in line at the end of each school day once it opens — in 2024 — “because we will have additional parking over what currently is available (on a gravel parking area at Kinnan Park) at that site.” English said that the parking lot for that new rec center also would need to be available for Pride parents in the morning, or the parent queue would be even worse before school starts.

Reedy said he didn’t see why that would be a problem for the county. 

“We already do a lot of co-locating with the School District at other locations,” he said. “Plus, the rec center would not be in use during school hours, so I can’t imagine that would be an issue.”

Others in attendance also wanted the panel to find ways for the county, city and school district to address speeding on KInnan St., including adding more street lights, cameras and even, possibly, a roundabout where Kinnan meets Bassett Creek Dr.

The panel also said that local residents should write to their elected state legislators — State Senator Danny Burgess and State Rep. Fentrice Driskell — to help address the two-mile-radius law and the lack of proper state funding for public schools. Viera said he feels that because of Florida’s private school voucher system, “public education has been abandoned by our state legislature.”    

Story Update: Should Pebble Creek Be Redeveloped? Here Are Both Sides!

There was an unintended mistake in the introduction I wrote in the previous version of this story that appeared in the June 27 edition (Vol. 31, Issue #13) of New Tampa Neighborhood News. I apologize for any confusion or inconvenience the error may have caused. Below is the corrected copy. Please also note that I have added below the date and time of the Hillsborough County Commission meeting where the commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposed zoning change:

Some Pebble Creek residents have fought hard against the closing of the community’s open-to-the-public golf club and the potential redevelopment of the golf course property that would replace the currently vacant golf course land with additional homes. The judge in the tortious interference lawsuit between golf course owner Bill Place and his Ace Golf vs. Leslie Green of the Save Pebble Creek Group had not yet rendered a decision in that case. However, the redevelopment plan presented by GL Homes — which is planning to purchase the vacated golf course property from Ace Golf — has been approved by a Hillsborough County zoning hearing master and is expected to be put to a vote before the County Commission on Tuesday, July 18, at 9 a.m. Until then, below are the arguments for and against GL Homes’ redevelopment plans, presented by the two sides of the ongoing redevelopment dispute. — GN

Why GL Homes’ Redevelopment Plan Is Good For Us

Re: An Open Letter to All of Our Fellow Residents of Pebble Creek

My wife, Lynn, our two sons, and I are proud residents of Pebble Creek. We serve the community in various ways, such as participating on the HOA Board and multiple committees and working on our Neighborhood Watch program.

For over a year, many of us in the neighborhood have been collaborating with GL Homes on its plans to transform the Pebble Creek Golf Course into an upscale single-family home community. Our goal is to protect our community’s property values by replacing the eyesore in our backyard with an aesthetically pleasing, low-density residential development. Throughout the process, GL Homes listened to our numerous requests and constantly revised their plans. 

Like many of my neighbors, I believe we now have a plan that will positively impact the quality of life for everyone in Pebble Creek for years to come. I was pleased — and not surprised — that the plan received recent approval from P&Z (Planning & Zoning) and the County Staff. 

On Tuesday, July 18, at 9 a.m., GL Homes will go before the County Commission and ask for final approval of its plans. We invite you to join us in protecting Pebble Creek and sharing your voice that day. 

Why should you support this plan? Here are some facts:

• Pebble Creek Golf Course will not reopen. It was a neighborhood golf course that was not supported by the neighborhood. An expert shared with us a 2023 study that indicates a golf course like Pebble Creek needs a minimum of 150 neighborhood members to survive. At the time of its closing, there were only 13 members from the Pebble Creek community! I think it’s time to acknowledge that golf is no longer as popular here — and throughout the country — as it once was, and we should focus on other ways to improve our neighborhood. 

• Our property values will be positively impacted by being adjacent to a community with a beautiful entry, landscaping, and all detached single-family homes with sales expected to average in the mid $600,000s. It’s certainly better than a closed, dilapidated golf course that creates safety issues and fosters uncertainty in potential buyers’ minds. 

• All new development creates traffic. However, I appreciate GL Homes’ efforts to mitigate this impact by negotiating with the County to have one community entrance instead of two. That will significantly reduce congestion and mitigate traffic flow on our roads.

• The golf course is an excellent site to redevelop, and the GL Homes plan will create a healthier neighborhood environment, ecological system, and wildlife habitat. Of course, GL will have to work hand in hand with the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) to ensure that redevelopment is done properly and in compliance with all regulations. 

I truly believe that years from now we will look back on July 18th as a landmark day for Pebble Creek. Stand up and protect your property values. Visit http://pebblecreekfacts.com for more information on the hearing and ways to send your support directly to the Commission. — Lance Ignatowicz

Why GL Homes’ Redevelopment Plan Is Wrong For Us

Pebble Creek as we know it is in danger of drastic changes. Save Pebble Creek is not just me, but many residents and volunteers who believe that adding more houses to Pebble Creek will adversely affect our quality of life. 

We are far from the minority, as evidenced by the letter writing and petition turned in to the county. By our analysis of the letters of concern we found just hours before the zoning board hearing, a whopping 74% of the people that wrote are opposed. 

Pebble Creek is an older, well-established neighborhood. Many of us fear the remediation of the soil, the construction period, the increased density and the impact all this will have.

Pebble Creek is already the most densely populated neighborhood in New Tampa. A simple view of maps on your phone reveals this obvious fact. The proposed community may be less dense than the surrounding area but placed in the middle of it increases the density of the entire area. The traffic congestion at our exits can only increase. We fear that this will overburden our existing fire and emergency medical services and our schools. 

To pave over the golf course and place homes on it will destroy the community’s main green space.

Why, if we cannot use the green space currently would we still want to keep it? We have an abundance of wildlife here on the course and it would greatly be impacted by the disruption from construction vehicles and noise, the loss of their land to homes with fences and or enclosures, and adding of paved roads. We have blue herons, egrets, spoonbills, sandhill cranes and turtles, to name a few of the creatures that may choose to leave. See pictures by Larry Feldman at SavePebbleCreek.com.

Replacing “old growth trees” that have canopied limbs and leaves with palm trees will eliminate nesting habitats for birds, squirrels, raccoons, etc.

Years of construction noise and dust will affect the surrounding communities as well. The soil samples are not adequate and a soil remediation plan has not been approved. Soil blending, where contaminated soil is mixed with clean soil, was not recommend. See Emma Symborski’s impassioned and informative speech at the zoning meeting on SavePebbleCreek.com or on YouTube.

It is important that this land is not rezoned to allow for further building. Then, hopefully, a more favorable use of the land could be agreed-upon and pursued. The golf course can be brought back. In fact, a golf course close by was reopened after years of being closed. Golf is far from a dying sport.

NGF (the National Golf Foundation) states that 25.6 million Americans over 6 years old played on a golf course and another 15.5 million participated in off-course activities like driving ranges and golf entertainment venues like Topgolf in 2022. The NGF also says that there has been a 40% increase in potential golfers over the past 5 years.

So, I call on all the surrounding communities Hunters Green, Heritage Isles, Cross Creek, Live Oak, Grand Hampton, Arbor Green, West Meadows, Richmond Place and Cory Lake Isles to help Pebble Creek. You will be affected, too. ABC Action News said that slow EMS response times may have to do with our congested roads. You can help by calling the commissioners and telling them that you oppose Agenda Item #23-013.2

 Our band of community volunteers is up against a big corporate builder with lots of funds, a law firm to represent them at the hearings and a PR firm for their marketing. We welcome the community to join us and help. Together we can Save Pebble Creek!

If you’d like to volunteer, contact: savepebblecreek@yahoo.com. To contribute to our GoFundMe campaign, visit https://GoFundme/626e151. Need a ride or can provide one to the hearing on July 18? Please contact Mike at: pcchamp15@outlook.com — Leslie Green