The Neighborhood News Is Looking To Pay More Writers!

Whether you or someone you know is 16, 36 or 76 but has always loved to write — and would like to get paid for those efforts — I hope you’ll read and respond to this editorial. 

As I have periodically throughout my 32 years of owning and being the editor of the Neighborhood News, I am looking once again for additional freelance writers to help me continue to provide more news and information about the New Tampa and explosively-still-growing Wesley Chapel areas than any other local medium — whether print, broadcast or online. 

Even if you’ve never had anything published before, send me your resumé and something you’ve written — on any topic — both of which you have checked carefully for spelling and grammatical errors, to my attention (see ad, above) at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. 

If you are sending a clip, please don’t send me three or four. All I need is ONE piece of 300 to no more than 1,000 words that indicates your ability to write in English (not text-speak), tell a story with full sentences and, if possible, one that uses a few quotes that shows that you know how to use them (and quotation marks) properly. 

Please also note that if you’re going to send me a link to a web page or social media site, that the first thing I see needs to be your strongest work because I probably won’t get to the second item on the site/page if the first thing I see doesn’t grab my attention. 

So, whether you have a journalism or English background or not, or any professional writing experience or not, all I am looking for are people who are interested in being part of the Neighborhood News family who are willing to learn. 

In other words, if you think you already know everything there is to know about writing, this probably isn’t the right freelance opportunity for you. That’s why I’m fine working with young people — as long as they’re willing to work, follow directions and can submit stories on deadline. Just please be prepared for a lot of edits and comments about each piece from me. 

If you’re interested in writing news stories, I’m particularly interested in people who are willing to do actual research for those stories, not just regurgitate what they find on Chat GPT or any other Artificial Intelligence app. 

All successful applicants also should be prepared to have to write the Business Feature stories that appear towards the center of each issue, even if you tell me you’re more interested in news, sports, features, human interest or online stories. 

You’ll still get to write those, too, but our advertisers tell us that the Business Features provide them with the best response they receive from any local media, so I do still need them. 

So, send me something and let’s go from there. Good luck — and no phone calls, please! 

Tampa City Ballet Hosts An Amazing ‘Inside The Studio’ Wine & Cheese Social!

I’m so glad our photographer Charmaine George was able to be on hand for the “Inside the Studio” wine & cheese event at the Tampa City Ballet (TCB) studio at 15365 Amberly Dr., in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms. The event was hosted by TCB founder and artistic director Paula Nuñez (right in photo) and Board member Marguerite Pinard (left in same photo) and featured demonstration dances by TCB’s super-talented professional dancers, as well as a vocal performance by Coloratura Soprano Daniela Mass, (below left), plus wine, cheese and many TCB supporters and joyous attendees.

Up next for TCB is “Dance Now,” Tampa Bay’s (FREE) Dance Festival, with hundreds of dancers from Bay-area dance troupes of all genres. It will be held at Tampa’s Water Works Park (next to Ulele Restaurant) on Sunday, March 15, 4 p.m. For more info, see the ad below or visit TampaCityBallet.org. — GN

Olive Garden & Seasons 52 Coming To WC Blvd. At Gateway Blvd.!

Yard House Unconfirmed But Now Rumored To Be The Front Runner To Replace Bahama Breeze On S.R. 56 

Above is an absolutely not-to-scale NN composite map showing the existing businesses on the south side of Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. between Old Pasco Rd. & Gateway Blvd., with the site plan for the now-under-construction Gateway Plaza Retail Center superimposed to show the approximate location of Olive Garden (believed to be “Restaurant #1” on map) and Seasons 52 (believed to be “Restaurant #2”). The project also will include a dental office that will have its entrance off Gateway Blvd. The map shows Centerline Dr., which starts behind Slim Chickens, intersecting with the new plaza, but does not properly show where WC Blvd. & Gateway Blvd. connect to it. (NN-created map sources: Google Maps & Pasco County)

 The restaurant rumor mill in the Wesley Chapel area has been swirling even more recently, with the previously announced planned closure and rebranding of the Bahama Breeze Island Grill on the north side of S.R. 56. 

At almost the same time, the previously announced Olive Garden restaurant, located at the intersection of Wesley Chapel Blvd. (aka S.R. 54), Gateway Blvd. and Centerline Dr. (see map), began clearing the land for the Gateway Plaza Retail Center with Olive Garden, a dental office and a second previously unnamed restaurant. 

After reading on one of the local Facebook groups that the second restaurant was going to be Seasons 52, I then had my research guy and correspondent Joel Provenzano look into the development plan and Joel did find that Seasons 52 is indeed the second restaurant coming to that site — even though Seasons 52 also was announced as one of the Darden Restaurant brands that could replace Bahama Breeze on S.R. 56. 

We will keep you posted on the progress of Olive Garden and Seasons 52, but having those two Darden Brands now coming to Wesley Chapel Blvd. less than 5 miles from Bahama Breeze, seems to have narrowed even further the possible options to replace the island-themed eatery across from the Tampa Premium Outlets. 

The Wesley Chapel area’s existing Darden Brands already include Longhorn Steakhouse, Chuy’s, Cheddars Scratch Kitchen and now Olive Garden and Seasons 52. 

That leaves only Darden’s most upscale restaurants — Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and The Capital Grille, plus Yard House sports pub, with Yard House rumored (also in online chat we’ve seen) to be the front runner. But, with Bahama Breeze still 12-18 months from being repurposed and no official announcement yet forthcoming from Darden, all we can say is we’ll keep you posted. 

Eight Turn CrĂŞpe Brings Unique Japanese Street Food To Wesley Chapel

If you’ve been wanting to try something truly different from the norm in our area — whether you want a delicious hand-held savory crêpe filled with crispy pork belly, chicken teriyaki or even smoked salmon and cream cheese, or a sumptuous dessert crêpe with Dubai chocolate or lychee, raspberry and almonds, you probably should go check out the new Eight Turn Crêpe, which celebrated its Grand Opening (photo above) at 2653 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., Suite 116, on Jan. 31. 

This location was previously occupied by 35 Below ice cream, in the same plaza as Dickey’s BBQ, Umu Japanese & Thai and Sorbo coffee — which is interesting because Eight Turn CrĂŞpe is an homage to Japanese street food, but offers items that are completely different from anything served at either Umu or Sorbo. 

Let’s start with the company itself, which began with a single location in New York City’s Soho district in 2013 and is now up to about a dozen locations in New York, California, Texas, Idaho, Washington state and Virginia. The BBD location is the first to open in Florida and the chain’s VP of franchising Steve Kogan was on hand (left in top photo) for the opening of franchise owner Lien Nguyen’s (center in same photo) Wesley Chapel location. 

The former ice cream shop is small but attractive, with only a few tables inside and a few more outside, but the stars of the show are the super-tasty, naturally gluten-free, rice flour crêpes themselves. You can order them in either the classic Japanese cone shape (right photo above) or rolled and sliced sushi-style, like the crispy Tokyo pork belly crêpe Charmaine and I shared (left) — an amazing mix of flavors, with kimchi, avocado, lettuce, crispy shallots, sesame seeds and Japanese mayo. 

In addition to the options I mentioned above, there’s also Thai chicken, bacon, egg & cheese and Philly cheesesteak savory options and all of the sweet crĂŞpes are layered with different flavors of custard cream — and most of them are stuffed with fresh fruits, including strawberries, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, mango and lychee, with pistachios, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, crunchy flakes, granola and more. 

I incorrectly assumed that the sweet crĂŞpes also would include gelato, but even though only two of the sweet crĂŞpes on the menu include a scoop of vanilla gelato, there are a number of other gelato flavors you can add to any sweet crĂŞpe on the menu. Best of all, you also can design your own sweet or savory crĂŞpe, using any of the aforementioned ingredients. 

Eight Turn CrĂŞpe also has a large variety of bubble and fresh fruit teas, “super food” smoothies and creamy Japanese milk shakes. Charmaine and I loved the cherry blossom milkshake we shared — it was bursting with real cherry flavor. 

I’m hoping our readers will find and frequent Eight Turn CrĂŞpe. It’s truly different from anything else in our area — and totally tasty. 

For info, call (813) 867-6413 or visit EightTurnCrepe.com. — GN, all photos by Charmaine George 

Mater Academy — The (Charter) School You (Probably) Didn’t Know You Were Getting!

If you happened to be driving down County Line Rd. a few weeks ago, just past Grand Hampton, you might have done a double take. We sure did. There, seemingly out of nowhere, was a brand-new traffic signal (photo below) going in at Dunham Station Dr. Curious enough on its own — but what really caught our attention was why it was being installed…especially since it didn’t appear anywhere on Pasco County’s latest comprehensive transportation projects map. 

As it turns out, the signal isn’t random at all. It’s there to serve a huge, previously-under-the-radar K-12 public charter school quietly rising (top photo) at the south end of Wesley Chapel, about a mile west of Northwood. 

And when we say “quietly,” we actually mean very quietly. 

The school is called Mater Academy at Northwood, a tuition-free K-12 public charter school slated to open in August 2026. Until recently, most residents — including us — had no idea it was coming. Its Facebook page has had just nine followers since November, and there’s been almost no public chatter about it online. 

Honestly, if it weren’t for that new traffic signal on County Line Rd., we might not have even known about the Mater Academy until it opened its doors. 

The site is impressively hidden. When we drove back there out of sheer curiosity (and, of course, our ongoing commitment to nosy neighborhood journalism), we fully expected to find yet another three-story, climate-controlled self-storage facility being built. 

Instead? Thankfully…a school. In Wesley Chapel. Actual, real-deal education infrastructure. 

Though to be fair, that spot would have been the perfect place for self-storage. No one would have ever seen it back there. 

Where Exactly Is This Located? 

Mater Academy at Northwood is being built on a 15-acre site at the northern end of Dunham Station Dr., tucked behind the Woodside Trace townhomes, just north of County Line Rd. It’s barely visible from the main road. 

That detail matters, because Dunham Station Dr. also serves as the second, residents-only entrance and exit for Grand Hampton. This means many Grand Hampton residents are probably thrilled about the new signal — especially since it’s just 0.3 miles west of Grand Hampton’s main entrance signal, which only first went live in July 2024. 

Yes, two signals. Less than a third of a mile apart. On already-packed County Line Rd. 

DĂŠjĂ  Vu On County Line Rd. 

If this sounds familiar, it should. This story is very much a sequel to our 2024 “Cheers & Jeers” story about the new Grand Hampton entrance traffic signal. Back then, residents were split — some cheering a long-overdue safety improvement, others grumbling about backups and timing issues. 

That article also pointed out what long-time locals already know: Two-lane County Line Rd. may still feel rural, but it hasn’t been truly rural for a long time. With growing neighborhoods, schools, townhomes and commercial development, traffic volumes — and turning movement times — have steadily increased. 

The new Dunham Station Dr. signal continues that trend. And unlike the Grand Hampton signal, this one comes with a new westbound right turn lane (from the Pasco side) and full pedestrian crosswalks, clearly designed to manage the traffic that a large school inevitably brings. 

But, will County Line Rd. ever get proper, full- length arterial sidewalks? That’s still to be determined— maybe when (or if) it ever gets widened to four lanes. But, with the North Tampa Christian Academy and a brand new Primrose School (as we reported last issue) already adding traffic on this two-lane roadway, there’s no doubt that another 700-2,500 students is not going to make traveling on County Line Rd. any easier. 

How Big A School Is It? 

Big. Like, really big. (See rendering right) 

According to construction plans dated September 2025, the school will be built in seven total phases: 

• Phase 1 includes a 3-story, 38,000-sq-ft classroom building at the entrance, currently under construction 

• Phases 2-4 will add three more 3-story standalone classroom buildings and a gym, bringing the total to five buildings and 139,000 sq. ft. overall 

• Phase 5 adds outdoor basketball courts and playgrounds 

• Phase 6 adds a full-size sports field and an additional baseball diamond 

• Phase 7 includes the 12,000-sq-ft, one-story gymnasium at the rear of the site 

In total, the school is planned to serve up to a maximum of 2,500 students — 1,200 elementary, 600 middle and 700 high school. 

Each student body will have 30-minute staggered start and end times. Current plans show: 

• Elementary starting first at 7:30 a.m. 

• High school ending last at 3:30 p.m. 

Those details will likely evolve as construction progresses and subsequent phases get built-out. 

Parking, Pick-Up & The ‘Shuffle’ 

The site includes 269 parking spaces and a three-lane-wide car drop-off and pick-up loop for most of the property, narrowing to two lanes at the end. If it operates like other charter schools, don’t be surprised if that triple-wide drop-off doubles as overflow parking during events. 

It’s still unclear how many students will be accommodated in Phase 1 — although the building’s size indicates a likely maximum of 700 students in that Phase 1 building. 

We also couldn’t reach anyone who could tell us whether or not all grade levels will open immediately. However, the school’s online “Student Interest Form” already lists all grades as options in the pull-down menu. 

What Is Mater Academy? 

Mater Academy is a Miami-based charter school network that, according to its website — MaterAcademy.org — serves 29,000+ students in 44 charter schools in Florida, Nevada and Ohio. The company’s mission statement reads: 

“Mater provides a safe learning environment where academics are facilitated by teachers, administrators, parents and the community which enables students to become confident, self-directed learners in a technologically-rich, college preparatory environment through rigor, relevance and relationships.” 

The Takeaway 

So yes — the new traffic signal on County Line Rd. is about traffic. But, it’s also the first visible sign of a major new educational development quietly taking shape just out of sight in Wesley Chapel. 

Motorists should also expect another new signal to start taking shape soon— two miles to the west at Cypress Creek Rd., as this one is shown in the county’s work plan for 2026. 

So, between these new signals, growing communities, and now a massive K-12 charter campus, one thing is clear: County Line Rd. is continuing its slow transformation from “sleepy connector” to full-blown growth corridor. 

And apparently, sometimes the traffic light really is the source of the news. 

Parents interested in learning more about the new Mater Academy can find some information, as well as the “Student Interest Form” at MaterNorthwood.org. We did not know at our press time about any application deadline for the 2026-27 school year.