Category: Featured

Nibbles & Bytes!

Have You Seen Our Latest Dining Videos?
If you’re looking for updates on all of the new restaurants in Wesley Chapel (and New Tampa — and even beyond), look no further than our “Neighborhood News” page on Facebook.

Because so many new eateries keep opening in our distribution areas, we have increased the number of dining-oriented videos we’ve been releasing, including my latest “Neighborhood Dining News” segment, which was shot at the getting-ready-to-open Falabella Family Bistro, but also includes sneak peeks at the coming-soon Ice Dreammm Shop and Bluefin Sushi, plus food pics from the now-open Omnivorous kitchen inside Double Branch Artisanal Ales. All of these newcomers are located in the ever-expanding Village at The Grove, but there also are updates on the new Token Ramen at the Shops at Wiregrass, as well as from the new Señor Tequila (see story, left) in the former Bonefish Grill location on BBD.

Another well-received recent dining video was a look at the truly delicious Vesh Bistro at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center, even though it’s in Zephyrhills. It’s my pleasure to keep you informed, both in print and online, about all of these new places because I truly love sampling them — almost always on my own nickel.

Pick Of The Week: Vesh Bistro At SVB!
I remember when I first met Mark Vesh of Vesh Catering. It was at a groundbreaking event for AdventHealth Wesley Chapel and I remember being so impressed with the food being served, I asked to meet him. Since then, I have enjoyed Mark’s delicious finger foods at any number of local events, but until recently, I had never had a complete meal created by him and his staff.

And, to date, I have not been disappointed. From appetizers like the ahi tuna bruschetta and specialties like the cauliflower crust caprese & pesto flatbread and some of the best chicken salad in town on a baked-in-house croissant and so much more, the food at the Vesh Bistro is always on-point. There’s even an all-you-care-to-eat Sunday brunch buffet with an omelet station, perfect candied bacon and a rotating menu of lunch favorites.

The Vesh Bistro is at the SVB Tennis Center (6585 Simons Rd., Zephryhills). Call (813) 517-0707, visit VeshCatering.com or watch the video on our Facebook page.

Checking Out The New Señor Tequila!
I’m pretty confident that our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page was the first to tell anyone (on May 25) about the opening of Señor Tequila in the former Bonefish Grill location in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of S.R. 56.

Very little seems to have been changed inside the new Mexican restaurant, the fourth link in a local chain which has existing locations on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. and in Westchase, as well as Winter Springs, and after sampling a few menu items, the food and service are both pretty good.

Jannah and I enjoyed the sizzling fajitas for two on our first visit and photographer Charmaine George and I also gave thumbs-up to the steak tacos, the steak Tampiqueño (ribeye steak grilled with onions) and the pollo ranchero (grilled chicken breast with sautéed onions, tomatoes, jalapeños and cilantro). Also try the house-made chips with semi-spicy salsa and the full liquor bar with an impressive tequila/margarita selection.

Wesley Chapel’s Señor Tequila is located at 1640 BBD Blvd. For more info, visit TheSenorTequila.com or call (813) 428-5411 & please tell them I sent you.

Batter & Dough Closes Storefront!
So, while scrolling through Facebook, I noticed that Batter & Dough, the unique dessert and breakfast place located on S.R. 56, in the same Cypressview Square plaza as Capital Tacos, announced that it had closed its storefront location to concentrate on catering. The Facebook post I saw said, “We thank you for all the memories you created with us. Words cannot express our gratitude to the love and support we have received. We have closed our location but we will continue to make large catering orders. You can contact us through IG, FB or at Thebatterandough@gmail.com.”

While I will miss their waffle ice cream sandwiches, I may have to order some of their great desserts like this Chocolatey Peanut Buttery Pie (photo) — and others — sometime soon.

Pebble Creek Golf Course To Shut Down July 31

The letters went out last weekend, but were probably not a surprise to anyone living in Pebble Creek.

The golf course, the oldest one in the area, is shutting down for good on July 31.

Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) owner Bill Place, who has been trying for years to sell the 6,436-yard golf course he bought in 2005, says he can’t continue losing money on something with no future. After a few failed attempts to finalize a deal with developers the past few years, as well as unsuccessfully trying late last year to get a brownfield designation from the county that would have helped cover almost 3/4 of the cost to decontaminate the soil, Place says he was out of options.

The club, heading into what is usually its slowest time of the year from August through October, currently has only 13 full-time members.

“Even though we had a little bit of a bump from Covid-19, I’ve already started to see it back off as people go back to work,” Place said. “We’re on a path to to repeat 2018 and 2019, when we lost money those years.”

Place also said merely maintaining the course had become financially untenable. Built in 1967, he says the course still has its original irrigation system and “it failed miserably during this recent drought.

“It was time.”

Place says he has quietly told brokers in the last six years he was looking to sell the golf course. After having his brownfield designation rejected in December 2020, Place has continued entertaining suitors.

DR Horton, one of the original interested buyers of the PCGC, had done preliminary testing two years ago and discovered contaminants on the golf course before withdrawing its interest. A brownfield site is a property that is contaminated, which hinders efforts to expand or redevelop it. But there are significant tax credits offered to help clean the property up.

Without those tax credits, Place will likely foot the bill. He has paid $150,000 to have the site tested by an environmental testing firm, and expects results this week. A preliminary estimate, he says, indicated it would then take 6-9 months to decontaminate the soil. That could cost Place $1 million.

But he has potential developers lined up — he will choose one in the next two months — and says he is including the two Pebble Creek homeowners associations, who serve roughly 1,300 homeowners, in the process. Regardless, he expects a significant number of residents to protest when rezoning the 149-acre property gets underway.

“No matter what, we are trying every which way we can to work with the HOAs,” Place says. “I know they would rather have the golf course, but we are looking for the best possible solution.”

pebble creek golf club

Downtown Wesley Chapel?

Downtown Wesley Chapel.

It may not currently, or officially, exist, but is interesting enough of a concept that three area developers — JD Porter, Beat Kahli and Mark Gold — have all suggested that their current projects will, in fact, be downtown Wesley Chapel.

So, who will it be?

Whose project will possess most of the qualities that typically define a small town’s downtown — pedestrian friendly, open public spaces with generous amounts of greenery, a cluster of retail and restaurants with attractive storefronts and most important (according to North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) CEO Hope Kennedy), people? It depends upon who you ask.

“I think, ultimately, downtown Wesley Chapel will be wherever the people say it is,” Kennedy says.

Currently, Kennedy thinks the closest thing to downtown Wesley Chapel is the area around the Shops at Wiregrass outdoor mall, which also boasts the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital (and the many jobs that come with it), the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, high-end car dealerships, hotels and a plethora of retail and restaurants.

But, Wiregrass Ranch is still developing. Its town center — the community’s downtown, when it is completed — hasn’t even broken ground. And, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and The Grove also promise that big things are on the way, and a newer, bigger and different downtown Wesley Chapel could emerge.

Here’s how the three developments shape up as downtown cadidates:

WIREGRASS RANCH

JD Porter, whose family owns most of the land in Wiregrass Ranch, is not terribly concerned about which community will be home to Wesley Chapel’s official downtown.

“I don’t think you can force a downtown,” he says. “I think if it’s thought through and done with purpose, I think there will definitely be a downtown in Wesley Chapel. I just don’t think you can count on a downtown popping up in the next six months, the next year or anything like that.”

Porter says a community’s downtown must come about organically, and he thinks that is what’s happening in Wiregrass Ranch. While he has plans for a town center a little northeast of the Sports Campus on the yet-to-be-finished Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., construction is a ways off. Instead, he says, the area around his town center is filling in nicely, with Raymond James Financial (and the 700+ jobs it promises) beginning construction recently and joining the number of housing subdivisions, the Sports Campus, the mall, Pasco-Hernando State College and AHWC as walkable and bikable destinations.

There have even been talks of light rail or another form of public transportation within the Wiregrass Ranch community.

Porter thinks a 5-10 year timeframe is reasonable for his vision of downtown to emerge. That vision includes walkability, 150,000-200,000 square feet of retail, 200,000-300,000 square feet of office space and 800 to 2,000 residential units.

He has compared it to Georgia’s Buckhead development near Atlanta in the past.

“It will come naturally,” he says. “We’re getting the density, getting all the different uses coming together that will create the downtown area.”

Porter says it has been a thoughtful process putting together Wiregrass Ranch, and the town center will be its jewel.

“Almost everyone in Pasco has a ‘town center,’” he says, “basically comprised of a Publix and couple of dry cleaners and maybe a smoothie shop. That’s not a town center.”

Porter has bigger goals. Downtown Wesley Chapel may not be enough.

“I look at our town center as being Downtown Pasco County, Downtown Wesley Chapel, Downtown North Tampa,” Porter says. “But it’s got to mature naturally, it can’t be forced. We have some stuff going on. We’ve upped our timeline. We have some exciting things coming down the pike.”

AVALON PARK WEST

When developer Beat Kahli announced upcoming plans for a downtown core in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (APWC) in February 2020, it was heralded by many in the media as Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

And that’s exactly what Kahli thinks it will be.

Kahli is investing more than $700 million in the project — with a $33-million commitment from Pasco County -— which he says could break ground in the next few months.

The APWC (formerly Avalon Park West) downtown will be located on the north side of S.R. 54, less than a mile west of Eiland Blvd. (just west of Zephyrhills), but despite its distance from most of Wesley Chapel, will look the most like a small-town downtown, based on its renderings.

The downtown area will be a mixed-use development on 215 acres. The entire APWC project is being built on 1,800 acres, the same size as its successful Avalon Park Orlando. It will eventually have 4,800 residential units (it currently has 1,000) and 15,000 residents. Many resident won’t have to leave — they can live, work and play in APWC.

“We don’t build subdivisions,” Kahli says, “we build towns.”

And, while many people might assume that the downtown core is just for residents of APWC, it will be open to everyone.

Kahli says the area will have two of the most important qualities in a downtown —walkability and mixed-use buildings.

After a 10-year buildout, the APWC downtown development will have roughly 2,700 residential units, 165,000 square feet of Class “A” office space and 190,400 square feet of commercial development.

The “neo-tradional” project will include four-story buildings, with neighborhood commercial on the bottom floor and the other three floors reserved for residential.

There will be multiple parking decks and sidewalks, and four freestanding Class A office buildings, which are typically larger, and will feature top-of-the-line amenities and high-income tenants.

“Compared to other large projects in the (Wesley Chapel) area, which are generally single-use projects with several hundred or several thousand single family homes, and then somewhere else maybe some apartments, and then somewhere else maybe a mall or strip mall, somewhere else maybe a school,” Kahli says, “we are integrating it all. We’re building full towns. That’s our approach in Wesley Chapel, and wherever we go.”

THE GROVE

The Porters have been in Wiregrass Ranch since forever, and developer Beat Kahli has patiently held onto the land that will be Avalon Park Wesley Chapel for almost 25 years. That makes The Grove’s developer Mark Gold the new kid on the block.

But, Gold is no rookie when it comes to buying up older projects and making them relevant again. Even when he purchased The Grove for $64 million in 2018, he was not shy about calling it Wesley Chapel’s future downtown.

Despite arriving late to the party, with The Grove project already well under way, he will get the first crack at cementing his 254-acre property as the area’s downtown.

He is pouring more than $100 million into that dream, taking Wesley Chapel’s major shopping center (it was built in 2007, a year before the Shops at Wiregrass) and transforming into something the area hasn’t seen before.

The old Cobb movie theater has been renovated and is open, the long-ignored area Gold calls “The Village” has been revitalized and KRATE, an innovative retail and restaurant park made up of converted hip, reimagined shipping containers, is rounding into form.

While others see The Grove as more of an entertainment and retail district, Gold takes offense. He says the project is much more, with more than 600 homes approved for construction just north of The Grove, as well as apartment complexes in the surrounding area. Other businesses will come in, bringing more jobs. He sees The Grove as a destination for residents as far away as Tampa and Orlando.

“It will be the No. 1 destination for families, and they will be able to shop, eat, walk, play mini-golf and many other things,” Gold says. “There will be no need to go anyplace else.”

Avalon Park West Beat Kahli JD Porter mark gold The Grove Wiregrass Ranch

Mahana Fresh To Offer Free Bowls On June 12 — Don’t Miss It!

The fact that restaurants serving a variety of bowls have taken over the collective consciousness (and appetites) of the local community hasn’t been lost on Ryan Mortti, now the co-owner of Mahana Fresh, located just north of I-75 off Doña Michelle Dr. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa.

Ryan, who also owns his own construction company, recognized the need to do more to capture more customers, especially with multiple new bowl-oriented restaurants either having opened recently or getting ready to open within a couple of miles of his Mahana Fresh location — which is one of three in the Bradenton-based mini-chain.

To that end, Ryan has brought in an experienced partner, Chris Courtney-James, who was responsible the last several years for making sure that Dunkin’ Donuts locations that hadn’t been meeting company expectations were brought up to speed. More important, however, is that Chris also spent years in the kitchens of restaurants across the Tampa Bay area and, in his words, “isn’t afraid to spend a lot of time cooking at a hot grill.”

In addition, Ryan and Chris have a special offer that they hope will bring in plenty of locals — two hours of free Mahana-sized bowls on Saturday, June 12, from noon-1 p.m. and from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. You can pick a bowl, any bowl — one per person, for dine-in only.

Photographer Charmaine George and I spent some time recently at the local Mahana Fresh and even though both of us already loved the food, we were impressed with the incredible precision with which the bowl-oriented eatery prepared for a large catering order — as well as with the delicious aromas that emanated from those grills while tender steaks and marinated chicken breasts and thighs were cooked over the open flame.

An Amazing Selection!

For those who have never tried Mahana Fresh, you shouldn’t wait until June 12 to check it out. Here’s how it works. You choose from three sizes — Kids (with 1 base, 1 veggie, 1 protein & your choice of sauce), Mahana (1 base, 2 veggies, 1 protein & sauce) and the Big Mahana (2 bases, 2 veggies, 2 proteins & sauce).

The bases include coconut or cauliflower rice, a basmati rice blend, sesame noodles, spinach or my favorite, the kale crunch salad.

Your proteins include marinated ahi tuna, plus Key West, BBQ or (Jannah’s favorite) teriyaki chicken, plus spicy grilled tofu and tender, grilled-to-order steak (my favorite).

The incredible veggies (above photo) include roasted mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes, Buffalo cauliflower, garlicky cilantro green beans and my two favorites, the sesame ginger broccoli and the honey sriracha Brussels sprouts.

Available sauces include coconut sweet potato, creamy wasabi and mine and Jannah’s two favorites, the cilantro vinaigrette and the citrus ginger.

For a small extra charge, add roasted almonds, avocado smash, parmesan cheese, Jannah’s favorite feta cheese and my fave, the Mediterranean tomatoes.

Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with any of them, but if you have any trouble deciding, Mahana Fresh has now introduced “Signature Bowls,” including everything from a “Keto Surfer Bowl” (cauliflower rice, sesame ginger broccoli, roasted mush-rooms, grilled steak & cilantro vinaigrette) to a “Veggie Vacay Bowl” (coconut rice, sesame ginger broccoli, roasted mushrooms, sesame garlic tofu and coconut sweet potato sauce) and The Big Kahuna Bowl (basmati rice blend, spinach, Buffalo cauliflower, garlicky cilantro green beans, BBQ chicken, grilled steak and cilantro lime vinaigrette).

And, all of Mahana Fresh’s house-made desserts are pretty tasty, especially for gluten-free — and include chocolate chip cookies, zucchini brownies and snickerdoodle cookies.

As for beverages, Mahana Fresh has done away with its unique beer taps, but still has fountain sodas, Pure Leaf sweet and unsweet tea, regular and strawberry lemonade, a variety of Bubly flavored sparkling waters and Bai flavored antioxidant infusion drinks.

Mahana Fresh is located at 17512 Doña Michelle Dr. and is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. every day. For more information, call (727) 238-9967 or visit MahanaFresh.com.

Bringing Mini-Golf To The Grove!

As mentioned earlier, Ryan also owns his own construction company and has been busy working on not only completing many of the repurposed shipping containers at the KRATE container park at The Grove, but also on bringing a cool mini-golf course to the area near The Grove theater, with his brother Matt Mortti and his sister Melissa Schachtner and her husband Andrew Schachtner.

“It won’t have windmills but it will have a mountain with waterfalls and fire, plus cool trick shots,” Ryan says, adding that the tropical-themed course also will have a tiki hut restaurant that serves beer and wine.

bowls Mahana Fresh New Tampa

College Students Host ‘Zoomhall’ For New Tampa Study

New Tampa is at its best when it comes together to fight for important additions to the community, like the 2017 budget battle that led to an expansion of the New Tampa Rec Center.

Three Master of Social Work (MSW) students at Southeastern University in Lakeland hosted a New Tampa Town Hall meeting on Zoom, hoping to discuss the community’s potential for growth.

The final verdict? To grow, you need to connect.

During the 40-minute Zoom call on May 4, presenters Darlene Starrette, Kyrin Backlund and Melissa Rice (a 20-year resident of New Tampa and the only member of her group that lives here) discussed the opportunities that New Tampa could partake in to increase community engagement. In addition, they held an open forum to hear from the 17 attendees present, including District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera.

“While New Tampa can feel like a disconnected place, residents have voices that matter and we would like to hear your voices,” Starrette said.

The Zoom call was part of a final project in the course “Generalist Practice with Groups, Communities and Organizations.” The three students completed their first year in the Master’s program and are currently beginning their summer internships. Next year, the students will start their final clinical year to earn their MSW degrees.

Rice was the one who suggested focusing on New Tampa for their final project. She described herself not as a social butterfly, but as someone who was interested in hearing from the people of her community.

“New Tampa just isn’t talked about much at all,” Rice said. “Living here, I was very interested in other people’s perceptions of the community.”

One of the main issues discussed during the meeting was the lack of interaction between New Tampa neighborhoods. Viera, who has long argued the same thing, said that New Tampa needed a better collective community identity.

“We see ourselves as Tampa Palms, Hunter’s Green, Richmond Place, Cory Lake Isles, K-Bar Ranch, Grand Hampton, etc. and we don’t see ourselves as New Tampa collectively,” Viera said.

During the Zoom call, a link was shared to a 42-page community engagement tool kit that covers the demographics of New Tampa, benefits of community engagement and survey results posted on the app Nextdoor. From the responses of 21 residents who took the survey, the lack of social and cultural events in New Tampa was highlighted as a priority.

“In terms of its cohesiveness and community spirit, it’s not a town — it’s just a zip code,” said Priscilla Stephenson, a Tampa resident who participated in the meeting.

The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (PAC), which has been 17 years in the making, also was a hot topic during the meeting. The team encouraged the Zoom call participants to email and voice their support for the vote occurring the next day. On May 5, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved the construction contract of the PAC.

“In our research, we found that there are a lot of benefits to engaging the community,” Backlund said, “including overall health, sense of belonging and social connectedness.”

Rice talked about how some members of the community wanted better transportation and more affordable housing. From her notes, she recorded that New Tampa residents also wanted to fill some of the open store fronts, build cultural bridges and have more restaurants in the area.

Although two of the three MSW students aren’t residents of New Tampa, each member has worked towards a common goal of establishing New Tampa’s sense of community. Backlund suggested creating a Facebook page for the New Tampa area to keep the community discussion going.

While nearby Wesley Chapel has three robust community Facebook pages with nearly 60,000 total combined members, New Tampa’s busiest Facebook page, New Tampa Online Yardsale!, is mostly for selling household items.

“I’m just hoping that this isn’t the end,” Backlund said. “Our goal is to get people on board and start to actually make some significant changes.”

The three MSW students want the residents of New Tampa to take pride in their community and to keep engaging through community events.

“It’s really up to the community to decide that this is a good thing for them and it’s something that they really want to do,” Starrette said.

New Tampa Townhall