Tampa Fire Station No. 23 Taking Shape On County Line Rd.

As new homes and apartments continue to pop up in New Tampa, the City of Tampa is delivering on its promise to keep new residents safe.

Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Station No. 23 is on its way.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and TFR Chief Thomas Forward were among those on hand on April 9 as ground was broken on the new station, albeit ceremoniously, as the building located in the Grand Hampton area at Trout Creek Dr. and County Line Rd. has already begun to take form.

It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“This is one of the things I like to do,” said Mayor Buckhorn at the groundbreaking ceremony, “to prepare for the next generation in our community, the next chapter in Tampa history, the next chapter in New Tampa. We’re happy to make this investment. It’s a great day for New Tampa.”

Buckhorn, who has presided over five fire stations being built or rehabilitated since becoming mayor in 2011, praised District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera for his diligence in getting the $1.4 million (of 2018 Community Investment Tax proceeds) earmarked for the station’s completion.

Viera says it was past time to build New Tampa’s fourth fire station, and first since 2012, considering the continued growth of new homes and apartments in the area. For example, the Tampa City Council authorized nearly 800 new homes roughly 18 months ago for K-Bar Ranch (although most of the calls from that area will be handled by Station 22 near Morris Bridge Rd. (see below).

Not only is Fire Station No. 23 located right down County Line Rd. from Grand Hampton’s 900 or so homes, as well as another 480 apartment units at Colonial Grand at Hampton Preserve, it also will help take some of the pressure off the existing Stations No. 21 and 22, both of which are located on Cross Creek Blvd.

“It just gets down to the basic idea that as you have expanding communities like we’ve had in New Tampa, you have to build basic local government responses for the needs of those local families,” Viera says. “We’ve been building more and more neighborhoods out here, but not building local government responses for the people moving in.”

Back in 2008, Tampa originally bought the 2.2 acres of land for Station 23 for $1.2 million, but the recession put plans to actually build it on hold.

The fire station is part of the city’s $120.3-million Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which is addressing many of the recession-induced deferred infrastructure projects. Another fire station, No. 24, is planned for the K-Bar Ranch area, but it hasn’t received funding yet.

Fire Station 23 will house nearly 40 firefighters, an engine company, a truck company and a rescue unit.

“The rescue car is one of the most important things for this area because the majority of our calls are not fire calls, they are medical calls,” said TFR public information officer Jason Penny. “The brand new unit will do wonders for the people of this area.”

While the Tampa Fire Rescue Training Division is located in Palmetto Beach, Penny said the new station also will have a separate building that will serve as a training area for potential firefighters. It will be the only fire station that has a standalone detached classroom/meeting area.

“This gives the whole district an area where they can train,” Penny said.

Also, Station 23 will be home to a new District Fire Chief, who will coordinate responses between all four of New Tampa’s fire stations (including Station No. 20 in Tampa Palms (see Community Calendar on pg. 18).

With more homes and apartments coming, Chief Forward said the timing of a new fire station couldn’t be any better.

“Fire Station 23 will definitely enhance the response in this (area),” Penny said. “We have been looking at runs and looking at the response packages, and we could not ask for this station to come in and provide
.service at a better time. By putting this in place…we absolutely ensure that the (New Tampa) area will realize that exact same level of emergency response as the rest of our greater Tampa area.”

City Of Tampa Hires Designers For Rec Center Expansion & Sensory Park

FleischmanGarcia Architects & Planners will begin work on designing the long-awaited expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center, which has a waiting list for its popular gymnastics and dance programs. (Photo: City of Tampa)

After years of being the bridesmaid and never the bride when it came to expanding the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, the Tampa City Council seems to have finally brought the project to the altar.

At its meeting on March 15, the city issued a resolution approving a work order to officially begin designing the NTRC expansion.

According to the resolution, the City of Tampa will pay FleischmanGarcia Architects and Planners, A.I.A., P.A. $99,800 “for professional services in connection with the New Tampa Recreation Center addition.”

It also issued another resolution to pay $49,400 to David Conner & Associates, Inc., to begin similar work on the proposed 5-acre sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms.

“It was a good day for New Tampa,’’ said District 7 councilman Luis Viera, who rallied community support for both projects, helping get them in the city budget that was passed by Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Plans to expand the NTRC had been in previous budgets before, but were somehow removed from those budgets before they were passed.

“In years past, we’ve gotten through some of the steps in the process, but this is the furthest we’ve gotten,” Viera said. “I’m happy to see the ball is rolling.”

The $1.7-million expansion project is expected to ease the overburdened and popular gymnastics and dance programs at the NTRC, which have more than 800 students participating and just as many on waiting lists.

The difficulties area parents have faced in getting their children into the program spurred much of the civic involvement this past year in the city’s budget process.

According to the proposal from Kevin Smith, senior vice president at FleischmanGarcia, his firm plans to utilize as much as 90 percent of the construction documents from the original planned addition in 2012, as well as using many of the same engineers from that project.

The project will be a 1-story addition to the existing rec center, of roughly 5,000-8,500-sq.-ft., depending upon budget limitations. That space will include areas for gymnastics, two multi-purpose areas, restrooms, storage, a staff office and an HVAC upgrade to the chiller system.

The NTRC currently has nearly 20,000 sq. ft. of space, with 14,000 of that dedicated to its gymnastics area.

As for the sensory-friendly park —which will be located behind the B.J.’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms — $90,000 was allocated in the city budget for Phase 1, which is Design & Development.

More than half of that will go to David Connor & Associates, which is  proposing designing the park to perhaps include an inclusive playground with Autism-focused elements, a dog park, picnic shelter and other site furnishings.

The design firm says it will conduct its due diligence on any environmental issues, and then hold a community design meeting to gain input from residents.

After coming up with some  preliminary designs, another community design meeting will be held before a final design concept is submitted, along with preliminary cost estimates.

Wharton High Community Trying To Clean Up The School’s Image

A slew of negative press — following reports of rampant fighting that has led to 67 arrests at New Tampa’s Wharton High this school year — has Hillsborough School District officials and Wharton’s staff, as well as parents, fighting back.

Wharton held a meeting in the school’s auditorium on February 19, drawing hundreds of concerned parents and local residents. A team of experts from the district is trying to determine the root causes of the problems – and find solutions.

The school’s image has taken a hit.

“It’s frustrating,” admits principal Brad Woods, who has led the school since 2008, “because it’s not an accurate picture of what Wharton is. It skews the general perception that things are out of control here on campus, and that’s not the case. We’ve got kids in class, kids learning, kids doing great things.”

Wharton’s proverbial black eye comes from widespread media reports of fights, some fueled by an Instagram account called “Wharton Fights,” which has since been taken down.

On February 8, a phone call from Woods to parents indicated the fights were the result of “a small number of students causing a disruption” and “neighborhood issues or posts on social media.”

While a large number of fights broke out on the campus in early February, it has been relatively calm the last few weeks. Since the community meeting on Feb. 19, Woods says, “We’ve had three (minor) altercations.”

He says all of the incidents were isolated and often happened because “kids are impulsive.” Describing the most recent incident at the school, he explains, “Two girls had a three-second conversation, one girl tried to walk away and the other grabbed her. It happened about 15 feet from [Wharton’s school resource officer] Deputy Williams. It’s not a lack of supervision.”

While Woods believes that media reports make Wharton look worse than it is, he is quick to ask, “Are there things we need to do better and improve?,” and just as quick to answer, “Yes.”

Making Changes

“We as a district are there, in full force,” says Dr. Anna Brown, Area 3 superintendent, who oversees Wharton and all of the New Tampa-area public schools.

Over the last several weeks, she and a team of district employees have been listening to students, parents and teachers to get to the root of the problem.

While she won’t name the experts, she says they are all district employees — including principals of other schools — who are investing in Wharton in addition to their regular day jobs. Each team member focuses on a certain aspect — including student safety, stakeholder engagement, student relationships and data monitoring, teacher leaders/professional development and administrative leadership. “These are people I have asked to join me (so we can) ‘turn the ship’ at Wharton,” she says. “They are doing double duty, (some) principals spending time away from their (own) schools and district employees finishing their jobs at night at home.”

She says the team members are seeing common trends and are implementing short-term solutions, such as facility maintenance and beautification, overall communication, restroom availability and cleanliness, scheduling adjustments (such as at lunch), increased adult/student interaction, and ensuring parking lot gates are closed and locked.

According to Brown, these and other short-term fixes set the groundwork for more long-term solutions, such as improving the school culture, engaging every student, providing rigorous content, and continuing to discuss zoning and boundaries.

“When I’m at Wharton, and I walk the campus and sit with kids at lunch, I don’t see a chaotic environment or horrific behaviors,” Brown says. “What I see are things that need to be fixed, such as overall school pride. I also see a supportive student body who want students who care about the school to stay focused and others to be dealt with by administrators.”

She also points her finger at another cause: “Kids got caught up in social media.”

Social media, however, is one way some parents have tried to combat some of the negativity surrounding the school.

Kristie Scism, whose son and daughter attend Wharton, says that when news of the arrests began to spread among parents, many other parents reached out to her with their questions. She thought an easy way to communicate with the group of parents would be through Facebook, so she started a group through the website.

“People invited people who invited more people,” she says, “and it quickly grew to more than 400 members. I thought about deleting the group, but instead I’ve been trying to think about how to keep the momentum rolling. I learn so much from this page.”

Over the past few weeks, the Facebook group, now called “Wharton High School Betterment,” has been used to spread the word about positive things happening at the school, such as members of the wrestling team qualifying for the State tournament, students on the speech and debate team qualifying for a national competition and the school’s LSA Theatre Troupe qualifying for the State level competition.

“Wharton Betterment” also been used for requesting volunteers from the community for help with the school’s beautification club, and showed off some before-and-after photos from the beautification club’s efforts.

This may support one area Woods hopes to improve — for more Wharton students to feel ownership and connection to the school.

“We have students from all parts of our attendance boundaries that don’t feel a sense of connection,” Woods says. “There are kids who live here in New Tampa and kids who live in the Busch Gardens area who have great relationships with teachers, and others who struggle to connect.”

Woods says a primary goal is to ensure all students feel safe on campus.

“There are things we need to do better to create a better sense of community in our school for kids to know this is a safe place for them,” he says, “and that violence/physical altercation is not the solution.”

This includes an effort to be sure students know about peer mediation and who to go to if they have a problem.

Many Wharton parents hope these efforts will lead to lasting change. “In my years, I’ve seen that there are seasons where there are a bunch of fights, then they get a handle on it and it’s quiet,” says Scism. “In terms of the fights, there’s kind of a crescendo. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of fights for the rest of the year because it reached its eruption phase.”

Scism is disheartened that it feels like her kids and other students are desensitized to the fighting, but says her children have never felt targeted or afraid. “Right now neither of my kids are affected by it,” she says, “but if we continue to have major fights every year, someone eventually is going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Holly Garemore is another mom who says she stays on top of what’s happening at Wharton by participating in the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), and that, “my kids both feel safe there, and say it’s completely blown out of proportion, so I listen to them, too.”

Her younger son, Max, a freshman, was involved in an altercation this school year that she says was unprovoked, “and I was impressed with how the administration handled it. The student who hit him was arrested, even though it was her first time being in trouble at the school.”

Same Fights But More Arrests?

Some say that might be the cause of the high number of arrests.

“I don’t know what other schools do,” says Woods, “but a few years ago, we made a decision that a five-day suspension is not a strong enough consequence for fighting.” He explains that there is some leeway between schools and law enforcement to decide when to arrest students. At Wharton, he says, when students break the law, they will be arrested.

Brown agrees. “I do believe that the larger number of arrests at this school are related to a desire to squelch anything that’s going on,” she says. “There have been things that students have been arrested for, that kids are not arrested for at another site.”

She says that of the 67 arrests, 15 students were arrested at one fight. All 67 students have been recommended for a change in placement, so that they do not return to Wharton for at least one semester or one year. Many times, she explains, if students successfully complete the process, they return to a public school other than the one they left.

Although 67 is a concerning number, both Brown and Woods emphasize it’s just a small portion of a school that has more than 2,400 students. “We’re way too focused on a small population when there’s a large population that is having amazing high school careers,” says Brown.

Gary’s 2017 Dining Favorites — More Than Just The Year Of The Chain!

Because we shook up our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest and it had so many new categories, and it took a little longer for us to tabulate those results, the release of my 2017 Dining Favorites in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel was delayed by an issue.

Dempsey’s porterhouse steak and cheese grits

The only thing that hasn’t changed is just how much I disagree with our readers when it comes to dining in our two distribution areas. Yours truly agrees that many of the new restaurants (yes, gulp…including some of the new chains) that joined our dining scene in 2017 deserve to be at or near the top of my list, but that’s where the similarities end.

I will say that I did change my own format for this year — these are my top-50 favorites in our distribution areas, regardless of whether they’re located in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

After the top 30, however, the final 20 include some favorite dessert places and even individual items I found myself addicted to at some of the places that couldn’t crack my top 30 (of more than 100 eateries I considered)!

One thing I can tell you is that I love the feedback — even some of the negative comments we’ve gotten from readers who didn’t participate in this year’s Dining Survey & Contest, but have still taken the time to post some unflattering comments about the choices of the readers who did vote on our Facebook page.

But, while I agree with some of those reader rants, the fact is that while we still don’t have enough top-level mom-&-pop places in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, we do have a lot more variety from which to choose today than we have in years past. — GN

1. Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook

I also decided that this year, I would rank my favorite restaurants in order, regardless of price, which meant that only the place with both the best Cowboy ribeye steak (above) and best fresh fish in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel could be voted #1— and that place is Dempsey’s. No, I don’t often feel a compulsive need to plunk down more than $50+ for an outstanding steak (and there are plenty of overpriced steak houses in Tampa for that), but whenever I do, Dempsey’s never disappoints me.

2. Noble Crust

I should really call Noble Crust “1B,” because if you have to take price into account, there’s no better value for the money than this two-location chain — especially considering it’s in an upscale mall. Noble Crust’s constantly changing fish and steak specials (and ambiance) keep me coming back, despite the fact the menu isn’t extensive, but from the fried chicken parm (photo) to the meatballs to the kale Caesar salad to the unique pizzas, this was my favorite newcomer for 2017.

Cafe Ole’s veal shank

3. Café Olé

Although CafĂ© OlĂ© was sold towards the end of the year, the two times I’ve been there since the sale, the menu was still pretty much the same and the quality of the fresh fish, special entrĂ©es like the beautiful veal chop (right) shown here and unique tapas dishes were still outstanding. I also have to say that I like the way the new owners from Venezuela have transformed one small section of the restaurant into a Venezuelan coffee and dessert place. Muy bueno!

4. Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering

My friends Jessica and Carl Meyers continue to add new items based on customer requests and their addition of the best veal parmigiana in our area (and beer and wine; try Grandma’s sangria) in 2017 was enough to keep them in my top-five in our distribution areas, even though the restaurant is technically in Lutz.

Stonewood.

5. Stonewood Grill & Tavern (Tampa Palms)

Another restaurant that benefited from me picking favorites when price is no issue, Stonewood’s addition of a great lunch menu in 2016, including excellent bowls like bruschetta chicken and tuna poke, moved it up for me last year. Steaks, pastas and fresh fish are a little more pricy for dinner, but Stonewood’s bar service is always top-notch.

6. Ciccio Cali

Get a taste of the California lifestyle at Ciccio Cali, where rice and lettuce bowl cuisine has been elevated to an art form. I love all three of the tuna bowls on the menu, as well as the chicken and baby broccoli str-fry and the thin-crust pizzas. I also enjoy the homemade cookies and desserts (some gluten-free) and nice wine selection.

7. Ford’s Garage

I wasn’t overly excited that we were getting a Ford’s Garage in Wesley Chapel, because I can only eat burgers so often, and the rest of the menu is a little limited. Even so, Jannah and I do crave the ahi tuna appetizer, chop-chop salad, chicken Henry and petite filet.

Acropolis brunch.

8. Acropolis

Acropolis on BBD south of Tampa Palms continues to expand its menu with more and more authentic Greek and Middle Eastern dishes, but my favorites are still the lamb chops (photo), the Athenian fish and the Greek salad with a uniquely creamy Greek dressing.

9. Sukhothai

Although we have added some new (and also delicious) Thai options in our area, Sukhothai’s fresh sushi and combination fried rice are my favorites and I also love the crispy duck with ginger sauce and the shoes-off, below-floor seating.

10. Longhorn Steak House

Another new chain that opened in our area for the first time in 2017, Longhorn’s outlaw ribeye isn’t in Dempsey’s category, but it’s also half the price and delish. We love the bar, the bread, the salad, the sides and the Flo’s filets at Longhorn, too.

11. Thai Ruby

The ambiance is second to none and the food doesn’t disappoint. I love Thai Ruby’s fresh fish specials and the crispy duck with ginger sauce is still the best in our area. This is a great place to start an intimate date night.

12. Grillsmith

Some recent menu additions, including reasonable lunch entrées, have helped keep me coming back to Grillsmith, which now offers a larger variety of tender steaks, a daily fresh catch (we were stunned at how good the wahoo was) and a zesty margherita pasta.

13. Capital Tacos

It’s a fast-casual restaurant with a limited menu, but Jannah and I can’t get enough of the chicken and steak fajita salads at Capital Tacos (which is now opening more locations), and the quality of the food seems to exceed what you pay for it.

Fushia Asian bistro

14. Fushia Asian Bistro

It still makes me crazy when people tell me they’ve never tried or even heard of Fushia, which is located in the same Shoppes at Amberly plaza as Peabody’s and Thai Ruby. But, for authentic dishes like Yan Jian pork, beef with Chinese broccoli and the best combination fried rice in town, you have to try Fushia!

15. Yamato Japanese Restaurant

Although it’s not my favorite sushi place, I do enjoy the fair pricing on quality Japanese teppanyaki (hibachi) fare at Yamato, where the NY strip and filet and even the veggies are my favorites among our local Japanese steakhouses.

16. Liang’s China Bistro

Although my favorite Chinese entrĂ©es in our area might be at Fushia, Liang’s has my favorite egg rolls, true New York-style BBQ spare ribs and sautĂ©ed string beans in our area and has a great variety of fresh seafood and sizzling steak dishes.

17. Bonefish Grill

Bonefish used to rank higher on my list, but it still has my favorite seared ahi tuna appetizer in our area and is usually reliable for its fresh fish (although I don’t love most of the sauces on the menu) and bar service.

18. 900 Woodfired Pizza (Shops at Wiregrass)

Although owner Steve Falabella’s NY-style pizza is only third on my list (behind La Prima and NY NY), his lasagne, his delicious salads and the best pesto Genovese sauce for his create-you-own pastas helped rank him higher as a restaurant.

19. The Hungry Greek

Still among the most crowded restaurants in our area, especially for lunch, The Hungry Greek has our area’s best gyro and chicken gyro platters, delicious Greek salads and recently added unique bowls to its popularly priced menu.

20. Oakley’s Grille

Featuring our area’s best open char-grilled black Angus burgers and perfect French fries, plus an outstanding Philly ribeye cheesesteak and pastrami sandwiches, Oakley’s would finish even higher on this list if it added some dinner entrĂ©es.

21. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse

Not far behind Yamato among our Japanese steakhouses, Kobe also scores points for its great $5 happy hour food specials at the bar and for adding a pepper-crusted, seared rare tuna tataki teppanyaki dish.

22. Outback Steakhouse

Although it’s never been my favorite steak place in our area, Outback continues to keep itself in the mix by reducing the price points on its quality steaks and recently added a bone-in, natural-cut ribeye.

23. Ginza Endless Hibachi

Although the quality of the sushi and not-tableside hibachi fare isn’t on a par with Yamato or Kobe, the endless appetizers, Mongolian beef and other entrĂ©es for just $12.95 per person for lunch, $21.95 per person for dinner, make it a great value.

Fat Rabbit

24. Fat Rabbit (Tampa Palms)

Amazing wings (try ‘em blackened), delicious appetizers and even an excellent mahi-mahi sandwich, plus a fun atmosphere, make Fat Rabbit the best new restaurant in New Tampa for 2017. Check them out on St. Patty’s Day!

25. Wok Chi

A great newcomer to the dining scene in Wiregrass, try the BBQ Chi-licious ribs, pot stickers and chicken spring rolls. I also really enjoy the create-you-own entrées with chicken, pork or beef and the freshest snow peas and other veggies in a spicy Sichuan sauce.

26. Las Palmas Spanish Café

For outstanding merluza topped with Russian-style tartar sauce, palomilla steak, pork chops and roasted pork (lechon asado), plus other authentic Cuban favorites, tell my friends Ramses and Ana that Gary sent you.

27. El Pescador Mexican Seafood

Another tasty newcomer in New Tampa, El Pescador has really good fajitas, but the fresh seafood is the main attraction, including the whole fileted snapper and the fresh ceviche, to go with the usual enchiladas and other Mexican staples.

28. La Prima Pizza

In one man’s opinion, the crust and sauce are still the closest thing to true NY-style ‘za in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, and it’s all for sale! Owner Willie Lopez has a turnkey pizza operation and a great location (right next to Target), so please call him at (813) 907-2878 if you want to find out more…and please tell him that Gary sent you!

29. Sushi Café

Quite a few sushi places have come and gone from our area over the past several years, but Sushi Café’s quality and presentation make it the best in our area for my money and it is located in the heart of New Tampa (next to Panera on BBD).

30. Texas Roadhouse

Obviously, I love a great steak and although Texas Roadhouse loses points with me for its line-dancing wait staff, it does offer great values on tasty NY strips, filets and yes, its hefty, 20+-oz. bone-in ribeyes.

 

The Rest of My Top 50 (in alphabetical order)

Bonsai Sushi: Popular for sushi & Japanese fare

Bosco’s: Try the unbreaded chicken parm!

Bruster’s Ice Cream: My favorite (peanut butter!)

Cake Shop: Amazing cakes, cookies & cupcakes

Cantina Laredo: Pricy, satisfying Mexican fare

Culver’s: Good burgers, amazing frozen custard

Fong’s Sushi: Creative, top-level sushi

Hibachi Express: Best prices for tasty hibachi!

Irish 31: Great salads & upscale pub grub

Jersey Mike’s Subs: Best roast beef & tuna subs

Koizi Endless Hibachi: Just below Ginza

Kwan Ming Bistro: Tasty, upscale Chinese

Lanna Thai: Really good food, great atmosphere

Mr. Dunderbak’s: Good schnitzel, great beer!

NY NY Pizza: Try the Grandma’s Pizza!

O’Brien’s Irish Pub: Burgers, tater tots & karaoke

OTB Café : Seared tuna, sliced steak & burgers

Petra Mediterranean Express: Beef shawarma!

Snowrolls: Best rolled ice cream anywhere!

Vallarta’s: Good Mexican, great prices

Wolf’s Den: Inexpensive, good breakfast choice

Woodfired Pizza: Great pizza & salads (Bearss)

 

Is This Your Next AMERICAN IDOL?

Zach D’Onofrio is good at keeping secrets.

For years, he was a squeaky-voiced kid who sang quietly in the church chorus, who ran the lights at his family’s Dreamhouse Theatre, a kid happy to work behind the scenes in the midst of his song-happy family of performers.

Then one night, at the age of 15, he called his family into the living room of their Seven Oaks home.

“Mom and Dad, I want you to hear something,” he told them.

Sensing something dramatic was about to happen, Darci, his mother, pulled out her phone and started recording.

Zach started singing. Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Everyone’s world changed that night.

“When I heard his voice like that, I started bawling, just crying,” Darci says.

His sister, who was in her room, heard her brother sing and started screaming, and came rushing into the living room.

“It was like, whaaaaaaat?,” says Bryan, his father.

Zach has always been afraid of what people would say if he sang for them. He told his parents he wasn’t sure he should share his voice.

“You need to share this with the world,” Darci tearfully told him.

And he has, from one “American Idol” audition to the next, from Wesley Chapel to Orlando to New York.

But, how about Hollywood? Well, no one is saying.

Zach D’Onofrio is good at keeping secrets.

Zach and Darci, before he entered the room to sing for the celebrity judges.

Once America’s hottest television show, “Idol” is back for the start of its comeback season this Sunday. March 11 , 8 p.m., on ABC-TV (WFTS-TV Channel 11 locally).

At the D’Onofrio home, friends and family will gather in that living room again, this time sharing Zach’s voice with the world. Everyone will see the audition for the first time, including Zach.

“I am kind of nervous about how I’ll look,” he says, sitting under a green shade at the Starbucks on S.R. 56 near the Shops at Wiregrass, surrounded by a caffeinated crowd that has no idea that, possibly, the next “American Idol” sits among them.

A junior at Wiregrass Ranch High, Zach was one of the hundreds to audition for “Idol” at Florida Hospital Center Ice back in August 2017. He was one of 25 to continue on to auditions in Orlando two weeks later. And, he also was one of 16 who flew to New York City in October for a chance to sing in front of this season’s “Idol” judges — pop/soul legend Lionel Richie, country star Luke Bryan and perky pop performer Katy Perry.

“I can post about it now (on Facebook) that I auditioned, and can tell people that I have gone to New York for the show,” Zach says. “A lot of kids know that, like my close friends, but they don’t know anything past that. Some kids sitting next to me in classes don’t know. People don’t know that I danced with Katy Perry.”

* * *

Wait
what?

His father just shakes his head and smiles. Yes, it really happened. It only took 10 seconds of “The Way You Look Tonight” to drop open the jaws of the judges, and another 10 seconds after that, Perry was dancing her way towards Zach. Richie stood and danced as well, and Bryan couldn’t help but join in.

Zach maintained his poise, and continued singing, even as he and Perry danced together.

“I just kept going,” he says. “We were dancing. I twirled her, I dipped her, things like that. Kept singing.”

“Dipped her,” says Zach’s dad, shaking his head and beaming proudly, with maybe a tinge of jealousy. “My man!”

If it wasn’t his voice that prompted Perry to dance with Zach, maybe it was his “socks appeal.” Socks are kind of Zach’s thing. He has a collection of 50 pairs or so of uniquely designed footwear. He brought pairs for each judge — American flag socks for show host Ryan Seacrest, skulls for Richie, roosters for Bryan.

For Perry, her socks depicted cats sitting on rainbows shooting lasers from their eyes, which sounds like a description of some of her videos. It was, Zach says, the perfect choice, and she wore them on her hands while she danced with him.

“It broke the ice,” Zach says. “It definitely made things easier.”

* * *

It is only natural that Zach would discover his talent for singing.

Bryan and Darci met at a concert at the Happy Gospel Center in Bradenton. Bryan was in a band with other family members called Southern Praise, and they were the headliners that day. He was the eligible bachelor of the group, and his sister joked to the crowd that, “if you can feed him, you can have him.”

Darci thought Bryan was a wonderful singer. When it was her turn to sing later that day, she was nervous thinking he might be watching. She wrote him a letter afterward, he wrote back, and one year later, they were married.

Zach and his older sister, Taylor, were born into music. Taylor embraced it, performing and singing at a young age, and Zach remembers singing “Oh, Holy Night” with his family at a Christmas church service when he was eight.

Bryan, Taylor, Zach and Darci before a Dreamhouse Theatre production.

But, for the most part, he hung back and mostly played youth soccer, even making the junior varsity team at Wiregrass Ranch High.

Four years ago, his parents, who both work full-time at North Tampa Behavioral Health on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, started the Dreamhouse Theatre. They performed shows at various locales before settling at their current location in Lutz.

Zach was working the lights for a production of the “Little Shop of Horrors” in October 2016,  when he was struck by how much fun all the performers seemed to be having. He decided afterward he would surprise his family with a Frank Sinatra song in the living room that night.

After that, Zach took his first role as Benjamin in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Bryan played Joseph, and Darci and Taylor also were in the production.

“Oh my gosh, it was so exciting seeing him getting into it,” Bryan says. “He had a solo in the show, and just nailed it. I was so excited to see him shine.”

Zach took on roles as one of the three little pigs in “Shrek,” and played Lord Farquaad in “Shrek The Musical Jr.,” sitting on his knees the whole show. “That was probably my favorite,” he says. “I wondered why I waited so long to do this.”

At Wiregrass Ranch, he joined the chorus this school year, ready to refine the talent he had unleashed the year before. His teacher originally thought by the sound of his speaking voice that Zach would be singing tenor, until he showed off the rich, deep sound that surprises so many.

“He’s very talented,  but it wasn’t something I heard from the very, very beginning,’’ says Wiregrass Ranch fifth-year choral director Solangi Santiago.  “Every now and then, though, we could see that this kid had something special.”

Then, one day, a friend sent Zach a link to sign up to audition for “Idol” at Florida Hospital Center Ice, where he took his first steps in the hope of becoming the next big thing.

* * *

Given a choice of audition spots after getting through the Wesley Chapel and Orlando stages of the audition process, Zach selected New York, an obvious pick, considering his crooner style and affection for Sinatra, which he developed after buying old vinyl records of the legend on shopping excursions with his father.

It was Darci, however, who got to go on the Sunday-through-Wednesday trip with him, the first trip to New York for both of them, and they stared wide-eyed at everything around them for three days. They visited the Statue of Liberty and the 9-11 Memorial, Facetiming the best moments with Bryan and Taylor.

“I made him sing ‘New York New York’ in the middle of Times Square,” Darci says.

Outside the judges room at the Hotel Pennsylvania in midtown Manhattan, Darci was all nerves, while inside, her teenage son was taking a giant bite of the Big Apple — dancing with a pop princess while impressively, considering the circumstances, remembering all the words to his song.

“I didn’t faint,” Zach joked.

For three minutes, Darci strained to hear her son sing. The television cameras were trained on her, and she looked at them and asked: “Have you ever had a mom pass out before?”

What little she says she could hear of Zach, she liked.

“He sounded incredible, like never before,” Darci says.

Afterward, he told her he thought it was his best audition yet.

Did he have a golden ticket in his hand when he told her?

“You have to tune in March 11,” he says, smiling. “You may see me on the show.”

Zach D’Onofrio is good at keeping secrets.