Category: Featured

Our Exclusive Recap Of The 2019 Taste Of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel!

You could still hear the sound of skates skimming across the ice and children making their way around the rinks, but if you listened very closely on March 24, you might have also heard the sound of delighted taste buds.

“Mmmmm.”

Local food and beverage vendors invaded AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI) for the third consecutive year, offering samples of some of their most popular dishes and drinks at the 2019 Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel.

“I love Taste of New Tampa,” said New Tampa’s Debra Gilreath. “I love the venue, love the neighborhood, love the fact that it’s indoors. The variety of restaurants and vendors that are here is great and it’s easy to buy tickets online and it’s reasonable. Most tastes are two tickets or three tickets.”

Although the event has been held in the comfortable confines of AHCI for three years, the Taste has been around since 1995, serving tasty morsels while also serving as a fund raiser for local charities supported by the Rotary Club of New Tampa and college scholarships given out to graduating high school seniors by the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC).

Held at various locations over its more-than-two-decade run, but since a four-year hiatus beginning in 2013 (following the merger between the New Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Wesley Chapel Chamber), the event has found a convenient, weather-proof home at AHCI.

Roughly 2,000 people attended this year’s event, which co-chair Karen Frashier said was stronger than ever and has become the Rotary Club of New Tampa’s biggest fund-raising event, although the club also puts on a successful Turkey Trot road race Thanksgiving morning every year.

“Every year in June, the money raised from Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel and the Turkey Trot is given away to the charities we support,” said Frashier, a former president of the Rotary Club of New Tampa. “In 2018, we raised $46,000 (between the events) and donated it to our international foundation, End Polio Now, as well as 36 other local, nonprofit or school-related charities.”

Frashier also said that Rotary Feeds America, Feeding Tampa Bay, Meals on Wheels and the Fisher House residence at the James A. Haley VA Hospital are some of the other charities that will benefit from this year’s event. A 20-person committee of the 72-member club organized this year’s event that featured 38 restaurants and beverage purveyors and 34 non-restaurant sponsors.

The winner of the 2019 Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel People’s Choice Award, which was determined by the weight of the Taste sample tickets collected by each restaurant, was first-time participant Bahama Breeze, followed by Noble Crust (up from third a year ago and a top-three finisher all three years at AHCI) and first-time participant the Ice Dreammm Shop.

According to Frashier, the top 10 restaurants, in alphabetical order, were:

Bahama Breeze

Chuy’s Fine Tex Mex

Ciccio Cali

Cinebistro at the Grove

Fat Rabbit Pub

Ice Dreammm Shop

Noble Crust

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Pomodoro Pizza

Vom Fass Wiregrass

The four finalists for the beverage division were Blue Chair Bay Rum, The Brass Tap, Time for Wine and Zephyrhills Brewing Co., which repeated its win as the favorite adult beverage provider this year..

Gilreath and her daughter Asha were enjoying some of the samples outside the rink, and had already decided on one of their favorites.

“Noble Crust’s chicken & waffles is my favorite thing so far,” said Asha. “Noble Crust is great because they make everything from scratch.”

Noble Crust events coordinator Brad Elia said his crew was hoping to improve on last year’s third-place finish in the restaurant category. The Italian eatery is now the only restaurant to place in the top three all three years since the Taste returned in 2017, and hungry and eager patrons gobbled up their samples as quickly as Noble Crust’s employees could get them on the table.

“The chicken & waffles is one of our signature dishes,” Elia said. “When we opened our St. Petersburg branch, it was one of the dishes we opened with.”

Noble Crust, located the Shops at Wiregrass mall, topped the dish with some micro greens from their sister company Fat Beet Farm.

Last year’s winner, Tampa Palms’ Ciccio Cali, was set up in the center aisle, not out of sight of Noble Crust. Ciccio’s brought the same three items that earned it top honors last year — a hot & crunchy tuna, a spicy Brazilian (blackened chicken) and a Thai chicken bowl, but did not crack this year’s top three.

There were certainly some other unique culinary merchants at the event. The Main Ingredient, located off Collier Pkwy. in Lutz, isn’t really a restaurant, but more of a cook-to-order specialty grocer that offered samples of their oils and hot sauces over noodles.

“We sell most everything by the ounce,” owner Christina Sweet said. “People can come in with a recipe and get the exact amount they need instead of getting something and it’s sitting in their cabinet for who knows how long. Everything we sell is organic, non-GMO and gluten-free. We also have a line of specialty spices and tea leaves.”

Helping out at the Main Ingredient table was 11-year-old Sophia Contino, who knows a little about convincing people to try samples, as she has garnered a lot of media attention (including in these pages) for raising money for the Pasco Sheriff’s K-9 Unit.

Contino said she really liked The Main Ingredient’s noodles and hot sauce.

Cinebistro at the Grove doled out samples of soft tacos, meatballs and ceviche-style seafood dishes. The Hilton Garden Inn’s chef Frank Skalitza gave out ahi tuna poke spoons and herb-cheese-and-dates Endive Bites.

Other food/restaurant vendors included Vom Fass in the Shops at Wiregrass, offering samples of not only their vinegars, oils and sangria, but also some of the chain’s new gourmet prepared foods. Vom Fass did not have a sign telling you what they were serving, but there were four different unique appetizers, one with prosciutto, bruschetta with strawberries and more. The foods were provided by Vom Fass in conjunction with Kaixo, a local caterer with a food truck, and Walkabout Bakery Café in Lutz, which served a unique-looking Australian pastry.

Taste attendees Ashvin and Kitty Maharaj got a brief respite from their duties— Ashvin as a Rotary volunteer and Kitty with the All County Alliance Property Management table — and used it to sample some of the fare.

“This is a huge benefit for small businesses and it’s a great community event,” Ashvin said.

All County Alliance Property Management sponsored the cruise that was given away as one of the 50-50 raffle prizes.

Kitty said one of the best things about the event was that it introduced local residents to some places they may have previously not heard of, like Ava’s Low Country Cuisine, which provides private chef service, catering and classes and doled out samples of macaroni and cheese, cupcakes and rice bowls. “Ava’s doesn’t even have a store front, and I hadn’t even heard of Walkabout,” she said.

The Schoolfield family of Tampa Palms enjoyed offerings from all of the aforementioned providers.

Jake Schoolfield works at the CenterState bank in downtown Tampa, which was one of the event’s sponsors. His favorite offering was Ciccio’s crunchy tuna.

“An event like this brings awareness to local owner/operators,” Jake said. “You drive past all these places how many times in a week? I hope that it translates into more business for them. It’s also fun to see your neighbors out here.”

Dessert items were high on the list of favorites, too. Nothing Bundt Cakes, which was third in 2017 before it even had its current Wesley Chapel location in the Shops at Wiregrass, handed out samples of strawberry, lemon, chocolate and white chocolate raspberry bundt cakes. The strawberry cakes, however, were the most popular of the day, according to manager Crystal Cadet. Also serving amazing strawberry cake was Canterbury Hall, the new catering/banquet hall at Grace Episcopal Church in Tampa Palms.

Adult beverage purveyors were also once again on hand at this year’s Taste, including 2018 beverage winner Zephyrhills Brewing Co., which took first place beverage honors again this year, second-place finisher The Brass Tap, and Time for Wine and Blue Chair Rum, which finished in a tie for third this year.

Other than playing music, some of Freedom’s marching band members worked on navigating a gigantic ‘Operation’ game brought in by AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, the event’s primary sponsor, which also offered chair massages. And, sponsor Pinot’s Palette, which combines the love of wine and painting, gave the kids some fun art activities to participate in (but no wine!).

Ashley McKibbin of Tampa brought her friend, Amber Cherry, all the way from Jacksonville to enjoy the event.

“I love it, it’s a great event, fun, family-friendly,” said McKibbin.

Business Notes: Another Hockey Store In Wesley Chapel?

With more than a million visitors since it opened in 2017, and a wealth of hockey tournaments, AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI) is booming.

In fact, it’s booming enough that a northern-based hockey retailer is willing to do what pre-AHCI was probably unthinkable – set up a store in Florida.

Pure Hockey, which has more than 50 locations across the country, is building a 7,500-sq.-ft. store in the Cypress Creek Town Center, which could be considered something of a coup for Wesley Chapel and the Tampa Bay area.

Can a standalone hockey equipment store survive in the Wesley Chapel area? We’re about to find out, as Pure Hockey is getting ready to build a 7,500-sq.-ft. store on the north side of S.R. 56. (Photo: Yelp)

The largest hockey retailer in the country, according to its website, is making its first foray into Florida, and building only its second store south of its Kirkwood, MO location (the other “southern” store is in Dallas).

The hockey shop seems like a golden idea, considering the popularity of AHCI, which hosts thousands of hockey players a year, including high school and adult leagues.

Gordie Zimmermann, the general manager of AHCI, said he was unaware of the plans to build a Pure Hockey about a mile west of his skating facility, which sells hockey equipment in a space it rents out to Rinkside Sports, which also has a location at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon.

Otherwise, there aren’t many options for local hockey enthusiasts, and a lot of the hockey merchandise and equipment business is done online, Zimmermann says, who added that it will be interesting to see if such a stand-alone store can thrive in Florida.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Pure Hockey sells every hockey product imaginable, from NHL apparel to hockey sticks, skates, protective equipment and goalie equipment.

A DIFFERENT LOOK: While the arrival of Pure Hockey is good news for the growing local ice hockey community, new homeowners should be getting similar news as the unique El Dorado Furniture works its way through the approval process.

The planned Land O’Lakes/Wesley Chapel store, boasting 70,000 sq. ft. of space, will be located on the west side of Wesley Chapel Blvd., across from the Cypress Creek Town Center. It will be the 13th El Dorado store in Florida.

Instead of the traditional showroom stocked with furniture, El Dorado promises a different experience with its Boulevard showrooms, which are set up like strips of old-fashioned city streets, with benches and street lamps lining the path.

According to its websites, El Dorado Furniture was established in South Florida in 1967 and is the largest Hispanic-owned furniture retail enterprise in the U.S. It also offers same day delivery, and its top-selling brand is Carlo Perazzi, best known for its chic mattresses, chairs and tables.

NEW STUFF IS OPEN!: The Cypress Creek Town Center continues to round into shape, with department store Burlington, bargain store 5 Below and arts & craft chain Hobby Lobby recently hosting grand openings, and HomeGoods scheduled to hold its Grand Opening event on Sunday, April 14.

Burlington and 5 Below, which are located right next to each other, both officially opened on March 29.

Five days before opening its doors, Burlington made an impact on the local area by donating $10,000 to Turner/Bartels K-8 school in New Tampa, just south of County Line Rd.

The money donated goes directly to teachers, who can use it for school supplies and activities as they please.

“This is really a Burlington initiative, but we tie in very very closely with the Adopt A Classroom program,” said Todd Abrams, the regional vice president of stores for Burlington. “We were looking for a local school in the community of the new store that we’re opening. We really want to give back to the community.”

Todd Abrams, the regional vice president of stores for Burlington.

Formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, Burlington is headquartered in Burlington, NJ, and has over 630 stores in 45 states nationwide. It has four other locations in the Tampa Bay area: two in Tampa, one in Brandon and another in Clearwater.

Abrams, who lives in Wesley Chapel, hinted that the newest location may be his favorite. “I’m especially excited to be able to open a store right in my own community,” he said.

The 5 Below chain offers a variety of toys, tech, beauty and sports items, to name a few, all for $5 or less. It has more than 700 stores in 33 states in the U.S., including eight in the Tampa Bay area.

Hobby Lobby held its ribbon cutting on March 18. The store was Hobby Lobby’s 865th, and its third location in Pasco County, joining the stores located in Zephyrhills and Port Richey.

MORE OPENINGS: By the time you read this, the gas and convenience store Wawa and uber-popular fast food chain Chick-Fil-A (photo above) on S.R. 54, east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., might both have dates set for their openings. The two much-anticipated locations look like they are having a contest to see which can be completed sooner, as the progress on both of them has been pretty rapid.

At our press time, both newcomers looked just about ready, with “Now Hiring” signs displayed at both sites.

And, for those keeping a watch out for even more new places to eat, there are lots of places still in the permitting pipeline working on final approval, like Bubba’s 33 (going in in front of the Ashley HomeStore on S.R. 56 east of I-75), which had its site plans approved last month.

To the west of Bubba’s 33, just past the I-75 interchange on the TPO (south) side of S.R. 56, Main Event (an entertainment center with bowling and a restaurant), Rock ‘N Brews (created by KISS legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley) and Saltgrass Steakhouse have all had their site plans approved and will be built right next to each other.

They will join Longhorn Steakhouse, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen along that south side of S.R. 56.

LEXINGTON OAKS NEWS: The Learning Experience, a franchise childcare/preschool founded in 1980, is nearing completion at the northeast corner of Lexington Oaks Blvd. and Post Oak Blvd., just off Wesley Chapel Blvd. (S.R. 54).

The nearest Learning Experience location, in New Tampa just south of County Line Rd., was recently chosen as the company’s top new franchise, receiving the Rising Star Award.

MORE APARTMENTS ON THE WAY: East of The Learning Experience, on Post Oak Blvd., Parc at Wesley Chapel, a 248-unit Class-A apartment community offering one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes with elevator access, received approval Feb. 25 to begin building; the apartments are expected to be open by sometime this fall.

A Parc at Wesley Chapel spokesperson says its community will feature Smart Home technology, granite countertops, a resort-style pool, a pet park and Electric Vehicle charging stations.

Coming on line a little sooner is the new Tapestry Cypress Creek apartments (above), which could have its first building open later this month or in early May.

According to its website, Tapestry Cypress Creek (by Arlington Properties)is a luxury apartment community that will offer brand new 1-, 2- and 3- bedroom apartments. Each home will feature chef-inspired kitchens with 42” modern flat panel cabinetry, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, plank flooring, walk-in closets, 9-foot ceilings, and screened patio/balconies. Full-sized washers and dryers are included. The community is smoke-free.

Tapestry Cypress Creek’s resident clubhouse features a fitness center, Yoga studio with Fitness on Demand, and a sports lounge. Adjacent to the clubhouse is the saltwater pool with an outdoor pavilion and fireplace. Tapestry Cypress Creek is a pet-friendly community that offers our furry friends a leash-free pet park.

Tapestry Cypress Creek (2300 Tapestry Park Dr., Land O’Lakes) is now renting. For more info, stop in, call (813) 949-9199 or visit TapestryCypressCreekApartments.com.

burlington el dorado

Three Wesley Chapel Girls The First To Join New Boy Scouts Program

*Katherine Traynor and Paisley Murphy (left and back), both 11 years old, pose with 10-year-old Lexi Zink. The Wesley Chapel residents became members of Scouts BSA in February.* ***(Photo: Libby Baldwin)***

Wesley Chapel just got a serious dose of girl power.

As of last year, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) began accepting girls into its Cub Scouts program, designed for ages 5-10, in the hopes that more families will get involved in the 107-year-old program that fosters leadership and outdoor skills.

The Boy Scouts program that has traditionally served boys 11-17 years of age officially changed its name to “Scouts BSA” in February to reflect the program’s first-ever inclusion of girls, who can now “cross over” from Cub Scouts in February at age 11. The change also allows girls to be eligible to become Eagle Scouts, a coveted title which boosts college applications and offers scholarship opportunities.

Two of the five BSA divisions, Venturing (adventure activities for ages 14-17) and Exploring (career skills for ages 10-20), were already co-ed, but many parents have been lobbying for their girls’ chance to become Eagle Scouts for years.

“It shows that they have leadership skills, that they can multitask on projects and serve their community,” said Robert Hall, scoutmaster of Troop 33, which operates out of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on Collier Pkwy in Land O’Lakes. “It’s about more than just checking the boxes; they have to be Eagles in their hearts, concerned with others besides themselves.”

Lexi Zink, second from left, awaits her turn to make a campaign speech to become the first ever female Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 34. (Photo: Libby Baldwin)

Scouts must achieve the Life rank (BSA’s highest rank), earn 21 merit badges and execute a corporate-level service project before getting a chance at Eagle. They are judged by an adult review board before a final decision is made. Only four percent of all Scouts achieve the honor.

Hall’s troop of 52 young men expanded by 40 members when another Troop, Troop 34, crossed over from Cub Scouts during a formal ceremony in February. Three girls from Wesley Chapel – Lexi Zink, Paisley Murphy and Katherine Traynor — were among 11 girls to make history.

“Scouts BSA really empowers our girls to be whatever they want to be, that they’re just as capable as the boys,” said Brandi Zink, Lexi’s mother. “It takes them out of their phones and outside, and in today’s world, the lessons they’re learning are priceless.”

Lexi — whom Hall describes as “scrappy and outgoing” — felt right at home from the beginning.

“It’s not any different for her, because she hangs out with boys anyway,” said Brandi, who serves as assistant scoutmaster in her daughter’s troop. “She did a lot of this stuff with her brother when he did scouts, and she was always right there with him, digging in the dirt, going on camping trips.”

Zink’s 13-year-old son, Caleb, helped develop Lexi’s fearless attitude, which is readily apparent, despite her unusually small stature. He and several other boys include Lexi in their bike rides to the park, basketball games and other outdoor activities.

“Girls are always just as good as boys,” said Lexi, who plays on a traveling lacrosse team with much older girls and hopes a college scholarship to play lacrosse will help her become a veterinarian. “If there’s something that the boys can do, we can do it too, and we can probably do it better.”

Sharing The Spirit Of Adventure

Paisley Murphy and Katherine Traynor, both 11, also are new Troop 33/34 members hailing from Wesley Chapel. Unlike Lexi, they transitioned from Girl Scouts, longing for more adventure.

“Being in Scouts BSA feels better, because Girl Scouts was pretty boring,” said Paisley, whose uncle was an Eagle Scout. “They sing, do arts and crafts, play hopscotch . . . I wanted to do archery, canoeing and horseback riding!”

Paisley invited a friend of hers to join too, but the friend’s mother wouldn’t allow it.

Brandi Zink says she has received some negative feedback for allowing her daughter to join Scouts BSA. A neighbor down her street disapproves of letting girls do “boy things”; the parents of one of Lexi’s girlfriends asked if Brandi was trying to take a political stand.

“I could care less about making a point; she’s doing this because she’s a natural-born leader and she wants to,” said Brandi. “She likes arts and crafts fine, but she would just rather be doing them outside with a saw and hammer, instead of inside with glitter and glue.”

Katherine, whose dad and uncle were Eagle Scouts, says that other girls who want to make the leap shouldn’t be afraid to follow their dreams.

“In Girl Scouts, all we did was talk about cookies and cookie sales,” Katherine said. “We had a choice between camping for three days and going to Legoland for just one day, and they chose Legoland. It was sad!”

Troop 33/34 is the only one in the greater Pasco County area so far to include girls, and the troop’s weekly Tuesday meeting on March 26 was election night; Scouts BSA meetings are run entirely by the scouts themselves.

Lesser positions, such as historian/scribe, consist only of the candidates standing at the front of the room and determining the winner by applause.

Two young men competed for historian; one of them, fresh out of Cub Scouts, shook hands after the older one was chosen; the younger boy congratulated the winner for a job well done.

“After the Cub Scouts cross over (to Scouts BSA), they leave an adult-run structure and become the decision makers themselves,” said Hall. “We have a patrol leader committee, which will have girls, too, when they get into the swing of things. (The committee) runs the meetings, decides what trips we’re going on, stuff like that.”

The troop’s last decision of the night? Senior Patrol Leader, also known as SPL. This top-dog position — one for the girls and one for the boys — is the person the group looks to for leadership, conflict resolution and anything else that may arise.

Normal requirements for SPL are to be ranked first class or above and be at least 14 years old; but because this is the first year for the girls, those requirements were waived for them. A new SPL is elected every six months.

Lexi hadn’t realized the rules didn’t apply to her; when she discovered she could run after all, she lit up from the inside, and confidently decided to run, despite no preparation time.

The tiny tomboy stood tall at the microphone, making up a speech on the spot as to why she was the right one for the job. She answered some very intense, thoughtful questions from the more experienced boys;the process was strikingly similar to a presidential town hall debate.

“To me, it’s not as if they’re girl or boy scouts; (they’re all) just scouts, and I’m not going to treat the girls differently,” said Hall. “All our girls want to be Eagles, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they all get there.”

Despite her last-minute candidacy, Lexi was swiftly elected the troop’s first-ever female SPL.

For more information about Scouts BSA Troop 33/34, call Tina Raymond at (727) 858-5885 or visit ladyrosary.org/cub-boy-scouts. For general information about Scouts BSA, visit Scouting.org/scoutsbsa/.

boy scouts Girl Scouts Scouts BSA

NTRC Expansion Will Break Ground Next Month

*This is the latest rendering for the NTRC expansion. The new additions are the lower rooms in yellow. (Image: Tampa Parks & Recreation)*

The New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) expansion is, officially, a go.

Despite a number of obstacles over the years, including being dropped from the budget on more than one occasion, the Tampa City Council approved an additional $660,000 in funding on March 7 and voted 7-0 to award the contract to Valrico-based Phinazee and Granger Construction, Inc.

A groundbreaking is scheduled for Friday, April 12, at 10 a.m.

“There is no going back now,” said District 7 City Council member Luis Viera. “It 100 percent has been set off on its course.”

The NTRC’s 7,825-sq.-ft. expansion is expected to make the facility’s immensely popular gymnastics and dance programs more accessible to those currently on a waiting list that numbers in the thousands of names.

The expansion is expected to be completed around the end of 2019.

Paul Dial, the director of the City of Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Department, says a number of improvements will be made, but noted that three will make the most impact.

First, Dial says, one of the new rooms being designed will be for participants ages 6 years old and younger.

“That will allow us to really focus on our efforts with them in a smaller setting, versus the large gymnasium, or gymnastics room, they learn in now,” he said. Not only will it create less distractions for the younger athletes, according to Dial, but it will free up more room for the older competitors in the existing areas.

Secondly, one of the additional rooms will double the area for the NTRC’s popular dance program.

And thirdly, says Dial, another room is being developed that will be called the Training Box, which will have an emphasis on strength and conditioning and also feature a youth and adult component, the latter of which does not currently exist at the facility. “We think all three of these will really enhance the center,” Dial says. “We’re pretty excited about them.”

Although $1.9 million was approved in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the expansion, following a vocal effort by supporters from New Tampa and some contentious debate on the City Council, the cost estimates at the time proved to be too low compared to the bids the city received for the project.

Dial said rising costs for materials, such as steel, as well as higher prices due to a better economy, were to blame. “You never truly know the cost of a project until the bids come in,” he said.

Phinazee and Granger Construction, Inc.’s bid of $2,390,000 required additional funds — $660,000, or 27 percent of the original estimate — to be reallocated to cover the costs. Although two lower bids were rejected for errors, the Phinazee and Granger bid was the lowest of the seven others submitted.

Viera says the $660,000 came from a pool of funds set aside for projects that go over budget. “There’s red flags for something like that, when it requires additional money,” Viera said. “I was prepared for that. Let’s put it this way — was I worried? Yes. But was I actively worried something would happen and the project would be sunk? No.”

Our Exclusive Taste 2019 Preview — What’s New? A Lot!

Congratulations to the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which will host the annual Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel for the third year in a row, again at what is now being called AdventHealth Center Ice (AHCI) on Sunday, March 24, 2019, noon-4 p.m.

The club (which meets Fridays at 7 a.m at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club) did an excellent job of rounding up not only many of your returning favorite eateries from the last two years, but also some outstanding newcomers among the 29 restaurants and eleven beverage purveyors that had signed up to participate in the Taste by our press time on March 15.

We caught up with Taste co-chairs Karen Frashier and Jennifer Cofini and asked them about what new and old favorites attendees will be enjoying at this year’s Taste:

NN: How excited is everyone about this year’s Taste of New Tampa event?

TONT: We’ve had the pleasure to give away Taste tickets at several North Tampa Bay Chamber and community events. We always ask the crowd if they know why we’re there and what’s coming up. A large percentage of the crowd shouts back “Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel.” Hearing that crowd response makes our day!

The Rotary Club of New Tampa is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) hosting this event with the Chamber to support scholarships and our charities. Our committee has grown to 20 Rotarians and Chamber volunteers. We’re invested.

NN: What do you have planned?

TONT: We’ve got 40 food and beverage vendors that will start tummies grumbling the minute guests enter Rink C at AdventHealth Center Ice.

The Freedom High Naval Junior ROTC flag corps will kick off the festivities, along with: Denyse Bales-Chubb, the CEO of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel; Dist. 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera; and Mike Wells, the chairman of the Pasco County Board of Commissioners.

Then, the Freedom High School drum corps will get the party started by marching throughout the venue. Attendees have told us they want tables spread throughout the venue so they can hang out with friends and neighbors. Done!

NN: So, what’s new at this year’s Taste?

TONT: We’ve added cookie decorating to the photo booth and kids painting/art booth located in the family fun area. A Dash of Salt ‘n Pepper, DCA Media Consulting and Pinot’s Palette Wesley Chapel are sponsoring the fun for kids.

Our presenting sponsor is Advent Health Wesley Chapel. The Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel focuses on friends, family and food — three important building blocks to whole, healthy lives. Building blocks that inspire both the Rotary Club of New Tampa and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel to serve our North Tampa Bay neighbors.

NN: What restaurants are you particularly excited to see that you think the locals will be happy to see?

TONT: Taste attendees will be particularly interested to see how the chef showdown between past winners Ciccio’s Cali, Noble Crust and Nothing Bundt Cakes shakes out. Pincher’s, Vom Fass, Blondie’s Cookies, Fat Rabbit, Cinebistro, Chuy’s and Top Shelf Sports Lounge were crowd favorites, too.

Earth Fare, a green grocer which newly opened on S.R. 56 (across from Tampa Premium Outlets) and Bahama Breeze are bringing their chefs’ A games.

NN: What about any under the radar places? Maybe some eateries that aren’t located nearby or are new to the area that many will be getting a first taste of?

TONT: Taste foodies will be especially interested in locally owned food and beverage purveyors such as Ava’s Low Country Cuisine, Pomodoro Pizza and the Ice Dreammm Shop. They can have their cake and eat it too from the newly opened community venue called Canterbury Hall at Grace Church Tampa Palms. And, Batter & Dough is offering yummy filled mini-pancakes.

NN: Other than food samples, what else can people look forward to at the Taste?

TONT: There will be big competition in the beverage category this year with Coppertail Brewing competing with 81 Bay, Zephyrhills, Time for Wine. The Brass Tap and PRP Wine International. New beverage options include Blue Chair Bay Rum and Buttermilk Provisions sangria. Chamber chair Karen Tillman-Gosselin with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services is sponsoring the water again this year and we’ll have a booth for soft drinks.

NN: What do you expect or hope for in terms of attendees? Talk about the growth of the event over the past two years, and how Center Ice has proven to be an ideal facility.

TONT: The event has a 20-year history as one of North Tampa Bay’s premier events.

Last year we hosted 2,000 guests. Based on history and the growth we’ve seen over three years, we expect 3,000 guests this year. AdventHealth Center Ice is a perfect location because the event is indoors — no worries about the weather. The parking is free and plentiful in front and behind the building. We’ll have volunteers in the lots helping guests locate parking and directing people to open parking. Plus, Taste-goers who present a Taste ticket the day of the event can get free ice skate rental to glide off the calories after snacking their way through the restaurants and beverage purveyors.

NN: What charitable organizations receive the proceeds that are raised?

TONT: Proceeds support high school scholarships through the North Tampa Bay Chamber and charities supported by the Rotary Club of New Tampa. In 2018, the Rotary Club of New Tampa donated more than $46,000 to local and Rotary International Foundation signature projects, including End Polio Now, Feeding Tampa Bay and the Fisher House at the Haley VA Hospital.

Signature youth programs such as Interact, Rotaract and Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders help young people develop leadership skills. Find the complete list on TasteOfNewTampa.org/nonprofitsbenefit.html.

Taste of New Tampa Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel