Editor Gary Nager has picked his local food favorites.
How do his burger choices stack up to the choices of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News readers?
Check it out:
Gary’s And Your Favorites: Burgers!
Veterans Elementary teacher named county’s best
Rob Patterson moves from desk to desk around his fifth-grade math classroom at Veterans Elementary.
One girl says she is confused, and he jokes, “that’s okay, it’s your birthday.” He remembered.
He refers to another student by his nickname, and bounces around to help others on a fractions problem in an easy, soft-spoken style, often admiring his students’ handiwork.
On Jan. 27, at its S.T.A.R. (Staff That Are Remarkable) awards event at the Wesley Chapel High Center for the Performing Arts, the Pasco Education Foundation named Patterson the 2017 Pasco County Teacher of the Year.
He seems almost embarrassed by the attention. Patterson, 46, insists he is no different than any other teacher, and added there are so many more just as deserving.
But, what might have earned him his designation more than anything else is his connection with his students, which is evident as he glides between the maze of desks in his classroom.
“What makes me successful is my relationship with the kids,’’ Patterson says. “I invest time to know them, I integrate them into problems, I interact with them.”
He remembers little things, like birthdays, and tries to know his students’ favorite football team, or what dance class they might be taking, or how many siblings they have.
Making that connection is why, 10 years ago, Patterson first decided to start working on becoming a teacher.
“It was the best career decision I could have made,’’ he says.
At the time, he was on the road making good money as a customer service representative. But, he was away from his children, Jacob, now 13, and Peyton, 17.
And, he admitted that he was missing something. It turned out to be the joy he got impacting young kids, which he did while teaching golf in his earlier days as an assistant pro at Northdale Country Club in Carrollwood and at the TPC (Tournament Players Club) Tampa Bay in Lutz.
It was while still working as a customer service rep that Patterson started taking education classes at the University of South Florida (USF) in his spare time. He sat in on classes with students young enough to be his kids. Little by little, he moved closer to what he really wanted to do.
“I chose elementary school at an early age for kids,’’ Patterson says. “I like this age. I think its important get to kids early, to make an impact early. That definitely helps them later on.”
After completing his B.S. in Elementary Education degree at USF and teaching one year in Hillsborough County, Patterson joined Veterans Elementary in 2009.
He says that although he has learned a lot from the women teachers he has worked with, he relishes his role as the rare male elementary school teacher, especially when it comes to the boys. That means high-fives here and there, sports talk and even fantasy football discussions over lunch.
“This is where I need to be,” Patterson said. “I need to be in education. I just have a love for kids. This is my happy place.”
Wesley Chapel’s Teachers of the Year by school
Wesley Chapel High School: Helen Mester
Wiregrass Ranch High School: Mathew Simmons
Thomas E. Weightman Middle School: J. Franklin Britton, III
Dr. John Long Middle School: Jessica Beagle
Double Branch Elementary School: Deborah Torres
New River Elementary School: Jolene Furman
Quail Hollow Elementary School: Lora Darby
Sand Pine Elementary School: Tamara Perugini
Seven Oaks Elementary School: Stephanie Huff
Veterans Elementary School: Robert Patterson
Watergrass Elementary School: Heather Kiefer
Wesley Chapel Elementary School: Christina Salerno
Wiregrass Elementary School: Stephanie Hodges
Crystal Lagoon Breaks Ground In Epperson
When Metro Development president Greg Singleton was first told about a crystal lagoon, with its heavenly blue, ultra-clean water and sandy beaches, he confesses that he was a little underwhelmed.
But, at 30,000 feet, laying eyes on one for the first time a few months later, Singleton says he started sipping the Kool-Aid.
On Feb. 2, while standing in front of a crowd of more than 100 people at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the first Crystal Lagoon to be built in the U.S., Singleton was sipping champagne as he led a toast celebrating a sneak preview of the Metro Lagoon by Crystal Lagoons coming to the Epperson development Wesley Chapel.
With developers, home builders, county commissioners and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) on hand at what could someday be home to as many as 3,000 homes off Curley Rd. (less than three miles north of S.R. 54), Metro Development showed off the beginnings of the massive project which currently is one large hole in the ground — while selling a vision so bright, the developer felt the need to hand out white Crystal Lagoon shades.
Epperson is part of the larger Connected City project, a high-tech, ultrafast gigabit community covering roughly 7,800 acres stretching from northern Wesley Chapel into San Antonio. That project is still working its way through the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners.
Crystal Lagoons are expected to become one of the fastest-growing amenities in the country, and was the star of the preview show. The 7.5- acre lagoon at Epperson will be 4,200 linear square feet (almost a mile) in circumference and will have an average depth of 8 feet, with some areas as deep as 10-12 feet.
Developed by real estate developer and biochemist Fernando Fischmann, it will be like “swimming in a bottle of Zephyrhills water,’’ Singleton said during the event.
That’s possible because of a patented pulse disinfection and ultrasonic filtration system, as well as 400 sensors monitoring the water. Singleton said the lagoon will use less water and chemicals than a golf course or park when it comes to maintenance.
Some of those on hand (including Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager) were taken up 75 feet in a tethered hot-air balloon for an aerial view of the lagoon, which will be the first operational Crystal Lagoon ever in the U.S., while the less adventurous were raised in mechanical lifts.
With the exception of a few kayaks laid out among the piles of dirt, there was little to see, but plenty to imagine.
“It will be the most incredible amenity you will ever see,’’ said Scott Andreason, the director of landscape architecture with Heidt Design, which is designing the surrounding features of the Metro Lagoon, such as:
• The Hub, which will provide access to the lagoon, and include a large plaza to host community events, like farmers markets, a synthetic lawn covered with shade sails, a stage for live entertainment like bands, and a huge outdoor television for sports and movie viewing.
• A restaurant and swim-up bar, with an extended plaza behind the restaurant for food trucks and the ability to host weddings and corporate events, as well as a zero-entry access to the lagoon.
•Venture Bay, for paddleboarders and kayakers.
•Gasparilla Island, which Andreason describes as an “endless island” with hammocks, cabanas and umbrellas, and a “Tidal Water” area where the water rises from zero to 3.5-feet deep.
•Cabana Pool, a cove within the lagoon completely surrounded by cabanas. In the middle of it, an entertainment pavilion to accommodate a deejay or band, and another large television screen.
• The Grotto, which Andreason calls the “gem” of the lagoon; it will feature a waterfall.
• Town Center & Getaway Cove, which will have beaches where you can watch the sun set.
With gigabit internet, homes by Pulte, DR Horton, Miranda and Apex Homes and what will be a one-of-a-kind lagoon — at least, for now — Singleton says the goal at Epperson Ranch is simple:
“We want to make it very difficult for you to go elsewhere.”
Crystal Lagoons CEO Uri Man his company, which has more than 1,500 patents in 60 countries, already has 15 contracts to build other lagoons in the U.S., and will build hundreds in the next few years.
“It’s exciting,’’ he said.
He also noted that a recent Boston Consulting study says more than 2,000 lagoons will be built nationwide over next 15 years. Crystal Lagoons already has more than 600 projects in development across the globe.
But, Wesley Chapel will be the first in this country. After Epperson, Metro is scheduled to build a lagoon near the Mirada development just south of S.R. 52, also in the Connected City. It also has plans to build in the Riverview area and in Fort Myers. For more info, visit MetroPlaces.com or Facebook.com/CrystalLagoonWC.
Macy’s Store In The Shops At Wiregrass Mall Will Remain Open
Macy’s has announced that it will be closing 68 store sin 2017, but the good news is, one of them won’t be ours.
The department store chain, which announced in August that it would be closing 100 of its 700 stores by next year, announced 68 of its store closings and the Macy’s location at the Shops at Wiregrass mall was not on the list.
That’s good news, says Shops at Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners.
“Having a Macy’s, it basically rounds out the selection of stores that we have and it’s a great anchor to have,’’ Lenners says.
When Macy’s announced its potential closings last year, Morningstar Credit Ratings identified 28 locations that had sales below the company’s national average for 2014, the most recent year information was available, putting them at higher risk.
The Wiregrass Macy’s was No. 8 on that list, reporting $118 in sales per sq. ft. The average for Macy’s overall in 2014 was $169 per sq. ft.
The other Florida store on the Morningstar Credit Ratings list was the Lakeland Square Mall location. That location did not survive and will close this spring.
Lenners says that despite the report, he never thought the location at his mall would be axed.
“We always anticipated it wouldn’t close,’’ he says. “We are in one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. It didn’t make sense why they would close it.”
Of the 68 stores Macy’s will close, three have already been shuttered, with another 63 closings expected by the spring. The remaining two are set to close later this summer.
Lenners says he is pleased Macy’s, whose storefront faces the center – and, probably, busiest — section of the mall, is staying open. He says the store’s selection, as well as the selection at the other anchors, JC Penney and Dillard’s, fits the local shopping demographic perfectly.
Big-name anchors are generally considered vital to a mall’s success, and the loss of one can sometimes be a hint of a downward spiral.
Lenners, however, points to some recent and planned openings that show the mall is still growing and going strong.
A few months ago, PhoLicious, a Vietnamese noodle soup café, opened, and on Jan. 8, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt debuted.
By the time this issue arrives in your mailbox, the Chinese stir-fry kitchen Wok Chi, located near the Barnes & Noble, should be open as well.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Irish 31 is still expected to open this spring, and an Avalon Spa is under construction next to Dillard’s. Lenners says the mall also recently completed a lease agreement with Noble Crust, a trendy and popular St. Petersburg restaurant that offers “Seasonal Italian with Southern Soul.”
Lenners also said the so-called “connector site” to the east of the existing Shops at Wiregrass, which will include luxury apartments, a movie theater and a green grocer, is still making it’s way through the environmental permitting process, but hopes to break ground sometime in the fall.
“There’s going to be lots of activity,’’ Lenners says.
Noble Crust Coming To Wesley Chapel
Noble Crust, a hip north St. Petersburg restaurant featuring Italian-Southern fusion, is coming to the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners confirmed that the restaurant, created by the same folks who brought the Bonefish Grill to Wesley Chapel, has signed a lease and begun construction on its 3,200-sq.-ft. location, which will be right next to Pinchers Crab Shack.
The Noble Crust team includes TJ Theilbar and Tim Curci, who helped develop Bonefish Grill and Hops Grill and Bar, executive chef Rob Reinsmith and financial consultant Jeff Strouse.
Theilbar told us in June he was in negotiations, and that “We have some very specific requests as far as the look trying to work through the logistics.” Those issues have all been resolved and plans to open the restaurant by the end of the year are underway.
The Noble Crust website says it is hoping for a Spring, 2017 opening.
The eatery has received mostly rave reviews since opening its St. Petersburg location in Feb., 2015.
Although the name of the restaurant suggests a pizza place, and Noble Crust does serve different versions of the Italian pie, it is much more than that under the direction of Reinsmith.
“Everything we do is in house and from scratch,’’ Theilbar said.
Noble Crust’s brunch has been voted one of Tampa Bay’s best by various publications, and it features items such as deviled eggs, ricotta gnocchi, Lemon Ricotta pancakes, Bronzed Salmon Benny and fried chicken and waffles.
Some of the restaurant’s dinner favorites include its popular beef-and-veal meatballs, southern fried chicken, shrimp and grits, sweet potato ravioli and rigatoni and short rib ragu.
And of course, there are pizzas, like the Noble Pig, which features sweet fennel sausage, spicy soppressata and pickled cherry peppers, and the Roasted Mushroom, with shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Gluten-free crust is also available.
The menu changes often, says Theilbar, who adds that the restaurant employs an off-site production kitchen where all of its fresh pasta, sauces and cured meets are produced. A larger, 7,000-sq.ft.facility is being built off Racetrack Rd. in Tampa.
To learn more about Noble Crust, visit noble-crust.com.