There’s no doubt that 2024 was an amazing and crazy year in Wesley Chapel. One supposed “downtown” began building early in the year, while another just got approval to begin building near the end of the year. A seemingly never ending supply of hot chicken sandwich places either opened or were ready to open as the year ended. New road projects finally got started and Wesley Chapel continued to see explosive growth — much of which was chronicled not only in these pages, but in the seemingly magical Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page. But, its usual leader, Kelly Gilroy, admitted to yours truly that she hasn’t been using her real name on her wildly popular Facebook page. So, here are some highlights of the year that was, 2024 in Wesley Chapel:
Road Projects — With both Old Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd. beginning to be widened, the traffic will get worse for two or three (or more) years on each before it gets better.
Chicken Wars — It’s hard for some of us who aren’t big fans of spicy chicken to believe we really need ten or more of these chains (the left photo above is the ribbon cutting of the Wesley Chapel Hangry Joe’s chicken), but we’re still getting them anyway! It looks like Raising Cane’s will be the last to open, in January (Chicken Guy! should be open as you’re reading this), and when it does, the Neighborhood News will sponsor a contest to find the favorite of them all, as selected by a panel of hot chicken lovers — and no, I won’t be one of those judges!
Dueling Downtowns — Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli believes that the opening of his first mixed-use downtown building in Sept. (center photo) was the official launch of Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. But, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter says his Legacy Downtown, which just had its development plan approved earlier this month, will prove to be The Chap’s true downtown when it begins building next year.
Kilroy, er Gilroy, Was Here! — Taking all of Pasco County, but especially Wesley Chapel, by storm in 2024 was the Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page, which went from 0 to tens of thousands of ardent admirers in just a few months. Page admin Kelly Gilroy has become something of a cult figure, even though it seems a large percentage of the people who respond to the page’s literally hundreds of posts only want to make jokes about car washes and storage facilities. The fact that Ms. Gilroy has gotten some Pasco officials to question whether or not she’s a real person is reason enough for me to name her Wesley Chapel’s “Person of the Year.” Will we ever find out her real name? Do we even want to know it?
And Then There’s…Some of the incredible and sometimes unexpected things that happened in our area in 2024 include: the opening in November of Cooper’s Hawk; the announcement in October that Cheesecake Factory was coming to a portion of the already stressed parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets; the new Publix at Innovation Springs (in front of Epperson on Curley Rd.) included a beer-and-wine bar; the long-awaited Whole Foods announced it was coming to Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, then took it back and said it wasn’t, then re-announced that it was; people on every Wesley Chapel community Facebook page complained vehemently about the Pasco Board of County Commissioners and vowed to vote them all out, but all four running for reelection won by landslides; Orlando Health began building Wesley Chapel’s third hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital officially announced that it will build a children’s hospital near Overpass Rd.; and finally, two New Tampa kids stunned the world, as 12-year-old Bruhat Soma won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June and 16-year-old Adwaith Praveen who achieved perfect scores on the PSAT, SAT and ACT exams! We’ll tell you what to expect in 2025 in Wesley Chapel in our next issue!
Congratulations to the owners of the new Tous les Jours bakery franchise at 27209 S.R. 56 — in the former location of Capital Tacos.
Like the Tous les Jours inside the Lotte Plaza Market in New Tampa, the Wesley Chapel location offers a large selection of freshly baked croissants, pastries, donuts, breads and more — in both sweet and savory varieties — as well as cakes, coffee drinks, teas, smoothies, lemonades and much more.
Photographer Charmaine George and I visited the new Tous les Jours and the first thing we both noticed is how much nicer and more spacious the new location is than the one in the Lott Plaza Market food court. There are several tables, as well as couches, for enjoying your purchases inside the shop, which in no way still resembles Capital Tacos.
As for the baked goods, among the sweet options we sampled are an almond croissant, a large Mont Blanc pastry (which is like a huge, crispy outside-flaky inside cinnamon roll), a strawberry croissant filled not only with super-fresh strawberries, but also whipped cream and a mini caramel apple pie. The savory items we’ve tried include a ham-&-cheese croissant, spinach and feta pastry (which is both sweet and savory), a croque monsieur sandwich (a French-style ham and cheese sandwich) and a sausage onion pastry, which is like a hot dog surrounded by a pastry with onions, cheese and ketchup. There also are several different kinds of milk breads, full bread loaves stuffed with whipped cream and so many more. We haven’t tried any of the cakes yet, but give us time!
As for beverages, I’ve enjoyed both the vanilla latte and caramel macchiato and Charmaine and I agreed that the fresh, thick, hand-spun mango smoothie was delicious. There also is a huge selection of hot and iced teas available and more!
Tous les Jours is a French-inspired, Korean-owned chain of bakeries with 1,700 locations around the world, including more than 100 (and growing) in the U.S. The Wesley Chapel Tous les Jours is open every day from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call (813) 388-5612 or visit tljus.com.
The team of doctors at AllergyTampa, which has a location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., includes Dr. Richard Lockey (above), Dr. Seong Cho (below right), Dr. Mark Glaum (below left) & Dr. Amber Pepper (Bottom right) & Dr. Emily Dzoba (bottom left).
When it comes to AllergyTampa, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. near E. Fletcher Ave., caring for individuals with allergies and immunological diseases goes beyond the walls of the office. Doctors Richard Lockey, Seong Cho, Mark Glaum, Amber Pepper and newest addition Dr. Emily Dzoba not only provide quality care for thousands of patients, they also participate in ground-breaking research and train students and medical professionals in the specialty.
A founding faculty member of the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine, Dr. Richard Lockey helped start USF’s Division of Allergy & Immunology in 1973, along with founding director Dr. Samuel Bukantz. More than 50 years later, USF’s Division of Allergy & Immunology has been recognized as a World Allergy Organization “Center of Excellence.”
Dr. Lockey earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Temple University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, before becoming a Professor of Medicine at USF. He is a past president of the World Allergy Organization and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
Dr. Lockey first established his private practice in 1984 as “Academic Associates in Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.” At that time, Dr. Lockey humbly wondered if he would even have enough patients. Within just five years, he was already getting referrals for severe asthmatics. Now, 40 years later, AllergyTampa’s flagship practice is thriving and there is a second location in South Tampa, and Dr. Lockey is still actively involved, seeing patients two days a week in addition to his teaching and research at USF.
Despite his 50+ years of experience, Dr. Lockey appears to be in no rush to retire. His love of the work is evident — and not surprising — since his interest in allergy and immunology was sparked at a young age. Going on rounds with his father, a family physician who later specialized in allergy and immunology, Dr. Lockey says he was greatly impacted by what he witnessed — especially people who were struggling to breathe deeply.
Then, after doing a research paper on asthma in medical school, it became clear to him that allergy & immunology was the specialty in which he wanted to make his mark. Dr. Lockey, and his colleagues at AllergyTampa, continue to be at the forefront of quality patient care that benefits from clinical research, Board-certified expertise and a desire to improve the quality of life for those suffering from allergies and immunological diseases.
“The advances in immunology have totally revolutionized our care,” Dr. Lockey says. “The treatment of allergic and immunological diseases, in my lifetime, has changed exponentially. People no longer die from diseases they used to die from.”
Dr. Seong Cho
Participating in those advances enables the doctors at AllergyTampa to provide informed, expert care for their patients.
Dr. Lockey’s colleague, Dr. Seong Cho, shares his optimism about where medical science is heading. An otolaryngologist, or ear, nose & throat (ENT) specialist, Dr. Cho earned his M.D. degree from Kyung Hee University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. He honed his allergy and immunology expertise at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, before joining AllergyTampa.
Dr. Cho describes how research of biologics (a class of drugs that can be used to treat a variety of allergic conditions, including asthma, eczema and food allergies) is expanding. Biologics are now being used to help with other conditions and are altering approaches to treatment altogether. As an ENT, Dr. Cho has seen first-hand how these advances have major impacts — for example, for patients who have nasal polyps, which are non-cancerous growths inside the nose or sinuses that can last for several months and are more common with allergies, asthma and frequent infections. While small nasal polyps may not cause symptoms, larger ones can cause discomfort and complications that need to be addressed.
“In the past, nasal polyps and chronic sinusitis were surgical diseases,” Dr. Cho says. “But now, because of those medications, you don’t need to have repeated surgeries. We figure out [which] molecule causes the problem and target it.” That precision means fewer side effects for patients and, as their use continues, injections may have the potential to treat a variety of other conditions. That marriage of research and patient care by the doctors at AllergyTampa has led to other life-changing treatments.
Dr. Mark Glaum
Dr. Mark Glaum describes how clinical research changed the landscape of how hereditary angioedema (HAE) is treated. HAE is an immune reaction which can be triggered by any number of potentially everyday occurrences, from anxiety and stress to colds and even minor injuries like a scratch. It can cause swelling of the face, intestinal tract and airway and, depending upon the location and severity, also can cause disfigurement or even potentially be life-threatening. HAE previously was only treated with supportive care, but that too has evolved, thanks to the clinical research involved in creating products that are now on the market.
Dr. Glaum describes how these new medications helped a specific patient that had been extremely limited by her HAE.
“She had never gone on a cruise, or a vacation outside of a metropolitan area, because she was afraid that she would have an attack and need treatment,” Dr. Glaum shares. “But, now that she is controlled, with no flare-ups or swelling on the medication, she is free to go and enjoy life and vacations outside of the city.”
Dr. Glaum earned his M.D. degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia, and completed an allergy and clinical immunology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, also in Philadelphia. He says that when he came out of his training, there was only supportive care for hereditary angioedema.
Quality Of Life Improvements
Dr. Amber Pepper
Helping people with allergies and immunological diseases improve their overall quality of life is a priority for all of the doctors at AllergyTampa. Dr. Amber Pepper says she was inspired to focus on the specialty in medical school, after meeting her husband, who has allergies and asthma, and seeing how those conditions affected him. That personal connection, along with the opportunity to shadow Dr. Dennis Ledford (who retired from this same practice), whom she calls an amazing mentor, at USF, made it an obvious choice. Dr. Pepper went on to earn her M.D. degree from USF in 2013 and completed her internal medicine residency and allergy & immunology fellowship at USF in 2016.
Dr. Pepper emphasizes the importance of identifying food allergies, which she says are distinct from food sensitivities and intolerances.
“The thing about food allergies, that is really important, is that if you are truly allergic, you can potentially have anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction that can cause patients to go into shock if not treated immediately), which can be life threatening,” she says, adding that, “there are now certain types of immunotherapies that we can do to try to increase the threshold of food allergies.”
Dr. Emily Dzoba
For people who suffer from certain environmental allergies, Florida can be especially challenging according to Dr. Emily Dzoba, the newest member of the AllergyTampa team. Dr. Dzoba earned her M.D. degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2019 and completed her internal medicine residency there in 2022. In June of this year, she completed her allergy & immunology fellowship at USF and came to AllergyTampa in October.
“What’s pretty unique here in Florida is the pollen season,” Dr. Dzoba says. “It lasts all the way from January to May because of the climate.”
Keeping track of area pollen levels is key for these reasons and the pollen-counting station at USF, which is run by Dr. Glaum, is there to help the wider Tampa Bay community.
“We do counts of pollens that are in the air at any given point and time, on a weekly basis, and report it to the National Allergy Bureau,” Dr. Glaum explains. “It helps our patients keep track of what’s in the air that they might be sensitive to, and gives them a heads-up.”
One thing that Dr. Glaum says makes AllergyTampa — where all of the doctors are Board-certified (Dr. Dzoba’s Board certification is pending) and members of AAAAI — unique is that, “We try to make sure when you come in you see a physician, each time. You don’t see a PA or nurse practitioner. We pride ourselves on taking care of patients like they were our family members.”
AllergyTampa has offices at 13801 BBD Blvd., Suite 502, and in South Tampa at 1906 W. Platt St. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit AllergyTampa.com or call (813) 971-9743.
These renderings of the planned Peak Surf Park on the north side of S.R. 56 near U.S. Hwy. 301, in the Zephyrhills portion of the massive Two Rivers development, show (below left) the entrance to the park, with the central wave device or “plunger” visible behind it and (above) a surfer riding the curl. (Photos and Renderings provided by Tony Miller)
Even though he grew up in Tampa, Peak Surf Park developer and businessman Tony Miller says he and his friends spent a lot of time driving to Florida’s east coast to catch whatever waves were available.
“Sometimes, we did a lot more paddling than surfing,” Tony says, “which was kind of disappointing after driving all that way.”
But today, at age 57, the still-surfing former owner of SPARK, a marketing and advertising agency in Tampa that had Visit Florida and Visit Tampa Bay as two of its largest clients, says his plan is that, “anyone who wants to surf, whether they just want to learn how or are already experts, to be able to do so, with waves that will always be perfect for them. That’s why I’m bringing Peak Surf Park to Pasco County,” which of course, also is known as “Florida’s Sports Coast.”
Tony says he has been studying all of the different “surf lagoon” technologies available and chose Australia-based Surf Lakes, which he says, “has the highest-capacity surf lagoons, with 200 surfers per hour.” He adds that some of Surf Lakes’ competitors can only accommodate nine surfers per hour.
“This technology sends out a wave in each direction,” he says. “Because it’s a full 360º lagoon, with a central wave device (CWD) or ‘plunger’ in the middle, it sends a pulse out and it’s like dropping a rock in a pond — it ripples out in concentric waves. The bottom shapes the waves and we shape the bottom so you have a north wave, south wave, east wave and west wave and each one of those can be a beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert wave — and that’s our game plan, to have those different skill sets, so all levels can have a wave that they can ride at the same time. It’s 30 seconds of the machine pumping up and down and creating the waves. and then the lagoon settles for a minute, when it gets kind of calm again.”
But, speaking of lagoons, Tony says Peak Surf Park will be nothing like the Crystal Lagoons® at Epperson and Mirada, which are basically just huge swimming pools.
“This is a much more active, fun place to be,” he says. “Yes, we will also have about a half-mile of pristine beach area, great food and beverage options and live music for those who will never even think about getting in the surf lagoon to still have a great day, but this is truly an action-adventure park.”
He adds that his experience working with Visit Florida and Visit Tampa Bay has taught him a lot about “customer experience” and he knows that Peak Surf Park will provide a unique experience with something for everyone.
“We believe thousands of people will come to Pasco County from all over for the chance to surf hours away from the nearest ocean — without sharks, jellyfish or bad surf conditions. There are maybe 60,000 surfers currently in Florida, but we believe we will create thousands more from the millions of people living in West Central Florida (which is his protected territory with Surf Lakes), as well as from the millions more visiting this area. I can’t wait for it to open.”
Securing The Land
(above) Peak Surf Park developer Tony Miller today (below left) and in his teens, posing with the first surfboard he ever owned.
Tony says that the hardest part, at least so far, of bringing Peak Surf Park to our area was the large amount of land he needed.
“I was looking for at least 30 acres for almost two years,” he says, “and I was talking to the developers at Two Rivers for more than a year before things got serious. Yes, they have 6,000 acres, but they also have eight home builders and every type of commercial, condo and apartment developer all wanting some of it, so I wasn’t too high on their priority list. I personally drove to at least 87 potential sites all over the area and checked out at least 100 more online before coming to an agreement for this property.”
That search began after Tony commissioned an economic impact study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors in 2022, which indicated that Peak would generate more than $1.3 billion in annual business output and 700 jobs per year, with tax revenue for the county he chose to be in nearly $150 million over ten years. He eventually was able to secure the 35 acres in Two Rivers, so the process of creating the park could begin. Tony also has launched a crowd-funding campaign that accredited investors can take advantage of to fund pre-construction and plans to launch a secondary campaign for retail investors.
He says that although there currently aren’t any surf lagoons anywhere in Florida, he knows a few will be coming online soon and notes that there are four different surf park technologies out there.
“There will be a bunch more lagoons coming to the U.S. over the next two years,” he says. “The entire surf park industry is in its infancy (no more than 5-6 years old), but, a lot more of these surf parks will be going public with announcements. I went public with my announcement earlier than most will. Because I haven’t been a developer, I do things a little bit differently than most developers — and I believe that’s a good thing. I think I’m getting a lot more positive than I am negative out of it, but most developers are pretty close to the vest when it comes to their projects. They don’t really announce anything until they’re ready to break ground.”
He likens surf parks today to where the skiing industry was in the 1930s, “when a few adventurous people would actually climb mountains to ski down them. The advent of chair lifts then opened up access to everyone, and the industry just boomed — to the point where, today, there are 462 ski areas in the U.S. But, you can really only ski at any of them for six months a year, at most, whenever there’s snow on the mountain. With all that being said, this type of surfing is way easier on your body because you’re popping up & riding for 15 seconds at a time. It’s not like bouncing down a mountain. And, here in Florida, you will pretty much be able to surf at Peak all year ‘round.”
What About The Water?
Tony is definitely prepared to answer most of the questions about where the millions of gallons of water for Peak Surf Park will come from.
“The initial fill will likely be municipal water,” he says, “but from there, we will do a lot to capture rain water to minimize any additional water needs we might have. Sustainability and conservation have always been a big component of the surf world and certainly people going to surf parks are going to be very conscientious about that.”
A rendering of the planned deck overlooking the Peak Surf Park lagoon and “plunger.”
He adds, “We looked at various solutions where we can actually take stormwater that’s just held in retention areas and I’ve talked to Swiftmud (the Southwest Florida Water Management District) about being able to take some of that water to flow it through our multi-million-dollar water filtration system to use as a replenishment source. They said that although they wouldn’t normally do that, after they reviewed our proposal, they said, ‘Yes, this is something we would consider permitting.’ I don’t have a specific answer yet in terms of ongoing water but there is going to be a lot of effort to control how much water we will need after that initial fill.”
He adds, “I would tell people this — our surf lagoon is projected to use the same amount of water to fill it and, on an annual basis, if we re-filled it every year, as about three holes of golf.”
Tony also says that, “People see a big lagoon and say, ‘Look at all that wasted water,’ but what they don’t think about is that an 18-hole golf course (and there will be one on the Hillsborough side of Two Rivers) uses about 4-5 times the amount of water, which gets sprinkled over fertilized dirt and runs into the water system, which is far worse environmentally. But, when you see a large lagoon it’s so much more obvious how much water there is, so it’s an education process that these lagoons are much more water-conscious and sustainable.”
Tony says he plans to open Peak by the end of 2027. He believes it will take about a year for him to receive all of the entitlements he needs to break ground and 18-24 months for construction, with about six months built in for unforeseen delays.
For more info, visit PeakSurfPark.com, or connect with Peak on Facebook & Instagram.
Considering that long-established eateries like Red Lobster and TGI Fridays have shuttered many of their stores, it wasn’t a big shock that Bloomin’ Brands — which also is the parent company of Outback, Carrabba’s and Bonefish — made the decision to shutter most of its U.S. locations of Aussie Grill.
Among the stores that already are permanently closed is the Lutz/Wesley Chapel location on the north side of S.R. 56, across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, which closed its doors earlier this month. We had no news at our press time as to what might replace Aussie Grill, but we’ll keep you posted.
Portillo’s Is Coming…But Where?
Meanwhile, Portillo’s — the Chicago-based hot dog and Italian beef chain — originally announced on Dec. 5 that it was opening “later this year” and even gave the address of the new Portillo’s as 26000 S.R. 56 and said that it would be a 6,250-sq.-ft. restaurant. That announcement was later changed to what is shown below, but the spark had been lit, as many midwesterners rejoiced, many locals who had tried but weren’t overjoyed shrugged their shoulders and everyone else tried to figure out how Portillo’s could open a huge sit-down restaurant in just a few weeks time, in a location that already has a huge (actually closer to 8,000 sq. ft.) sit-down restaurant — as that address is where the Rock & Brews on the south side of S.R. 56, in front of the outlet mall, currently sits and is still open (and is still advertising in our pages).
As soon as I saw the original announcement, I headed to the nearest Portillo’s location — on E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa — to ask what the management of that location knew about the new store, but I was referred to corporate, which has not yet responded to my very detailed email, even though the revised press release at Portillos.com shown left deleted the planned address and timeframe in the original (Note-26000 S.R. 56 is still listed as the Lutz address when you click on the “Locations” button on the site).
Of course, I also took the time to sample my first Portillo’s Italian beef sandwich, with added mozzarella cheese and extra Italian gravy/au jus on the side, and I’ll admit it was pretty tasty. Good crinkle cut fries, too.
Our contact at Rock & Brews didn’t get back to us with an answer as to whether or not that location was closing, but we’ll keep you posted. — GN
