Aggressive Approach Yields Tourism Results

Pasco County has put its tourism department on steroids.

The county’s formerly sleepy, nature-centric manner of attracting visitors is giving way to a high-powered, aggressive approach that, if everything goes according to plan, will soon yield a new brand that is expected to focus on the county’s diverse offerings.

Executive director Adam Thomas of the Pasco County Visitor Bureau has commissioned Tallahassee-based public relations firm Zimmerman Agency, LLC, to help coordinate a brand relaunch at a cost of $481,000. In other words, the motto “Open spaces. Vibrant Places.” could be giving way to something that reaches a broader, more defined audience.

“We are building a platform that is going to springboard us into the future and will make us relevant in the Florida tourism market,” Thomas says.

Working with local leaders, the Zimmerman Agency is expected to unveil a draft plan by Aug. 31, and the new brand for Pasco tourism could launch in early October.

Thomas says his goal is to help develop a “life-cycle” of tourism, where visitors fall in love with the area they are visiting, and decide to relocate their families or businesses here, and feed the ongoing growth of Pasco County.

While the county already boasts a variety of festivals and outdoor activities, as well as a bustling western coastline attractive to those who like water sports like fishing, inland suburban areas like Wesley Chapel have evolved quickly to offer even more, like two thriving shopping malls.

Natalie Taylor of “Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend” talks with Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, Gordie Zimmerman and Adam Thomas about Pasco County tourism.

If tourism in Pasco County felt somewhat staid in the past, it could have been for a lack of product that is now becoming more ample.

Wesley Chapel already is proving there is fruit on the sports tree, thanks to the overwhelming and immediate success of Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI).

Helped by a two-percent increase in the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) last year to help pay for a new sports complex (see below) in Wiregrass Ranch, FHCI deserves to receive at least some of the credit for the recent boost in tourism dollars filling county coffers.

The TDT has raised more than $200,000 every month through June this year, with a high of $355,279 in April. Last year, the most it raised in any month was $157,942.

Managing partner Gordie Zimmermann (no relation to the agency) says FHCI is booked almost every weekend with hockey tournaments and other events, a majority of them requiring at least a two-night stay.

There is a rush to build more hotels (the Hyatt Place just opened and three more are on the way along S.R. 56), so visitors have a place to stay, and FHCI is more than able to fill them. “We didn’t have as many places to stay in Pasco County in the past,” says District 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore. “Now, the visitors that may have come to Pasco for a day trip or to visit family can stay. We now have (hotels).”

Moore also said that in the past, the county has lost out on events, due to a lack of facilities, like FHCI, hotels and even enough shopping options and restaurants.

“Now, we can handle all of those visitors,” says Moore, who lives in Wesley Chapel.

Our area should be prepared to handle even more in 2019 and, as a result, more hotels and restaurants are on the way.

“I don’t know if they have ever seen anything like this in the history of the county, and we’re really just ramping up,” Zimmermann says. “We have a lot of different events coming in 2019 that we didn’t even have in 2018. It’s something every week.”

Even the “American Idol” auditions held last week (and one year ago) produced overnight stays. However, it has been the various ice sports, from youth and adult hockey to figure skating events, driving Wesley Chapel’s increased impact on county-wide tourism.

FHCI recently hosted a roller hockey tournament featuring 200 teams over the course of 10 days. Any number of events the facility has already hosted are the largest Pasco County has ever seen, Zimmermann says.

“I’m not surprised by the increase in tourism right now,” says Hope Allen, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. “We can definitely  tip our hat to Gordie for the majority of that.”

Next year, the new RADDSports-developed Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex will enter the tourism market and, like FHCI, is likely to make a huge impact of its own.

Thomas also hopes to shine a spotlight on some of Pasco County’s other treasures, including those that speak to the county’s reputation for open spaces, even if those seem to shrinking.

He said “influencers” in the travel industry will be enlisted to spread the word, even travel bloggers, many of whom have large audiences.

On a recent travel post, a blogger wrote of a trip she took, sponsored by VisitPasco, to the county. She wrote (and posted videos) about staying at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Suncoast Pkwy., where to rent a car or a bike, cycling through Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, enjoying a balloon ride in Land O’Lakes, ziplining at TreeHoppers Aerial Adventure Park in Dade City and enjoying great food at Capital Tacos and Noble Crust in Wesley Chapel.

“Those are the people that can persuade someone’s travel plans,” Thomas says. “It’s all about finding different ways and different strategies.”

‘I Only Vote In The Important Elections’ — Too Many Locals

I have never been the most political (or politically correct) guy in the world, but I have watched and covered so many elections — local, state and national — over the nearly 25 years I have been the owner and editor of this publication that I can’t help but notice that more often than not, more people than not do not vote in local elections.

And, the #1 reason I hear from New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents for not voting is always the same: “I only vote in the important elections, like for our President.”

Well, I’m here to tell you that if you’re a) not already registered to vote or b) don’t plan to vote in the upcoming Primary Election on Tuesday, August 28, or the General “Midterm” Election on Tuesday, November 6, you’re selling yourself — and your community — short.

In August, three of Pasco’s five School Board seats (in other words, 60 percent!) are up for grabs and, unless there is a Runoff Election in any of those three districts (all Pasco School Board and County Commission seats are elected countywide), this will be your only chance to have a say in who will be responsible for building and staffing schools and protecting your public school children.

That fact alone should at least get you thinking about getting out to the polls on Aug. 28, although it is past the deadline to do so if you’re not already registered to vote as you’re reading this. In addition, with so many parents concerned about the future plans (in 2020) to again re-zone the schools in Wesley Chapel, getting out to vote for the candidates you believe will be the most likely to help keep your children where you want them perhaps should be important enough to get you to cast a ballot this year.

Two of those candidates — three-term incumbent Allen Altman in District 1 and Heide Janshon, one of two candidates attempting to unseat two-time District 3 incumbent Cynthia Armstrong — have taken ads (both on page 5) in this issue, in order to try to help convince you to get out and cast a ballot for them.

There also are six local judges and several local Community Development District (CDD) Board candidates who will be elected on Aug. 28, and there will be primaries for U.S. Senate, Florida’s next Governor, Attorney General and Commissioner of Agriculture, as well as the State Senate.

If you decide not (or you’re not already registered) to vote on Aug. 28, you have until Tuesday, October 9, to get yourself registered for the General Election on Nov. 6.

At that time, in addition to voting for U.S. and State Senate, as well as Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Agriculture, you’ll also get to vote for two County Commission seats and our area’s Dist. 38 State Representative.

One of those November contests will have Pasco County Dist. 2 Commissioner Mike Moore squaring off against fellow Wesley Chapel resident Kelly Smith. I just wanted to make it clear that the fact that we have a story about Smith, a political newcomer, in our latest issues isn’t an endorsement for her or in any way an indictment of the job that Moore has done since being elected in 2014. We just felt it was newsworthy for our readers that Mike will face an opponent who also lives in Wesley Chapel.

As For Endorsements…

The first 10 or 15 years that I owned this publication, I felt it was my job to go to as many governmental meetings as possible in order to cover those meetings for our readers and to get to know as many of our local, state and some national (such as District 12 U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis) elected officials as I possibly could. One of the reasons I did so was so I could make intelligent endorsements, based on my knowledge of our area’s infrastructure and other needs.

I began phasing out making endorsements about 10 years ago, in part because I have had other people covering most governmental meetings. I never really had any problem with the often negative feedback I would receive when I would endorse one candidate over another, but I will say that I have gotten a lot less hate mail since then. At any rate, get out and vote, New Tampa and Wesley Chapel!

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday!

You can now add Ruby Tuesday to the list of New Tampa restaurants that have closed in recent years, as it joins Casa Ramos and Las Palmas this year alone. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Longtime New Tampa fixture Ruby Tuesday abruptly closed its doors in late July, which was a surprise to many local residents.

The restaurant, which boasted “Simple Fresh American Dining” and had arguably the best (only?) salad bar around, was located on the corner of Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in front of the popular AMC Highwoods 20 movie theater.

While it didn’t lack for passing traffic, it apparently was lacking in paying customers, joining more than 100 Ruby Tuesdays across the country that have been shuttered over the last year.

According to RestaurantBusinessOnline.com, Ruby Tuesday has closed 400 locations in the past decade.

Based in Maryville, TN, the dining chain was purchased by NRD Capital last year, and named Ray Blanchette as CEO in January in an effort to turn the company around.

Visitors on July 22 were greeted by a printed sheet of paper taped to the inside of the front door, saying “This Location Has Closed,” and directing people to the Ruby Tuesday in Valrico.

The manager at the Valrico restaurant confirmed that the New Tampa location was closed for good, but declined to answer any other questions. Messages left at Ruby Tuesday’s corporate offices were not returned.

Ruby Tuesday joins a growing list of shuttered restaurants in New Tampa in the past two years.
This year alone, Tampa Palms Mexican restaurant Casa Ramos and Pebble Creek’s Las Palmas Spanish Café have closed their doors, joining others like Dairy Queen and Vuelo’s Mexican Grill on BBD, as well as Beef O’Brady’s on Cross Creek Blvd.

The Dairy Queen location has a new tenant that has yet to open, but is expected to

be a Jamaican restaurant, and the old Vuelo’s site (which was formerly a Romano’s Macaroni Grill) may have a new restaurant group interested in bringing something new to the area, but the others remain vacant.

And, speaking of places that have closed recently in New Tampa, the H.H. Gregg appliance and electronics store located in the Market Square plaza on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms closed last year, and last month, the Staples store in the same plaza shut down.

 

Nibbles & Bytes

Kate Spade Opens In TPO!

“We are now at 100-percent occupancy,” Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) general manager Stacey Nance told me at the July 20 ribbon cutting event for the new Kate Spade store (photo) in TPO. “How many malls can say that?”

In addition to Kate Spade (see below), Nance says the remaining three slots at the outlet mall also are all now taken — True Religion Designer Jeans & Clothing, Salt Life and the Man Cave Store, which has been a hit at other Simon malls with billiards tables, Harley Davidson gear, Mr. Beer and more.

But, there’s no doubt that a lot of people — dozens were on hand during or shortly after the store’s ribbon cutting to check out the deals — are excited about the high-end handbags, wallets, clothing and accessories at Kate Spade, the store chain that the late designer Kate Brosnahan and her husband Andy Spade (the brother of actor/comedian David Spade) created as Kate Spade New York in 1993, combining her first name and his surname. The couple had sold all of their interest in the brand to Nieman Marcus by 2006, which then sold it to Liz Claiborne that same year.

Of course, Kate was found dead in her apartment on June 5 of this year, by her own hand, leaving a note for her daughter Frances.

“We signed this lease in December,” Nance, an admitted fan of the brand, said. “And we’re really excited that Kate Spade is open.”

Get Ready For The Hyatt Place!
“We know there’s not enough hotel rooms in Wesley Chapel right now,” says Karen Martin, the director of sales for the new 132-room Hyatt Place hotel on the north side of S.R. 56, next to Bahama Breeze, which had its “soft” opening on July 31. “But, it’s about to get a lot more fun out here.”

Martin says that although the six-story hotel just opened, “My phone’s been ringing off the hook for weeks, especially with people booking rooms for tournaments at the hockey rink (Florida Hospital Center Ice, located just east of I-75 on S.R. 56, while the Hyatt Place is just west of the interstate).

Although Martin says the new Hyatt Place doesn’t have full Hyatt resort amenities, it does have a Gallery restaurant and bar, a separate breakfast area, an outdoor swimming pool, nice fitness and business centers and meeting spaces with built-in audio/visual features.

The adjacent Sierra Conference Center has a really nice ballroom that Martin says can seat about 350 people with tables in a banquet setup and can be subdivided into three smaller ballrooms, which can each seat at least 250 people each in a theatre-style seating set-up. Martin says she also loves the conference center’s adjacent break-out and outdoor seating areas.

“But, to really get a feel for whether or not we should be hosting your event,” she says, “you should come out and take a tour. We’re all really excited to be open.”

She adds that the hotel hopes to host an upcoming “Final Friday” networking event for the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and is planning “a big Grand Opening event sometime in November.”

The Hyatt Place Wesley Chapel is located at 26000 Sierra Center Blvd. For more information, call (813) 803-5600 or visit HyattPlace.com.

We’ll have updates about the Hilton Garden Inn & Residence Inn hotels coming soon to S.R. 56 in our next issue.

Here & There, This & That…

• I can’t even tell you how excited my taste buds are now that Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel favorite Nothing Bundt Cakes has opened across from Noble Crust in the Shops at Wiregrass mall. Whether you love red velvet or dark chocolate cake with extra creamy white icing, or the decadent white chocolate raspberry bundt cake, Nothing Bundt Cakes will have you salivating for more.

Check out a free sample when you visit and please tell the staff that you read all about them in the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

• I also was sad to hear, despite owner Ramses Garcia’s best efforts to negotiate a new lease with his landlord, that Las Palmas Spanish Café, the Latin/Cuban favorite located behind Kobe Steakhouse in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (a mile south of County Line Rd.), had closed.
Garcia had been talking to me for several months about how hard it had been for the businesses in the plaza to stay afloat, with the Bruce B. Downs widening construction still ongoing in front of the plaza, but he was still hoping to work things out less than two weeks before he announced the closing on Facebook. Will Garcia reopen in another location? We’ll keep you posted!

• Meanwhile, congratulations go out to my friends Travis and Fiona Monday, the owners of Fit 4 Life Personal Training & Physical Therapy Studio (17419 Bridge Hill Ct. in Tampa Palms), who celebrated the studio’s 22nd year in business with another great Martini Party, catered by the nearby Stonewood Grill & Tavern, on July 20.

 

Commissioners Hagan & Crist Favored To Swap Seats In November

Hillsborough County commisioner candidates Ken Hagan, Victor Crist and Ray Chiaramonte are among those hoping to advance beyond Tuesday’s primaries to the Nov. 6 election.

Two county commissioners with long-time ties to New Tampa — former resident Ken Hagan and current Tampa Palms resident Victor Crist — will be hoping to win their Primary Elections on Tuesday, August 28, in their efforts to effectively swap seats in the general election on Nov. 6.

Both have been term-limited out of their current positions.

Comm. Hagan, who is currently the District 5 commissioner, a countywide seat, is running in District 2, which represents all of New Tampa, as well as Lutz, Temple Terrace and Thonotosassa. Hagan held the Dist. 2 seat from 2002-10.

Comm. Crist, currently the Dist. 2 commissioner, is running for Hagan’s Dist. 5 seat.

Hagan, 50, has been one of the highest-profile commissioners in recent months, due to his role as the county’s lead negotiator in luring the Rays to Tampa to play in a proposed $892-million stadium in Ybor City.

For his primary race against first-time office seeker Chris Paradies, Hagan had raised a staggering $484,374 at our press time. Paradies, a Keystone resident who has been critical of Hagan’s position as a political lifer who attempts to avoid term limits by jumping seats in order to stay in office, had raised $27,523.

Ken Hagan

Hagan, who has often been viewed as a pro-development commissioner, has been active in seeking New Tampa’s support in his current campaign. He has co-hosted two local town hall meetings with Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and has been active in trying to get new parks built or expanded in K-Bar Ranch and Branchton Park off Morris Bridge Rd.

Hagan also proposed adding $250,000 to the county budget last year to speed up a potential connection of Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe.

In June, FloridaPolitics.com named Hagan the ninth most powerful politician in Tampa Bay.

Democrat Angela Birdsong, like Hagan, a Carrollwood resident, has raised $21,674, and she awaits the winner of Hagan vs. Paradies. Birdsong has recently picked up her efforts in New Tampa, as she seeks to expand her profile.

Crist, 61, is running against Angel S. Urbina Capo in countywide Dist. 5.

A longtime local fixture, Crist has been a strong proponent of a New Tampa Cultural Center, which is expected to finally come to fruition — by 2020. He championed, as did Hagan when he served in Dist. 2, the idea of a New Tampa “town center,” which is now under development at the Hunter’s Lake project across from Hunter’s Green.

Comm. Crist had raised $121,300 at our press time, while Capo, a 47-year-old cybersecurity consultant, was at $6,768.

Crist talks to a group at Hunter’s Green Country Club last year about plans for a New Tampa Cultural Center.

Crist’s profile, connections and list of accomplishments in government dwarf Capo’s, and he is favored to win the primary. In Nov. 6, the winner will face Joe Kotvas, who is not affiliated with any party, and whoever emerges from the Democratic primary between Mariella Smith and Elvis Piggott.

Smith, a fourth-generation Tampa native currently living in Ruskin, is a 64-year-old small business owner and has been a longtime citizen advocate and community leader who could present a formidable challenge to Crist should she defeat Piggott, a 30-year-old church pastor who had been out-raised $73,978 to $20,315.

A crowded field is seeking the District 7 seat, which also is countywide.

Four Democrats – Ray Chiaramonte, Mark Nash, Kimberly Overman and Sky White — are running. All have either governmental or activist experience.

Nash has held the edge in fund-raising, pulling in $82,768, but Chiaramonte wasn’t far behind at $74,876, followed by Overman ($54,410) and White ($9,718.22).

Chiaramonte, who stopped in at the Neighborhood News office to talk county politics with editor Gary Nager, has been the executive director of the county’s Planning Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization and most recently, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA, from which he elected not to renew his contract last year).

He says that as a lifelong Hillsborough resident and regional transportation specialist, he is the candidate in the best position to help focus on the transportation issues throughout our area. Look for more of Gary’s interview with Chiaramonte in these pages if he wins the primary.

Republican Aakash Patel, however, has raised more than all of them combined. With a $381,594 war chest (that tops half a million dollars when you include money raised by his political committee, Elevate Tampa), Patel also has some big-time endorsements from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, State House Speaker Richard Corcoran, former Speaker Will Weatherford and Congressman Gus Bilirakis.

His opponent on August 28, attorney Todd Marks, had raised $138,866.

School Board primary elections also will be held, though not for New Tampa’s District 3 seat, currently held by Cindy Stuart. However, a countywide seat in District 6 (to replace April Griffin) is up for grabs, and a field of six candidates will contend for the spot on Primary Day.