After a packed opening day & ribbon cutting last Friday & an even more crowded opening weekend, the Lotte Plaza Market is open every day, with huge varieties of Asian groceries, plus fresh fish, produce & meat departments, home & beauty products & six different food court restaurants!
Look for the full story in the Nov 14 New Tampa & Nov 28 Wesley Chapel issues!
Last issue, I told you that Mochinut — which says on its website that its unique donuts are Hawaiian-inspired combinations of American donuts and Japanese mochi — was getting ready to open two locations in our area. The Lutz/Wesley Chapel Mochinut is located on the north side of S.R. 56 (in the former location of Pho 54, next to Astro Craft Ice Cream and Mellow Mushroom; right photo), while the New Tampa location is in the space previously occupied by Mahana Fresh on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just north of I-75.
Well, both Mochinut locations are now open and yes, the donuts — which are now served at more than 130 locations around the country, and are available in a rotating variety of flavors (see left photo for just a few of them), from biscoff creme to ube (purple sweet potato) frosted — are light, airy and definitely taste nothing like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts.
I still haven’t sampled Mochinut’s rice flour hot dogs, but definitely plan to soon. All Mochinut locations also serve a variety of boba teas.
The two locations are different from each other inside, to suit their individual spaces.
For more information, visit or call the Lutz/Wesley Chapel location (25704 Sierra Center Blvd.), call (813) 949-5877. We could not find a phone number for the New Tampa location (17512 Doña Michelle Dr.), but you can visit Mochinut.com for more info about all of the Mochinut locations. — GN
We first told you about it months ago when it was “Opening Soon.” And we updated the story when that original opening date didn’t happen (as happens so often here in Pasco County.
Well, Wesley Chapel’s Playa Bowls has finally opened, at 2653 BBD Blvd. (in the same plaza as The Hungry Greek). It offers a large variety of healthy bowls. The concept was born at the Jersey Shore but is called “Pineappleland” because of its founders Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor’s love of the acai and pitaya bowls they encountered during their surfing trips to Hawaii and California.
Today, the founders’ shared vision has grown to more than 200 locations nationwide, including 15 here in the Sunshine State.
In addition to healthy plant-based bowls (including oatmeal and chia pudding bowls), Playa Bowls features fresh juices, smoothies and cold brews. For more information, visit PlayaBowls.com. — GN
With the large population of Asian people living in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, there’s no doubt that a lot of folks in both of our distribution areas have been excited about the long-awaited opening of the Lotte Plaza Market, the latest link in the largest (with more than a dozen units) chain of Asian supermarkets.
Well, that wait is about to end, as Lotte (located at 17605 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.) has not only scheduled its Grand Opening to the public for Friday, November 3, at 9 a.m., yours truly got to walk around — and take pictures of all of the departments — at the nearly-finished store shortly before we went to press with this issue. And, even though I’m not Korean or of Asian descent, I am truly excited about this 49,000-sq.-ft. former (and long-vacant) Sweetbay (and Kash N Karry before that) store, which is much more than just another supermarket.
Yes, there are massive bags of rice, a huge variety of Ramen noodles and many other Asian staples. But, the thing that got me most excited, as you might expect, is that our Lotte will have at least five different options in it sizable food court (called Eatery Sijang), all of which are serving different Korean cuisine, although there also is a renowned South Korea-owned French bakery chain, called Tous Les Jours. The other food court options, which are sure to be packed every day, include Luna Tea, BB.Q Chicken, SGD So Gong Dong Tofu & BBQ and JAWS Topokki.
Check the pics on this page for not only under-construction food court pics, but of the fresh seafood, butcher shop, grocery and Lotte’s unique gifts and housewares. For more info, visit LottePlaza.com. — GN
The Neighborhood News was on hand for the ribbon cutting at the beautifully revamped & reopened Las Palmas Latin Grill at 6431 E County Line Rd, off Bruce B Downs Blvd, in the same plaza as Five Guys. Take a look & go check out our friends Ramses & Ana Garcia’s new & improved place…and tell them we sent you!
While organizing a Multicultural Fair at the school with her staff and PTA members, Clark Elementary (located in West Meadows) principal Dr. Delilah Rabeiro says they soon realized that 35 different languages were being spoken at the school.
PTA secretary Meghan Shirey, who helped organize the fair on Sept. 27, says that the goal was to have as many of the different cultures at the school as possible represented at the event.
At least nine different countries — including China, Brazil, The Philippines, Italy, Vietnam. Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Puerto Rico and a large contingent from India provided authentic food from their countries. There also were performances by some of the students, including traditional dances and songs.
After the performances, all of the students lined up to walk the stage for a fashion show that showed off traditional outfits from their culture. All of the kids and parents seemed really excited to show off their food and clothing to each other and many asked questions about the other attendees’ food and cultural traditions.
