Touch Nail Spas Invite You To Come Pamper Yourself

As the husband-and-wife team of Timmy Pham and Tiffany Ha celebrate the sixth anniversary of the original Wesley Chapel location of their Touch Nail Spa, they have continued to grow by opening new salons, expanding their services, and remaining committed to providing the best possible customer service to keep their clients raving.

Touch Nail Spa’s Wesley Chapel location is 5,000 sq. ft. — the largest nail salon in the area — and conveniently located on S.R. 56, about a mile east of I-75, in the same plaza as Capital Tacos. That location alone employs 44 people.

In December 2020, the second Touch Nail Spa opened in The Village at Hunter’s Lake, in the same plaza with Sprouts Farmers Market off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa. It’s a convenient location with abundant parking and now has more than 30 employees.

“When we opened our first location, we had 10 people working,” Timmy says. “We’ve grown so much.”

And now, Touch Nail Spa has expanded again — as a third location has opened in Odessa at 16222 S.R. 54.

But, Timmy and Tiffany say it’s not important that they are the biggest salon in the area. What they really strive for is to be the best.

“We try to give the best customer service we can,” says Timmy. “There are so many nail salons, and they learn from us and copycat what we’re doing.”

Touch Nail Spa offers beautiful, upscale, serene surroundings with high ceilings for better ventilation, rows of comfortable leather pedicure chairs and plenty of manicure stations to minimize the wait time.

A complimentary beverage is offered with any service, including manicures, pedicures, eyelash extensions, waxing, facials and massages. Complimentary beverages include bottled water, soda, or a glass of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, moscato or sangria, served in a chilled glass (wine is for adults ages 21 and older with proper identification, of course).

Want To Try Something New?

As for new services, the Wesley Chapel location now offers microblading, a semi-permanent treatment to fill in eyebrows, and Timmy is hoping to expand that service to the New Tampa location, as well.

In addition, all three Touch locations now offer eyelash extensions with many options to fit a variety of budgets. 

Whether you’re looking for a simple mani/pedi to keep your fingers and toes neat and polished, a relaxing spa experience with luxurious touches, or a skilled technician to provide the latest trends in nail shapes and designs, Touch Nail Spa can accommodate every desire. 

Touch offers dipping powder, acrylic nails and all kinds of nail designs,  French manicures, gel polish (which lasts longer than regular polish) and more.  

Timmy says each location has always had thousands of colors on hand, but has recently added many more, so the salon is now carrying even more colors than it had prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. He estimates Touch now boasts 3,500+ colors.

But, like so many other business owners have experienced, the pandemic left its mark on Touch Nail Spa.

“We’re so glad Covid is gone,” Timmy says. “The pandemic destroyed a lot.”

While some people still wear masks, restrictions have eased. However, the stringent cleaning protocols that were in place prior to the pandemic are still being utilized at Touch, to ensure the health and safety of clients and employees.

“It seems like people are back to normal,” he explains. “They don’t mind sitting closer now.”

Also back are private nail parties. While all three locations will accommodate groups, only Wesley Chapel can provide a private room for the exclusive use of your gathering, whether it’s for bachelorette parties, birthday parties or bridal/wedding parties. Although they didn’t require a private room, Jannah and her daughters Kristen and Lauren, daughter-in-law Caitlin and Kristen’s boyfriend Chaz each enjoyed a different manicure — from Orange Burst to Strawberries & Cream to basic — and everyone raved about their service, relaxing foot massages and nail techs.   

Timmy says long-time customers have noticed that the salon had no choice but to change its prices after the pandemic. Just as costs have risen for consumers, he says they have risen slightly for Touch Nail Spa, too. He says supplies cost twice what they did prior to the pandemic.

“It gives me a headache,” he says. “I want to be fair with all of the customers and with the technicians, but everything has changed.”

Touch Nail Spa does offer a rewards program for its regular clients. Be sure to ask about it when you visit any of the salons. Customers sign in with their phone number on one of the spa’s iPads and receive one point for every dollar spent. Points can be redeemed for a discounted pedicure, according to current terms. 

Discounted prices also are available for children ages 11 and younger.

Timmy says while he works to keep prices affordable, what he wants most is to please his customers. He promises that at Touch Nail Spa, you will always be serviced by an experienced technician whose goal is to make the customer happy.

“What does the community want us to provide for them?,” he asks. “Come in and tell us what you need.”

Touch Nail Spa offers an electronic gift certificate for all occasions — including Mother’s Day — that can be used at any of its locations. E-gifts are available for purchase at TouchNailAndSpa.com.

The Wesley Chapel (27233 S.R. 56) and New Tampa (8630 Hunter’s Village Rd.) Touch Nail Spas are both open Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sun. To make an appointment with a specific nail technician or for more information about the Wesley Chapel location, call (813) 973-4111. For the New Tampa location, call (813) 536-1003.

TP Blvd. Repaving Nears Completion; Is New Tampa Blvd. Next?

The long-awaited repaving of the east side of Tampa Palms Blvd. (in red on map) is well under way and the City of Tampa expects to complete the repaving project by August or September of this year.

The safety of our children and families is a high priority, not only for the residents of New Tampa, but also for our District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who always is looking for ways to make the City of Tampa — and especially, the community where he lives — safer.

To that end, Viera helped the city secure a grant to pay for not only the repaving of the circular portion of Tampa Palms Blvd. that winds its way through Tampa Palms Areas 1 & 3 (on the east side of Bruce B. Downs, or BBD, Blvd.), but also is already providing for the installation of eight traffic-slowing speed tables on Tampa Palms Blvd. from the southern intersection of BBD (near Florida Executive Realty (bottom left gold logo on map above) all the way around the 2.91-mile stretch to Tampa Palms Blvd.’s northern intersection with BBD, near Lowe’s Home Improvement (see map above). 

Above is an example of an RRFB (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) like the ones on back-order for the Tampa Palms Blvd. repaving project. At right is one of the eight speed tables being installed to slow traffic on the roadway.

The construction of the $4.9-million project already has begun and, when it is fully completed — which Viera and Lara Bouck, the city’s chief production engineer for mobility, believe should be by August or September of this year — the project also will add two sets of three (six total) Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (or RRFBs), which will provide rapidly flashing beacons at marked crosswalks. They believe the RRFBs definitely will enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety at those intersections. There also will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramps installed as part of the project and Bouck says the crews from the project’s contractor — CW Roberts Contracting — currently are installing the speed tables and signs and revising the permanent pavement markings.

Unfortunately, Bouck says, there currently is a 12-20-week wait on the RRFBs. “The latest we heard is that the (RRFB) bases will be shipped to the contractor by the end of July.” However, Bouck says that the bulk of the remaining construction of the project should be completed by May of this year. 

“We got the funds for Tampa Palms Blvd. from a combination of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) and Local Option Gas Tax funds,” says Viera. “I have to thank U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (who represents Florida’s 14th Congressional district) for helping us secure the ARPA funds.”

And, although there was some discussion about narrowing the travel lanes to provide for additional traffic calming through this area, Bouck says, “Travel lanes were not narrowed as a part of this project.”

Is New Tampa Blvd. Next?

Viera says that he is equally concerned about implementing speed-calming improvements on New Tampa Blvd., the main thoroughfare through the West Meadows community.

“New Tampa Blvd. is number one on my priority list for New Tampa for repaving, as I believe it’s long overdue,” Viera says. “So, it’s on the list as next and we have begun seeking some design funding for it, but nothing is concrete yet. However, while we have had (I believe) design forwarded for this for funding, most construction projects for mobility have been put on hold, if they were connected to the penny sales tax and that includes this one.”

Bouck confirms that the New Tampa Blvd. project is not currently funded in the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), but Viera says, “We continue to pursue funding (grants, etc.) to address the resurfacing backlog throughout the city.”

Of course, voters across Hillsborough County passed a 1-cent sales tax referendum (with 57% of the voters voting for it) to fund its capital improvements in 2018, only to have the referendum shot down in court due to ballot language issues. A similar referendum on the Nov. 2022 ballot was not passed by the voters, but millions in 2018 sales tax funds were already being collected. It is now up to the state to decide how those funds should be distributed. Once that issue is resolved, however, Viera is hopeful that the city will receive enough of the money to fund the improvements for New Tampa Blvd. We’ll keep you posted.

HOSA Team Places First In The State!

Congratulations go out to Strawberry Crest High sophomores — and New Tampa residents — Elizabeth Chettipally, Aditi Nair, Anika Prasad and Netra Vijay (photo), who placed first in their category at the Health Occupations Students of America (aka HOSA-Future Health Professionals) State Leadership Conference held at Orlando Apr. 13-16.

The girls of “Project Pink” will next be representing Florida at the HOSA National Leadership Conference in Atlanta in late June.

The quartet’s project was an attempt to increase breast cancer awareness in our local community and obviously, their presentation at the Conference was effective, as they placed first in the “Community Awareness — Teamwork” category.

Strawberry Crest High, located in Dover, has an International Baccalaureate (IB) program attended by many New Tampa residents and is one of 30 Florida high schools with more than 100 HOSA members. Several other Strawberry Crest students also won awards at the State Conference, including a “Creative Problem Solving” team that also took home first place honors. I apologize that I did not have all of the other winners’ full names at our press time, or I would have mentioned them here, too.

Nibbles & Bites: Mpanitas Opens On CC Blvd.!

For those seeking unique local options outside of the KRATEs, we also wanted to let you know that the second Tampa location of Mpanitas has opened in the oft-vacated spot in the Mobil gas station plaza at 10865 Cross Creek Blvd.

With delicious Venezuelan favorites like the excellent empanadas shown here (above), stuffed with your choice of shredded or ground beef, chicken, cheese, ham & cheese, potatoes & cheese and even fish, Mpanitas also serves arepas, mini-empanadas, mandocas, sweet tequeños and outstanding café con leché. For more info, follow “mpanitas” on Instagram.

Taste The Unique Flavors At Desi Flavors Indian Cuisine 

If you don’t already like Tandoori-style chicken (Above), vegetable samosas (Below), butter chicken with butter naan (bread) (Below), gulab jamun (Indian-style donuts) (Below) or chicken biryani (Below) at most Indian restaurants, our editor says you should still try all of these new favorites of his at Desi Flavors Indian Cuisine, located in the Telecom Park off E. Fletcher Ave., a couple of miles west of I-75. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Long-time readers of this publication no doubt realize that Indian food has never my favorite cuisine type. On the other hand, if more Indian restaurants served the subtly delicious flavors I’ve sampled at Desi Flavors Indian Cuisine, I might have spent more time in Indian eateries.

Owner Sree Alla, an information technology (IT) guy who worked for many years at an Indian restaurant in Atlanta, opened Desi Flavors, the first restaurant he has owned himself, in the Tampa Telecom Park off E. Fletcher Ave. in December 2020 — in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even so, Sree says he has continually built a loyal following since opening and he is hoping that his ads and this story in the Neighborhood News will help him continue to reach new customers in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

The food, at least what photographer Charmaine George, her boyfriend Brendan and I sampled on a recent visit, is pretty impressive. While most Indian cuisine is curry-based, Sree explains that there are so many different types and heat levels of curries that the same dishes at every Indian restaurant can taste different from every other place.

Whatever the reason, there’s no doubt that Sree’s dishes from all regions of India are full of flavor, which explains the “Flavors” in the restaurant’s name. The “Desi” in the name means “country person,” or “one from our country,” and also can refer to people from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

About The Menu…    
Vegetable Samosas

The only way to describe the two-sided menu at Desi Flavors is HUGE! The starters on the front of the menu are divided into “Veg” and “Non-Veg.” To date, we’ve only sampled the vegetable samosas (minced potato and green peas deep-fried in pastry dough), but they were crispy and had a milder, more delicate flavor than many of the samosas I’ve sampled elsewhere, and were served with two different chutneys (sauces).

Other “Veg Starters” I am looking forward to trying include the spring rolls (minced veggies wrapped in rice paper and fried), the chilli paneer (crispy paneer tossed in a spicy sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce) and the gobi Manchurian (cauliflower florets dipped in corn flour, deep fried and tossed in ginger, garlic, spring onion and chilis).

The “Non-Veg Starters” I look forward to trying include the non-veg samosas (with chicken or lamb), the chilli chicken (crispy chicken in the same spicy sauce as the cauliflower) and the fried fish pakora (fritters).

Charmaine, Brendan and I did try one of the “Tandoori Sizzlers” on the front side of the menu — the chicken kababs, which are boneless pieces of chicken marinated in the Tandoori spice mix and cooked in a clay oven, served with fresh onions and peppers. Yum! There also are chicken on the bone, shrimp, fish (filet or whole), paneer (cheese)and mixed grill Tandoori options.

Chicken Biryani

The chicken biryani Sree had us sample also had a completely different flavor than most others I’ve tried. The long-grain basmati rice is flavored with unique spices and the rice and bone-in chicken served on top of it are sealed in a thick pot and cooked over a slow flame. The chicken seemed spicier than the rice, but both were very tasty. I definitely plan to try the goat and lamb options in the future, but there are eleven different biryani on the Desi Flavors menu.

On the menu’s flip side, there are 20 non-vegetable entrées, but all we tried was the butter chicken, another dish I’ve not always enjoyed elsewhere. The tender pieces of boneless Tandoori chicken are cooked in a rich, creamy (and very mild) tomato sauce with butter. It is served with a side of perfect butter naan bread (one of 12 baked-to-order breads on the menu) and basmati rice with peas and carrots.

Butter Chicken with Butter Naan (bread)

Other non-veg entrées include chicken tikka masala, kadai chicken or lamb with pan-sautéed veggies, butter lamb and Chef’s Signature lamb, goat, shrimp or fish curry.

There also are 18 different vegetable entrées, from Chana (garbanzo bean) masala to palak paneer (spinach and cottage cheese seasoned with ginger, garlic and aromatic spices) and malai kofta (dumplings of fresh veggies and cheese cooked in a mild cream sauce).

Craving something different? Desi Flavors also offers Indo-Chinese options like fried rice or hakka (similar to lo mein) noodles, both with your choice of veggies, egg, chicken, shrimp or mixed.

There also are eight South Indian options, including Idly (steamed rice and lentil patties served with chutneys), chole poori (minced veggies wrapped in rice paper and fried), upma (thick porridge made with coarse rice flour and different veggies and nuts) and eight different dosa crepes made from rice and lentils, served with sambar (lentils in tamarind & coconut), tomato and coconut chutneys.

Mango Lassi
Gulab Jamun (Indian-style donuts)

Save room for dessert, too. We got to sample the gulab jamun (Indian-style donuts made from evaporated milk solids deep-fried and served in a light sugar syrup) and rasmali (which reminded me of rice pudding) and I particularly enjoyed the gulab. Charmaine also really raved about the mango lassi, a super-creamy drink made with mango, yogurt, milk, a little sugar and a dash of cardamom. I also felt the hot masala chai tea was super-smooth.

Desi Flavors also has a variety of specials throughout the week. On Wednesdays (5 p.m.-9:30 p.m.), the South Indian menu options are buy-one, get-one free. The same offer goes for biryanis on Thursday evenings. On the weekends (Fri.-Sun), get a family biryani pack with a free appetizer or house special dessert to go for only $29.99 (veggie) to $45.99 (shrimp).

And, Saturdays and Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Desi Flavors is proud to offer its 35-item Grand Lunch Buffet for only $16.99 per person, or $11.99 per child under age 12.

Desi Flavors Indian Cuisine (13418 Telecom Dr. in zip code 33637) is open Tues.-Thur., 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. & 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m.; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. & 5 p.m.-10 p.m. on Fri.; 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. & 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; and 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. & 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. on Sunday, For more information, call (813) 615-0004, visit DesiFlavorsTampa.com. And, please tell Sree and his staff that the Neighborhood News sent you! 

The weekend Grand Lunch Buffet at Desi Flavors offers a wide variety of the restaurant’s most-requested dishes for just $16.99 per person. (photo provided by Sree Alla)
Look for this sign when you turn off E. Fletcher Ave onto Telecom Dr. or you could drive past Desi Flavors Indian Cuisine.