(Clockwise from top left photo) Lighting the Hanukkah candles are Tampa Gymnastics & Dance Junior Showstars from the New Tampa Recreation Center
“Last year, the city held a joint Christmas/Hanukkah celebration here” District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera told a small crowd of about 50 people at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, “but this year, I thought it made sense to do separate Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations in New Tampa.”
Viera said that this year, in light of the Israel-Hamas war that began in October, he asked the city to give New Tampa’s Jewish residents their own celebration of the “Festival of Lights” on Dec. 11.Â
(l.-r.) Tony Mulkey of Tampa Parks & Rec, Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, Katherine Saslow & Tracy and Steve Falkowitz
“But, what was really heartwarming was how many people who attended the event weren’t Jewish, but were there to support their Jewish friends and learn more about Hanukkah.”
The candle-lighting ceremony was led by Tampa Palms residents Tracy and Steve Falkowitz, who told the story of Hanukkah and the significance of the nine-candle menorah. Lighting the candles were girls from Tampa Gymnastics & Dance Junior Showstars. Also speaking were Viera and Cindy Spahn from Tampa Jewish Family Services. In addition, on hand were Tampa Parks & Recreation interim director Tony Mulkey, a Rabbi from the Tampa Torah Academy and a representative of the Bryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center.
“I wanted to show support for our Jewish friends, who are still reeling from the Hamas invasion of Israel,” Viera said. “The city stands against the recent increase in anti-Semitism throughout the U.S., even as it supports people of all religions, cultures and races.”
Attendees also got to tour the Rec Center (17302 Commerce Park Blvd.), which was buzzing with activity.
Councilman Viera with Cindy Spahn of Tampa Jewish Family Services
The Grill at Morris Bridge, Stonewood & Via Italia Repeat As Gary’s Top-3 In New Tampa!
he only tomahawk ribeye steak you’ll find on a menu in New Tampa is at The Grill at Morris Bridge, which is Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager’s favorite restaurant in New Tampa for the second year in a row.
Every year, after our readers’ favorite restaurants in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel are published, I like to provide our readers with my own list of favorites — and there are always lots of differences between your choices and mine.
I also always have a few haters every year who say that my reviews aren’t “real,” that I only pick my favorites based on which restaurants advertise with me and/or give me free food, that I have no taste whatsoever, etc.
The primary thing these haters don’t seem (or want) to understand or believe is that the restaurants I tell you about in my annual “Gary’s Favorites” are not just the places I like the most, they’re also the places where I spend the most of my own money. And yes, when you consider that there are literally dozens of restaurants named, Jannah and I do spend a lot of our money dining out (and taking out food) — I’m betting more than just about anyone else in our two distribution areas, especially when you take into consideration our combined annual income.
The haters also don’t seem to “get” the other reason I give my opinions on local eateries every year is that I so appreciate the feedback — both positive and negative — I get after my “Gary’s Favorites” are published each year.
I can’t even tell you how many people come up to me and Jannah when we’re sitting at the bar at The Grill at Morris Bridge, TrebleMakers, Stonewood, Zukku-San, Azteca D’Oro or any of our other favorite eateries to tell me what they think of my opinions. The vast majority of them say things like, “I only even tried this place because of what you wrote about them” or “I didn’t really love this place the first time I tried it, but I decided to give it another try because of you.” If you’ve never felt that kind of love from absolute strangers before, I promise you that it’s one of the things that most makes the long hours I still put in 30 years since I first started doing this job worthwhile.
And yes, a few people also come up to me to tell me that they totally disagree with my assessment of one restaurant or another. Others also tell me that they read my reviews “even though I know they aren’t real.”
But the fact is that whether my haters believe it or not, my dining reviews are 100% real. And, unlike the online trolls who think they’re dining “critics” because they tell their few followers that they hated something they ate (or the service they received) at a particular place, I tell every restaurant owner in our area that when I write a review of their eatery, I will tell more than 170,000 of my “closest friends” (that’s the total possible number of readers we reach in print) everything I like about their place. Anything I don’t like I will tell the restaurant owner about — and pretty much all of them appreciate this approach a lot more then online trolls who cause their overall online ratings to drop.
Since opening in late 2021, The Grill at Morris Bridge finished as the second Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa with our readers last year and third in this year’s voting, even though it has been #1 with me both years, thanks to its always-fresh fish (the bacon parmesan crusted grouper shown here replaced the same dish with mahi-mahi in 2023) and great steaks. In fact, The Grill’s bone-in tomahawk ribeye (see pg. 1), which is now a regular menu item, is the only true tomahawk in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.
Brothers Frank and Jimmy Gouveia also offer one of our area’s best Sunday brunches, the most extensive wine list of any local restaurant, craft cocktails and always-excellent service.
Stonewood’s run as the favorite with our readers continued for an eighth straight year in 2023, and it again comes in just below The Grill with yours truly.
The quality of the fresh fish, steaks (like the unique hand-cut Manhattan strip steak, usually offered as a special, in this picture), pastas and even Jannah’s favorite bowl (the Southwest chicken bowl) in New Tampa, plus the always-packed bar scene make Stonewood an outstanding choice, whether it’s number 1, 2 or lower on your list.
Like The Grill, Stonewood isn’t inexpensive, but there are plenty of much lower-priced restaurants to fill that need for you in our area that can’t match Stonewood’s quality or variety.Â
Where do you go when you love ceviche but can’t eat shrimp? Why, Lima of course! I also love the Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, the unique Chinese fusion dishes like lomo (lo mein) with steak or chicken, and I regularly crave a helping of ceviche with giant corn kernels and Lima is the only place I can enjoy it in New Tampa.Â
Even though Las Palmas isn’t “new,” since it did have a food truck at the same plaza all year in 2022, owners Ramses and Ana Garcia’s Las Palmas moved way up on my list this year when they reopened their brick-and-mortar location a couple of months ago. Ramses’ merluza (white fish) a la Rusa (photo) is as good as it gets and his flank steak churrasco, vaca frita (fried steak), picadillo and roast pork also rock.Â
This “Upscale Neighborhood Pub” truly lives up to its name, as you can’t really call the Fat Rabbit just another “sports bar.” From the best wings and tater tots in town to outstanding grilled chicken sandwiches and big burgers (or choose the burger sliders shown above), plus craft cocktails & lots of whiskeys and that unique bar vibe, what’s not to love?Â
The restaurant formerly known as Oakley’s Grille still has great burgers, fries and other American food, but for yours truly, the attraction of Frammi will always be its outstanding Northern and Southern Italian fare. My favorite dish is the vongole (pasta with baby clams above), but the spicy arrabiata, less spicy Amatriciana, penne alla vodka, lasagne, eggplant parm and pesto options are what keep me coming back.
From having no true Italian restaurants a few years ago to now having three that make my top-10 favorites in New Tampa, this highest-ranking (for me) newcomer offers great Italian comfort foods, like pizza, the meatball parmigiana appetizer above, chicken parm, Momma’s lasagna and penne alla vodka, as well as a variety of popular seafood dishes I can’t eat.
From the grilled lamb chops above to the Athenian fish, saganaki (fried cheese) appetizer and more, the recently redecorated Acropolis found its way back into my top-10 for 2023, with or without belly dancing or hookah pipes.
Gary’s 2023 Favorite Restaurants In New Tampa #s 11-25
The cast of the New Tampa Players’ “Preview” performance at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center on March 25.Â
Although there’s no doubt that there were (and still are) more major news stories coming out of Wesley Chapel in 2023 than there were in New Tampa, zip code 33647 certainly had any number of big news stories of its own the past 12 months. Below are the five that made the biggest splashes.
1. The New Tampa Performing Arts Center Opens!
“Grease” officially opened NTP’s 2023-24 season in July of 2023. (Below) The group known as “Save Pebble Creek” helped get a redevelopment plan for the community’s shuttered golf course rejected by Hillsborough County.Â
It took more than 20 years for it to become a reality, but the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) did finally open in March of 2023, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a New Tampa Players (NTP) “Preview”show. The NTPAC was dedicated to the memory and in honor of NTP founder Doug Wall, who passed away nearly six years before his dream of a local place for his theatre troupe to perform came true.Â
I was in the cast of the first show of NTP’s 2023-24 season — “Grease,” which was true to the original Tony Award-winning Broadway version, but also incorporated songs from the hit 1978 movie starring John Travolta and the late Olivia Newton-John. The Performing Arts Center’s first-ever Fall Festival was held in September and was followed by “Shrek The Musical” in October. NTP will next host performances of “Dreamgirls” (see ad on pg. 5) in February.
2. Pebble Creek Redevelopment Plan Rejected!
As 2023 came to a close, we still had no idea what will happen to the former Pebble Creek Golf Club golf course, which has been shuttered since July of 2021.Â
The plan submitted by GL Homes to redevelop the 149-acre golf course property into 251 single-family homes was rejected on July 17 by the Hillsborough County Commission by a vote of 5-2, as Commission Chair and District 2 (which includes all of Pebble Creek)
Commissioner Ken Hagan told his fellow commissioners that the feedback he had received from the residents of Pebble Creek was overwhelmingly against the GL Homes plan, leaving property owner Bill Place with few options moving forward for his property.Â
With three County Commission seats — including Hagan’s District 2 — up for grabs in a presidential election year, it’s possible that Place is waiting to see how the election changes the Board’s makeup before trying again to redevelop his land.Â
3. Lotte Plaza Market Opens!
Lotte Plaza Market’s Grand Opening in November was attended by hundreds of New Tampa residents and continues to attract large numbers of people for everything from its Korean beauty products (below) to its Sijang Eatery food court.Â
While the opening of the new Aldi supermarket in the former Ruby Tuesday location in New Tampa did receive some fanfare a few years ago, it was nothing compared with the expectations and reaction to the opening — finally! — of the new Lotte Plaza Market Korean/Asian grocery store in the former Sweetbay/Kash N Karry location next to Home Depot.Â
The long-vacant 49,000-sq.-ft. store became the 15th link in the Lotte Plaza chain (the only other Florida location is in Orlando) of Korean/Asian superstores on Nov. 3 and immediately attracted large crowds of people (photos on next page) of all backgrounds and nationalities to its huge selections of produce, fresh fish, meat and groceries, as well as its unique Korean beauty products and its Sijang Eatery food court, which features a half-dozen eateries never before seen in our area.Â
Although the crowds have died down somewhat since that opening month, there’s no doubt that Lotte Plaza Market’s opening is still one of the biggest 2023 news stories for New Tampa. If you still haven’t visited it yet, what are you waiting for? It literally has something for everyone!Â
4. Live Oak Property Sale To Help Build Pride Park
The developer of Anand Vihar in Pasco County purchased an adjacent parcel of land in Live Oak from Hillsborough County that will help the county pay for its planned rec center at Pride Park.Â
Hillsborough County has had a plan in place to build an indoor rec center and expand the outdoor facilities at Pride Park (just south of Pride Elementary) for some time. The county also has owned an unused 61.89- acre parcel of land intended to be a county park, but didn’t have enough money to construct facilities at either location.Â
That is, until Anand Vihar (in Meadow Pointe) developer Santosh Govindaraju decided to purchase (for $6 million) the unused park site in Live Oak, which means the county will be able to begin construction on the Pride Park rec center early this year.
5. Early Storm Causes Damage In New Tampa
he unnamed first major storm of 2023 hit New Tampa hard on June 4. Fortunately, no other major storms blew through our area (or Florida) for the remainder of the 2023 hurricane season.
Thankfully, 2023 was a relatively quiet hurricane season throughout Florida, especially coming on the heels of 2022, which saw two major hurricanes decimate portions of the Sunshine State.Â
And, although Florida and New Tampa were virtually unscathed by any of the 20 named storms (including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes) that hit the Atlantic in 2023, our area received an early dose of hurricane-like Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera had to call for assistance to remove uprooted and downed trees in several New Tampa neighborhoods.Â
City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials came out in force for the ribbon cutting at the new New Tampa Sports Pavilion behind Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms. (All photos provided by the City of Tampa)Â
What used to be six old, underused tennis courts just for students at Liberty Middle School in Tampa Palms has been transformed into a new recreational area for the entire community.
The tennis courts are gone, and what stands in their place will now be called the New Tampa Sports Pavilion.
The Pavilion includes three basketball courts that also can be used for pickleball, tennis and volleyball.
Next to the courts, a huge metal shade structure stands over an artificial turf field. At 166 feet by 127 feet, it’s larger than four school buses lined up one way and three school buses lined up the other.
A building with offices and restrooms is located by the covered field, too.
On November 15, City of Tampa and Hillsborough County School District officials held a ribbon cutting to officially open the new expansion, which will be used by Liberty students during the school day and open to the public whenever school is not in session.Â
The new basketball courts at the Pavilion.
District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, whose son attended Liberty, says the idea was suggested at a 2020 town hall meeting by Tampa Palms resident Alexandra Gilmore. He championed the idea, saying it would add to the other recreational opportunities that have been brought to New Tampa over the last several years.
“This is another big win for New Tampa and a really big deal,” says Viera. “It’s a $4-million expansion, and when you include the $3-million expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center and multi-million-dollar All-Abilities Park, it represents a nearly $10 million investment in parks for New Tampa since 2018.”
He’s referring to the playground that opened at the New Tampa Community Park one year ago, the first of its kind in the city that is designed for kids of all abilities, especially those who may not be able to play at typical playgrounds because they use a wheelchair or have other special needs.
Viera says that investment has made a significant impact.Â
Dist. 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera speaking at the ribbon cutting.
“New Tampa has gone from being a city park desert, where all we had was a rec center that was busting at the seams,” he says, “to being home to the city’s first All-Abilities Park and now this additional expansion.”
The new rec center expansion is located adjacent to the New Tampa Community Park on the property of Liberty at 17400 Commerce Park Blvd.
The ribbon cutting on Nov.15 was attended by Viera, City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Hillsborough County School Board members Jessica Vaughn and Lynn Gray, and Hillsborough’s Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres.
Viera says the public access to the courts will be scheduled after school ends each day, during school holidays, weekends, and summer.
City of Tampa manager of athletics, aquatics and special facilities Heather Erickson says the New Tampa Sports Pavilion has experienced something of a soft opening and expects to be fully operational around January 1.
She says security lights are in place, but the courts themselves are not yet properly lighted, so they currently are only open until sundown.
Starting in 2024, the pavilion will be staffed for open basketball and pickleball nightly, plus scheduled activities.
“Our obligation is to make sure it’s not just a hangout without supervision,” Erickson says. “We also offer classes such as sports readiness for girls and boys, fitness and agility.”
For more information, she says check the City of Tampa website at TampaGov.net after Jan. 1. Navigate to “Parks & Rec,” then “Activities,” then “Athletics.” For questions about using the facility, reach out to Tampa’s supervisor of athletics Cedric Smith at Cedric.Smith@tampagov.net.Â
(l.-r.) Freedom High Business Academy director Brian Nanns, business teacher Natalie Lozada, marketing teacher Derrick McCoy, accounting teacher Stacey Polhill and Freedom assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith . (Photos by Charmaine George)Â
From charter schools and private schools to public school magnet programs, there are plenty of options for high school students in New Tampa to find a customized high school curriculum that will prepare them for the next step in their lives that isn’t always the closest school to where they live.
But now, Freedom High in Tampa Palms is hoping to attract more New Tampa students to choose their local public school with a brand new attractor program that will be the first Business Academy in the Hillsborough County School District.
Students who finish all of the classes in the Business Academy will graduate with a certification that recognizes them as a program completer. Along the way, each class they take will earn them either an industry certification or college credit.
Courses in the Academy include a series of classes in accounting, marketing, business principles and entrepreneurship, many that are either Advanced Placement (AP) or Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), which can result in students earning college credit if they pass an exam.
Freedom’s assistant principal of curriculum Matthew Smith says one reason this program is poised for success is because it actually pays for itself, rather than requiring money to operate.Â
That’s because the Florida Department of Education (FDoE) provides a stipend to schools that prepare students to do jobs that are needed in the workforce. So, when students earn industry certifications or college credits, that state-provided stipend goes back to the school, where it is used to enhance those programs.
“We applied for a state grant to expand into this area because there’s a big shortage in accounting in Florida,” Smith says. “We are planning to transform our regular classrooms into high-tech accounting labs.”
He says this will include seating where students work together collaboratively and have technology to project to the walls, for example, and that the room will likely feature a live stock market ticker.
“This could be a game-changer for Freedom,” Smith says. “We’re hoping to retain neighborhood kids so they don’t have to get on a magnet bus and go somewhere else in Hillsborough County for a different program.”
Smith explains that the Business Academy will be overarching and encompass the school’s Digital Academy, which has been in place for several years and prepares students for careers in game design, web development or related fields.
“Our Digital Academy labs are already well equipped,” he explains, “with more than $200,000 per year in funding from industry certifications that our students receive.”
This allows the labs to be continually updated with the latest technology.
“We are adding AI next year, too,” he says, referring to teaching students about artificial intelligence.
The Hillsborough County School District’s Chief of Innovation and Strategic Planning Marcos Murillo says these and other career and technical education classes have set the foundation for the Business Academy to be built on, and that it will be unique in the District. While other schools offer entry-level classes in subjects such as accounting and marketing, the Business Academy will be more comprehensive.Â
The Business Academy also will encompass the school’s existing Digital Academy
“Freedom will offer more classes in that area than any other school in the District,” Murillo says. “The higher level classes won’t available anywhere else and will allow students to have a more robust transcript to apply for college.”
Murillo’s job is to innovate at every school throughout the county but, he says, “Freedom is dear to my heart. My daughter graduated from there and my son is there now.”
Instructors for Freedom’s Business Academy are already in place and are training for new courses that will be offered for the 2024-25 school year.
For example, Stacey Polhill has worked as an accountant in the private industry and at the school district and has decades of real-world accounting experience.
“She currently teaches math and accounting honors,” explains Smith, “but next year, she will teach additional accounting classes, such as managerial accounting honors or AICE accounting.”
Not all classes will be available next year, but classes will be added as the program grows and students in the program need them.
Other teachers include Brian Nanns, who is the chair of the school’s Career Technical Education Department. He currently serves as director of the Digital Academy, teaching classes such as AP Computer Science Principles, and will be director of the Business Academy, too.
Social studies teacher Eric Galante has a business degree and is now working to get certified to teach AP and AICE business principles and global business classes.
Derrick McCoy currently teaches marketing and television production and will expand the marketing classes that will be made available to students.
Natalie Lozado will teach business ownership and entrepreneurship, which Smith says will teach students how to fully develop a new business, execute their plans, and compete in the marketplace.
To participate in the Business Academy, all students — even if they currently attend Freedom — must apply through Hillsborough County’s “school choice and magnet application” available online at HillsboroughSchools.org/choice.Â
In addition to the Business Academy, Smith says many students use the choice application to join the Digital Academy, which does not carry the “attractor” designation, or to participate in the school’s popular veterinary science program, where students can graduate high school as a Certified Veterinary Assistant.
Freedom will appear on the application as an option during the next choice/magnet application period, which is typically in Feb.
Smith says that if it happens that there is space available in the program, it may be possible for current Freedom students to take some of the classes in the Business Academy. However, seats are reserved for those who are chosen for the attractor program and commit to completing the entire track.
“I can’t wait to build out the program,” Smith says.
