New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Food

Ford’s Garage was a hit immediately after opening.

Fat Rabbit, Wok Chi & Snowrolls On Our List Of Favorite New Eateries In 2017

As part of our “year in review” series of stories in this issue, assistant editor John Cotey and I decided that I should include something about all of the new restaurants that opened in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel in 2017.

And of course, since I love to write about new places to eat, I decided to mention a few of my favorites that opened in our area over the past 12 months.

In Wesley Chapel, my favorite new eatery is Noble Crust.

But, Noble Crust was far from alone on the list of new places to eat north of the Pasco County line in our distribution area. In The Shops at Wiregrass alone, in addition to Noble Crust, Irish 31, Wok Chi and Menchie’s all opened and all of them were great additions to the dining scene at the Shops.

After Noble Crust, Ford’s Garage is definitely my favorite newcomer, with a really good seared tuna appetizer, tender steaks and a great Chicken Henry entrée. None of the other new entries around the Tampa Premium Outlets mall make my list, as most are fast food, my favorite of which is Culver’s, followed by Pollo Tropical, Starbucks, Panda Express, Wendy’s and Taco Bell.

Fat Rabbit

Irish 31 also makes my list of new favorites, even though the menu has a few too many fried items for my taste. However, the Ploughman’s salad and Farmer’s Fried Chicken, as well as a pretty good ribeye steak keep it near the top of the newbies for me.

I also really enjoy not only the build-it-yourself stir-fry dishes at Wok Chi, but also the Chi-Licious pork spareribs, the egg rolls and dumplings and even the hot green tea.

Meanwhile, here in New Tampa, we didn’t see as many new places to eat open, but The Fat Rabbit in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center and Precinct Pizza on Cross Creek Blvd. are both pretty good, with Fat Rabbit being my favorite of the two for its excellent burgers and blackened wings.

And, although it isn’t truly a restaurant, per se, the new Snowrolls, the  ice cream shop in the Pebble Creek Collection also is pretty incredible. Even though you can now get rolled ice cream in other places in our area, the quality of the ice cream and the variety of  flavors and toppings at Snowrolls is second to none.

This first location of a new franchise also has excellent crepes, amazing authentic Italian coffee and coffee drinks, as well as a new chocolate gyro that swirls milk chocolate and hazelnut flavors with more to come. It isn’t ice cream, but it’s indescribably smooth chocolate and you can even add toppings to it, too.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the new owners of Café Olé Restaurant on Cross Creek Blvd., who have converted a small portion of the existing restaurant (which has long been my favorite in New Tampa) to a Venezuelan bakery and coffee shop with great café con leché and a variety of authentic Latin desserts.

We Lost A Few, Too

Unfortunately, New Tampa also saw a few restaurants close in 2017, including Vuelo Mexican Grill, Takara Sushi & Sake, Paramount Lebanese Kitchen and Dairy Queen.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Sports

Dave Andreychuk, the NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals who captained the Tampa Bay Lightning to its only Stanley Cup in 2004, gives his Hall of Fame induction speech on Nov. 13 at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Toronto.

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Andreychuk Hall of Fame Induction Caps Memorable Year

It has been a while, maybe ever, that the areas served by our publications have had such a banner year for sports.

In most years, a big event like the Federation Cup being held in Wesley Chapel might be the year’s top highlight. Or the opening of a state-of-the-art ice facility able to lure Olympic teams to town. Or perhaps, the promise of a large indoor sports complex.

Big stories, all.

But for New Tampa, none can top Hunter’s Green resident and former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk finally making the NHL Hall of Fame.

If he had a dime for every time someone in New Tampa bumped into him and told him how unfair it was that he wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame, Andreychuk could buy Hunter’s Green.

The NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals finally got the call on June 26, and was officially inducted on November 13.

Friend Andy Ritter, along with a handful of other Hunter’s Green residents, attended the ceremonies in Toronto, just a short drive from where Andreychuk grew up in Hamilton.

Ritter said that no matter where they went in Toronto, Andreychuk was always the unassuming star.

“He was just the local kid that made good,” Ritter said.

Which sums up the way many in New Tampa feel about him.

But, he wasn’t the only New Tampa sports standout who celebrated a huge success in 2017:

New Tampa’s Ellie Pleune was the Gasparilla Distance Classic’s first-ever two-race winner.

* Ellie Pleune, then an 8th-grader at Benito Middle School, didn’t win just one race at Gasparilla in 2017.

She won two.

Pleune, 13, became the youngest-ever female winner in the 40-year history of the Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K on Feb. 25, and then turned around the next day to also win the 8K race, the first time in the event’s history the same person captured both titles.

 

* Wharton High shortstop Drew Ehrhard won the prestigious Saladino Award, which honors the top senior baseball player in Hillsborough County.

Saladino Award winner Drew Ehrhard (with trophy), is joined by (l.-r.) his mom Shannon, his dad Rodney, Tony Saladino and Drew’s brother Zack.

Ehrhard joined past winners like Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, José Fernandez and Lance McCullers after hitting .422 with four homers and 24 RBI in 2017 to lead the Wildcats to an 18-9 record and the Regional championship.

*  New Tampa resident and left-handed pitcher Brian Lee went 11-3 with a 1.00 ERA, and won four straight playoff games, including the State semifinal, for the Lions. King lost the next day, but Lee’s performance was one for the ages.

“It’s as a good a performance I’ve seen in my 42 years,” King High veteran coach Jim Macaluso said, “and I’m not saying just in King High School … I’ve never seen anyone in the county, around the state, that threw the pressure games he threw, and won.”

* On Sept. 28, Freedom finally beat Wharton in football, after seven straight seasons of lopsided losses. Dominick Vazquez capped a 99-yard drive in the final moments to give the Patriots the 12-7 win in front of the largest Freedom crowd in years.

Coach Floyd Graham said it was one of the best feelings of his coaching career. But, it wasn’t enough to keep him on the sideline, as just two months later, Graham resigned.

* The U.S. Federation Cup played its tennis semifinals at Saddlebrook, exciting the strong tennis communities at Arbor Green, Hunter’s Green, Tampa Palms and others.  Hundreds of New Tampa residents were in attendance for the 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. (The U.S., by the way, went on to beat Belarus 3-2 for their first Fed Cup title in 17 years)

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened near I-75 in Wesley Chapel and hosted the Taste of New Tampa and the U.S. Women’s national hockey team in its preparations for the Winter Olympics.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Development

Rendering of the proposed Village at Hunter’s Lake

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Approvals For Hunter’s Lake & The Cultural Center & More Assisted Living

While things continue to explode in nearby Wesley Chapel — with new homes, restaurants, hotels and even a Crystal Lagoon — New Tampa also had some notable development news in 2017.

After some quiet years, a few new local businesses opened. Among them were the Discovery Village at Tampa Palms Assisted Living & Memory Care facility on Commerce Park Blvd. and a RaceTrac gas station and convenience store on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

Discovery Village joins The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve and the Memory Lane Cottages in Tampa Palms for New Tampa residents who want to keep their elderly family members close to home. Another new assisted living facility, Promise Pointe at Tampa Oaks, which is being developed by the same company that is building The Beach House in Wesley Chapel, will open in 2018 at the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75.

A new community, Stafford Place (off Tampa Palms Blvd., behind BJ’s Wholesale Club), has been building homes and taking in residents. And, the University of South Florida Federal Credit Union opened a New Tampa branch— its first standalone branch — at the northwest corner of BBD and Imperial Oak Blvd., in the Trout Creek area in front of Winn-Dixie.

The biggest development news in 2017, however, involved The Villages at Hunter’s Lake, which will be constructed right across BBD from Hunter’s Green.

Developers of the Hunter’s Lake project were approved by the Tampa City Council in June to add a second and third access point off BBD, paving — pardon the pun — the way for Hunter’s Lake to move forward.

The project, approved 6-0 by the Council, will include 241 multi-family units, the long-awaited New Tampa Cultural Center and a strip shopping center.

Plans for the construction of those access points have already been submitted, and the project, still awaiting some permitting, could break ground next year. The stretch along southbound BBD already is being prepped for construction work (see our 2017 Roads Recap on page 10).

The multi-use project will be built on the parcel’s 14 acres of developable land (the entire parcel is 80 acres) and will include a 30,000-sq.-ft. Cultural Center, a four-story, 241-unit multi-family project called The Haven at Hunter’s Lake and even a green grocer, such as gourmet supermarket Fresh Market or Sprouts.

Hunter’s Lake also will include a retail shopping strip center, a restaurant (with a drive-through window) and a community park with a dog park.

The project has been described by developers and local leaders as a hub of sorts for New Tampa, comparable to Hyde Park in South Tampa.

North of the county line, development continued practically unabated, and we’re pretty sure New Tampa residents have seen or heard about most of these (thanks to us):

*Florida Hospital Center Ice opened as the largest skating facility south of New York state. The Taste of New Tampa’s return was held at FHCI.

* The ballyhooed Crystal Lagoon in Wesley Chapel now has water. It was topped off last week, and the water looks like everything it was advertised to be. Epperson, the community where it is located, finally has residents. Expect it to become one of the area’s trendiest places to live.

* A new sports complex, expected to be a mecca for state and national tournaments for youth basketball and volleyball teams, was approved for the Wiregrass Ranch area. If you have a youth team of any sort in New Tampa, expect the facility to be a regular stop.

* Costco opened on the south side of S.R. 56. ‘Nuff said.

* The Sierra family property on the north side of S.R. 56 in the Cypress Creek Town Center is in full development mode, as at least 10 businesses began to take shape in 2017, from restaurants like Chuy’s Tex-Mex and Bahama Breeze Island Grille to businesses like hair and nail salons, and the area’s first Five Below discount store.

Also included are plans for a green grocer – Earth Fare has been mentioned – on the north side of S.R. 56., and an Aldi grocery store right across the street on the south side of S.R. 56.

Count on 2018 being just as busy.

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Roads

TOP STORIES OF 2017: Bruce B. Downs, Kinnan-Mansfield Fired Up Debates

Things heated up on local roads in 2017, primarily the tempers of drivers who are finding the stretch of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. that slices through New Tampa more maddening than ever.

While Segment A of the widening of the road is all but wrapped up, Segment D — from Pebble Creek Blvd. to County Line Rd. — continues to plague New Tampa travelers. Next year, our year-in-review might just be about the great success of the project, as it is expected to conclude in late 2018. That may be, however, of little solace to those getting stuck in traffic now in front of Wharton High, a hot spot of the current BBD construction.

We don’t want to give you any spoilers, but for our Best Of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel” issue coming out next month, we a
sked for your opinion on the worst intersection in New Tampa, and 11 of the BBD intersections made our readers’  list. Yes, 11.

However, none have provided as much angst as the intersection of BBD and Cross Creek Blvd., which in 2017 rose to new heights for snarling traffic. A recent study by the city led to new light patterns at the troublesome intersection in early December, but those results remain inconclusive.

BBD had some company, though, when it came to controversial road debates in 2017.

Kinnan-Mansfield

This photo taken by a drone shows the 60-foot gap between Kinnan St. (on the bottom) and Mansfield Blvd. Hillsborough and Pasco counties are stalemated on the issue but continue to discuss connecting the two roads.

The potential connection of Hillsborough County’s Kinnan St. to Pasco County’s Mansfield Blvd. also inched closer to a fever pitch after a series of discussions between residents and Hillsborough and Pasco County representatives.

Pasco County commissioned a study of the connection (along with two other possible connections) in April, a public meeting was held in May at Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC)’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch to solicit responses, and the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners pledged $250,000 in September to help make the connection happen.

Will it? Not witho

ut a big fight. And, that battle will begin in earnest this year.

Morris Bridge Rd.

Flooding on Morris Bridge Rd. had some residents questioning that road’s future, which might even one day involve a widening north of Cross Creek Blvd.

I-75 At S.R. 56

Of special interest to many commuters who prefer to avoid driving south on BBD to get to the interstate, the Divergin

g Diamond Interchange (DDI) for I-75 at S.R. 56 is closer after receiving some good news in 2017.

 

A Florida Department of Transportation project that is expected to ease the flow of traffic at the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection near Tampa Premium Outlets, was originally scheduled for a 2024 start in construction. Now, however, it looks like shovels will hit the dirt in 2018.

Be patient, people. It’s all going to get better.

*crosses fingers*

New Tampa 2017 Year in Review: Top stories

Hurricane Irma, Fires, Neo-Nazis & The Loss Of Too Many People

Crazy weather, fires blazing their way through forests and over roads, neo Nazi controversy and contentious budget battles.

Welcome to New Tampa!

While those stories all sound like incidents happening around the country you might catch while watching CNN, they were, in fact, local news stories in New Tampa in 2017.

(Spoiler alert: Most of the good news is in our cover story.)

Hurricane Irma might have been the biggest story of the year, especially when you consider the number of people who fled or hunkered down in shelters in anticipation of the Category 5 storm that approached Florida in mid-September. Some storm models had the hurricane slicing right through Tampa Palms.

Windows were boarded as plywood become a hot, then scarce, commodity. Water flew off the shelves at every area store, days before the storm actually blasted through the area Sept. 20-21.

As it turned out, Irma was more bark than bite when she finally showed up in New Tampa. We’re thankful the biggest story of the year wasn’t bigger.

Fires!

On the other end of the weather scale, dry conditions and a lack of rain in May led to three brush fires that burned more than 200 acres in Flatwoods Park, and led to the temporary closure of I-75 due to smoky conditions that spread as far as Lakeland. Thankfully the fire was contained before any damage could be done to nearby homes and businesses.

Another fire, this one intentionally set in February by an arsonist at the Daarus Salaam Mosque on Morris Bridge Rd., failed to do its intended damage, thanks to alarm sprinklers, but still left members without a place to worship for a few weeks. Cypress Pointe Community Church opened its doors to its neighbors until the mosque was suitable for worship.

At our press time, no one had been arrested for setting the fire.

New Tampa Neo-Nazis?

Yes, you read that right.

In what had to be the craziest story of the year, self-proclaimed neo Nazi Devon Arthurs shot both of his roommates to death because, he claimed, they had disrespected his recent conversion to Islam.

He then held three hostages at the Green Planet Smoke Shop on Amberly Dr. before surrendering to police, who he led back to the Hamptons in Tampa Palms apartment where his dead roommates were.

A third roommate, Brandon Russell, was there when police arrived. In his bedroom were Nazi and white supremacist propaganda and a framed photo of Timothy McVeigh, who was executed for killing 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Russell admitted to being a member of Atomwaffen, an active neo-Nazi hate group, and had enough explosives to make a bomb stored in the apartment’s garage. He was arrested on federal explosives charges.

Taken Too Soon…

Hailey Acierno

New Tampa also experienced its share of sadness.

In April, the body of local teen Hailey Acierno was found in Flatwoods Park, two miles from her Arbor Greene home, after a 10-day search that rallied help from all over the New Tampa area.

Hailey may be gone, but her spirit continues to live on. Her parents, Chris and Lisa, have created Hailey’s Voice of Hope to help other families deal with mental illness, as they say their daughter did.

In September, former Wharton football standout Joel Miller passed away unexpectedly, shocking many in the Wildcats community.

A running back, Miller ran for more than 2,500 yards his last two seasons at Wharton, and as a senior won Hillsborough County’s Golden Helmet Award.

Doug Wall (right)

And in November, Doug Wall, co-founder of the New Tampa Players (NTP) community theater group, passed away after battling pancreatic cancer.

The Live Oak resident championed a cultural center in New Tampa for two decades, in the hopes it could provide a home for the NTP and a center for local artists, but never got to quite see it come to fruition.