The first of the two new restaurants to open at the Shops at Wiregrass mall is the fifth location of Irish 31, which opened on July 7.
Although I missed the actual Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on July 6 (I arrived a little late; the ribbon-cutting photo on this page was taken by Steve Miller of Stephen John Photography), Irish 31 owner Jay Mize and general manager Mike Forsyth were on hand for it — as was former Tampa Bay Lightning star and New Tampa resident Brian Bradley (who works for the Lightning; he gave away some cool memorabilia), as hundreds of people found their way inside to check out the cool décor, the unique menu and the South Tampa vibe of Mize’s newest Irish 31.
I have only sampled a few items so far on Irish 31’s chef-driven menu, but I did enjoy the boneless wings with Thai chili sauce and the corned beef and cabbage and loaded “boxty” (almost tennis-ball-sized balls of mashed potatoes, mixed with generous helpings of corned beef and cabbage, or bacon, Velveeta cheese and chives, and fried to a golden brown), served with an “Emerald Isle” dipping sauce.
Also among our favorites, at least so far.: The fried zucchini appetizer, the Ploughman’s salad (mixed greens, bacon, roma tomato, hard-boiled egg, bleu cheese, candied pecans and avocado tossed in Irish 31’s really tasty Guinness vinaigrette) and the “Farmer’s Fried chicken — two boneless chicken breasts breaded with seasoned flour, then fried golden brown, and served with mashed potatoes and onion gravy, with a nice side offresh market vegetables.
For more information about Irish 31 (28358 Willett Way), visit Irish31.com or call (813) 907-2306. Irish 31 is open every day at 11 a.m. (at 10 a.m. on Sun.) and stays open until midnight Sun.-Wed., until 1 a.m. on Thur. and until 2 a.m. on Fri. and Sat. I haven’t checked it out yet for live music or for Sunday brunch, but the website claims that Irish 31 is renowned as one of the best brunch spots in the Tampa Bay area!
(L.-r.) Manager Colin & Chef Rob Reinsmith, Will Perez & TJ Thielbar of the new Noble Crust at the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
About a year ago, when we first started our seemingly neverending updates about the anticipated opening of the new Noble Crust in the Shops at Wiregrass mall, my fiancé Jannah and I started visiting the original Noble Crust location on 4th St. in St. Petersburg.
We were hooked from the moment we walked in. The vibe…the buzz…the enticing aroma of fresh garlic in the air inside owner TJ Thielbar’s not-fancy-but-nice creation had everything we’ve been looking for in a true mom-and-pop addition to the Wesley Chapel dining scene.
I was fortunate that Noble Crust Wiregrass managing partner Will Perez — who worked his way up the ranks in St. Pete — is a long-time Wesley Chapel resident who pushed his friend and business associate (Thielbar) into expanding so close to home I can almost taste it from my apartment.
It also was Will who sought me out — as the restaurant coordinator for the recent Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, to make sure Noble Crust would participate in that event.
I feel lucky just to know these guys, much less get to sample the incredible Italian cuisine with a Southern flair given life by Noble Crust’s Chef Rob Reinsmith.
Here’s all of the dishes we already love at Noble Crust — the too-tasty-to-be kale Caesar, topped with a deep fried soft-boiled egg (Will says he spent most of his first day at the St. Pete location carefully hand-peeling those eggs); the Southern fried chicken parmigiana (with al denté bucatini, or hollow spaghetti); the current grouper special (served with succotash, mashed potatoes, a frise salad and the best chimichurri sauce ever); the beef, pork and veal meatballs; the Noble Pig (with house-made sausage and incredible pepperoni) and Margherita pizzas; and our surprise current favorite special — the cauliflower gratin (pictured) with crumbled bacon.
Yes, although I still can’t get an amazing Cowboy ribeye at Noble Crust, the fact its prices are less than half the cost of dinner for two at Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook Resort (my other favorite), make this hot new eatery my #1 favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel! Now, I just have to convince them to open for lunch, at least for me!
Noble Crust Wiregrass (28330 Paseo Dr.) is open every day for dinner at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. on Fri.), and at 10 a.m. for brunch on Sat. & Sun. It stays open until at least 10 p.m. every day (til midnight on Fri. & Sat.). Ask about their “Sunday Gravy” early dinner on Sundays and please tell them that you read about Noble Crust in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News! For reservations & info, call (813) 703-2602 or visit Noble-Crust.com!
New Carnegie Hero Fund Medal winners and West Meadows residents Lisa Missana (left) and Shane Mitchell (right) were awarded their medals from former winner Cash Kaschai on June 29 at Stonewood Grill & Tavern for saving the life of Marla Zick in March 2016.
They have been honored by the Tampa Police and Firefighters, by the City Council and by Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
But, when Lisa Missana and Shane Mitchell were presented with medals from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, the West Meadows residents who last year pulled a drowning woman from her submerged vehicle couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the distinguished bronze medals in the cherry wood cases.
At Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms on June 29, Cash Kaschai of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission officially presented Mitchell and Missana with their Carnegie Medals, which were announced back in March.
“He just said this was the highest award a civilian gets in the United States,” Missana said, “and that’s crazy. That is crazy.”
“This is kind of incredible,’’ Mitchell said.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was established in 1904, after the Harwick, PA, coal mine disaster that claimed 181 lives. Two of the victims entered the mine after the explosion in a rescue attempt.
Three months after the disaster, Carnegie set aside $5 million for the Commission to recognize civilian heroes while also providing financial assistance to those disabled and the dependents of those killed helping others.
In 113 years, only 9,953 Carnegie Hero Medals have been awarded (from more than 89,000 nominees).
Kaschai said that those awarded Carnegie Medals don’t think about dying when they put themselves in danger trying to save others and, in fact, about 20 percent of the medals are awarded posthumously.
The medals, he said, are befitting the heroism and swift selfless action Missana and Mitchell showed in saving 26-year-old Marla Zick’s life last year.
How It Happened…
On March 31, 2016, Zick suffered a seizure while driving her gray Mustang over the Gateway Bridge, linking West Meadows to Tampa Palms, on the way to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.
The car, heading east, rolled down the bridge, smacking into the white brick retaining wall and leaving black marks as it scraped against it all the way down.
“Every time I drive by there, I can’t help but look over at the marks on the wall,’’ Mitchell said.
Maurice Rolle was driving behind Zick, and watched in terror as the car rolled past the end of the retaining wall, missed a cement light post and a tree before rolling between two bushes and into the retention pond at the corner of Meadow Pine Dr. and New Tampa Blvd.
Sam Harris was driving toward the bridge when he saw Zick’s car careening out of control. He pulled over, and then got out of his car and ran toward the pond. He called 911.
Mitchell was taking his 7-year-old son to school and was driving down Meadow Pine Dr. when he saw the car slip between the two bushes and into the pond.
The car had yet to sink and Mitchell had a wincher on the front of his truck, so he pulled it up close. He said he thought at the time it would be as simple as hooking up the car in the water and pulling it out. Rolle grabbed the hook at the end of the wincher chain and headed into the water, only to discover, however, that the water was too deep to reach the car.
Missana was a few minutes behind Mitchell on Meadow Pine Dr. and also on the way to drop her son off at school. She saw the car in the pond, and grabbed her phone to start taking pictures. She saw Mitchell and Rolle yelling at an unconscious Zick to get out of the car.
Then, the Mustang started to sink, nose first. Missana remembers three bubbles coming up. Rolle described the scene as total chaos. Mitchell started into the water, and Missana slipped off her shoes and, after briefly flashing back to the times she had seen alligators in the pond, followed him in.
Thankfully, Zick had been driving with her window down. Mitchell and Missana took multiple turns, unsuccessfully, trying to get Zick’s seat belt unclasped. Because the water was green and murky, neither could actually see the car.
Missana screamed for someone to get her scissors. Before she could go back under to cut Zick free, however, Mitchell came up and said he had freed her.
Mitchell and Missana then went back under and, after a few attempts, were able to pull Zick through the open window and to the surface. The Tampa Police Department had arrived and helped them pull Zick to shore, where paramedics tended to her before taking her to Florida Hospital Tampa.
The rescue took all of two minutes, although it felt like two hours to Mitchell and Missana.
“It felt like an eternity,’’ Mitchell said at the time. “I remember when I stopped to catch my breath, I was just thinking, ‘Oh my God, if I don’t get her out she is going to die. I can’t stop.’ It felt like such a long time, and I dove so many times.”
Mitchell and Missana said that they don’t feel like heroes. They didn’t think about saving Zick, they just did.
“She was going to die if we didn’t do something,’’ Missana said.
That is the essence of being a hero, Kaschai said.
A former Carnegie Medal honoree himself in 1972, Kaschai was 19 years old when he remembers steering his car into a guardrail to avoid a 110-gallon gas tank flying at him. The tank had come free from a semi-truck transporting tomatoes, which had smashed into an AMC Gremlin on the other side of the road.
“I still remember glass raining down all over,’’ he said. “And flames 25-30 feet high.”
Inside the car were two paraplegics, Kaschai said. They were on fire, and along with two other men, he helped pull them out and roll them in the dirt to put the flames out.
“It was kind of cold that day, and I had a t-shirt on under a button-up shirt, and a pullover sweatshirt,’’ he said. “I remember it burned through three different places all the way through to my chest.”
Kaschai said a moment like that stays with you forever. “And it will for Lisa and Shane, too,’’ he said.
It was fitting that Missana and Mitchell received their award at Stonewood Grill & Tavern, since that’s where they came together with Rolle, Harris and Zick for the first time, a week after the pond rescue.
Although they have received dozens of accolades for their actions, including a photo shoot with National Geographic for an as-yet unpublished piece, and a recent appearance on WFLA-TV’s “Daytime,” Missana and Mitchell still feel all the awards and recognition are much ado about nothing.
What they take the greatest joy in, however, is the continuing relationship and friendship they have with those involved.
Mitchell and Missana still talk to Zick, who is now living in New York. When she is in town, they get together for dinner.
“I think the coolest thing was to see Marla graduate from school and move on and be able to live her life,’’ Mitchell said. “That was the best thing. We’ll always be connected. Sometimes, you need that in your life.”
Dr. June Hall, aka Dr. June (2nd from left) is hosting her fourth annual APTacious Experience Conference on August 5.
Dr. June Hall (aka “Dr. June”) is a motivationalist and the “Proprietor of Positivity.” She founded “Time to APT” (Accentuate Positive Thinking) in order to help others find their way through dark periods and began the annual APTacious Experience Conference four years ago. The fourth annual APTacious event will be held on Saturday, August 5, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel (8310 Galbraith Rd., New Tampa).
With her background in Counseling and Education, she has worked with many individuals to help them overcome and deal with adversities. Not only has Dr. June been an educator for more than 20 years, she also penned a syndicated advice column and had her own advice segment on the “CBS Morning News” in Miami. Since then, she has also developed an advice talk show, “Cooking Up Advice with Dr. June,” to reach as many individuals as possible to reduce personal and relationship stress.
Through facing her personal struggles with darkness and negativity, including fighting cancer, Dr. June put her faith in God, learned to “APT” and to turn her own darkness into sunshine. In addition to her published books, No More Pity Parties: A Guide to Celebrating Your Way through Life and No More Career Pity Parties, she also is Editor-in-Chief of It’s APTAcious magazine. This is an extension of the APTacious event and is available online and in print. Dr. June has traveled throughout the country motivating individuals on national television shows such as “Daytime” and “Jenny Jones,” and has been an adviser and speaker for organizations such as the Pasco Lawyers Group, SALO (Student Activities & Leadership Officers), RA Group on Relationships, Mental Health Assn., Florida Developmental Education Assn. and others.
In addition to Dr. June, this year’s APTacious Experience Conference includes four other motivational speakers, so whether you’re a small business owner, “mompreneur,” interested in health & wellness or just want to be inspired, the APTacious Experience is for you!
Seating is limited, so register today at APTacious.com, call (813) 993-8100 or see the ad on page 19 of this issue.
Madison Davis, center, with her mom, Helena Hampton-Davis, and her dad, Mike Davis.
One of the top songs on Madison Davis’ playlist is “Titanium,” sung by Australian recording artist Sia.
It’s a song about prevailing over adversity, and when the refrain, “I am titanium, I am titanium” comes around, the New Tampa 12-year-old sings along with the words coming from a place deep within her.
That’s because Madison recently had titanium rods surgically inserted in her back to correct a severe case of scoliosis, or curvature of the spine. The rods are attached to her spine in order to hold it straight.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a case of scoliosis is considered severe, requiring surgery, if a still-growing person has a curvature of 45 degrees or greater.
She is well on the road to recovery following the six-hour surgery she underwent at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Tampa (located on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida; see story on page 35 of this issue) in March, and her experience of overcoming a tough challenge at an early age has taught her to be generous.
Madison has formed a foundation {and applied for 501(c)(3) status} called Not on My Back, which raises money for rolling backpacks that she gives to children, including patients at Shriners who either have scoliosis or have had a spinal surgery.
Money is raised through fund-raising events and a GoFundMe page (GoFundMe.com/MadisonDavis). At our press time, the page showed that $5,625 of Madison’s $10,000 goal had already been raised.
To Madison, the rolling backpacks her project provides relieve a painful burden from the backs of children with scoliosis and is a way she can make a difference in the lives of others.
“It’s for a good cause, to give kids something they need and to make sure they’re not alone,” she says.
According to Madison’s mother, Helena Hampton-Davis, her daughter wants to express appreciation for the life-changing work that the doctors and staff at Shriners perform.
“She decided she wanted to do something nice for Shriners and that’s when she decided she wanted to start her own foundation,’’ says Helena. “We’ve committed to Shriners for 100 backpacks and we’ve already delivered 50.”
Helena adds that the backpacks are “fully loaded” with school supplies when they are presented to recipients.
The personal strength and generosity of spirit Madison displays has earned her a role as a member of the Shriners team, as a patient ambassador. The hospital’s public relations manager Lisa Buie says Madison is an inspiration to everyone who meets her.
“She is a delightful young woman, and we couldn’t be prouder of her,” Buie says.
There are many people who are proud of Madison and some of them gathered at her family’s home in Heritage Isles on June 24 to celebrate both her accomplishments and National Scoliosis Awareness Month, which is observed in June each year.
“Madison has a team of people who support her,” says Helena.
Professional artist and graphic designer Morgan Welch, who designed the fashionable “Curves are for hips, not backs” t-shirts that attendees wore, is part of that support team.
Another is Mercedes McDowell, who sells Premier Designs jewelry at in-home events and is planning one of the jewelry company’s “Parties with a Purpose” to raise money for Madison’s foundation.
Helena also acknowledges the daily, routine support her family received.
“There are people who came to the house to check on her,” Helenasays. “They brought food, gifts, cards and stuffed animals.”
Madison and her family also want to raise awareness about scoliosis and within their circle of support, they have definitely succeeded.
Anytime a child goes through a tough situation, it’s always a challenge for their parents, too. Madison’s father, Mike Davis, says his daughter has become a role model for him.
“My strength is really listening to her,” Mike says. “Instead of complaining about the situation, she’s helping others.”
Through dealing with the curvature of her spine and the surgery to correct it, Madison has acquired insight as to what is required to prevail in such a situation.
“It takes courage and strength, and you will get those from your family, friends and doctors,” she says. “You have gifts that God gives you and you will discover them.”
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website, as many as nine million people in the U.S. have scoliosis, which can develop in infants and toddlers, but most frequently begins when children are 10-15 years old. Severe scoliosis also can put pressure on the heart and reduce lung capacity.
Treatments range from wearing a supportive brace to surgery. Madison’s operation was performed by Geoffrey Cronen, M.D., a spinal surgeon at Shriners. His prognosis of Madison’s prospects for a fulfilling life is positive.
“She’s a great person and has a bright future,” Dr. Cronen says.
Madison says that her future includes designing clothes and exploring careers in medicine and law. “I want to help people,” she says.
The first of the two new restaurants to open at the Shops at Wiregrass mall is the fifth location of Irish 31, which opened on July 7.
I have only sampled a few items so far on Irish 31’s chef-driven menu, but I did enjoy the boneless wings with Thai chili sauce and the corned beef and cabbage and loaded “boxty” (almost tennis-ball-sized balls of mashed potatoes, mixed with generous helpings of corned beef and cabbage, or bacon, Velveeta cheese and chives, and fried to a golden brown), served with an “Emerald Isle” dipping sauce. 
