WCCC Keeps The Ribbons Flying!

Wok Chi ribbon cutting.

I was on hand for the Grand Opening and WCCC ribbon cutting at (Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel participating restaurant) Wok Chi (28152 Paseo Dr., in the Shops at Wiregrass mall) on Mar. 10, at the amazing new information center for the Avalon Park West (APW) community off S.R. 54, and at the Meraki Aesthetic Center (26907 Foggy Creek Rd., off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel) on Mar. 16.

For my money, Wok Chi is now the best Chinese restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Fresh, crisp veggies and tasty chicken, pork, beef and seafood are sautĂŠed with white, brown or fried rice, whole wheat or egg noodles or even quinoa while you wait and topped with some excellent sauces (my favorites so far are the spicy Sichuan and kung pao sauces) and the dim sum also is pretty great. My favorites so far are the crispy chicken and veggie spring rolls. You can even enjoy two kinds of free, delicious hot tea, as well as purchase soft drinks, to go with your meal.

Please tell GM Mark Pasquale that you’re a friend of mine and, if you just happen to have a shellfish allergy like I do, so he can cook your food in a separate, clean wok.

For more info, call Wok Chi at 862-2315 or visit WokChi.com.

I can’t wait for the new sections of APW to open. If you’ve driven past the building on S.R. 54 shown in the top photo above, you may have wondered what it was. Well, it’s a representation of the new multi-family community with businesses on the bottom floor of the buildings (some call it neo-traditional) to be built from where the information currently sits to where it will meet up with the existing homes in APW, about a mile west of the center. APW is part of the New River Township Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which is approved for 4,800 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial uses. One of the new sections of the community that is certain to attract a lot of attention to APW is K-12 charter school that should begin building shortly. We’ll keep you posted as things start to heat up.

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) continues to cut ribbons at new businesses in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, including at the new and very cool Imagine Escape Games, located at 2830 E. Bearss Ave., in the Palms Connection plaza (next to PJ Dolan’s Irish Pub).

I will say that Imagine Escape Games was not what I expected — I thought it was going to be some sort of video arcade or maybe a place that sells video or role-playing games.

Wrong! Imagine Escape Games is the ultimate team-building exercise as you are (gulp) locked behind a gate and have to use clues and teamwork to escape from those locked cells.

If you’re claustrophobic, you may not want to try it, but if not, there currently are two rooms available for escape as you’re reading this. The team I was on of mainly WCCC members escaped the first challenge in a little more than 10 minutes, almost five minutes sooner than our allotted 15 minutes.

For more info, visit ImagineEscape.com or call 693-BOOK (2665), and please tell them the Neighborhood News sent you, even though I didn’t have a pic to show you because I was part of the game.

And for the full upcoming WCCC schedule of ribbon cutings and business events, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel ER Breaks Ground

Now that Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) has completed its recent major expansion, it’s growing outside of Wesley Chapel, too.

The hospital has broken ground on an off-site emergency room on S.R. 54, just east of the Suncoast Pkwy. in Land O’ Lakes.

The building will be 18,000 sq. ft., with 24 beds, and will offer full-service emergency room care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including on-site laboratory and imaging services, such X-ray, ultrasound & CT scan. The new ER will be staffed with Board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses who specialize in emergency care.

“This emergency room facility will provide the Central Pasco community with greater access to comprehensive emergency care,” said Denyse Bales-Chubb, president and CEO of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. “We recently completed a significant expansion at (FHWC) and we continue to add physicians and services to meet the medical needs of our growing community.”

The ER is expected to be open in late 2017 or early 2018. A groundbreaking ceremony was held April 6.

 

Cabana Spas Has So Many Ways To Help You Relax, Refresh & Renew!

Jenny, Sasha, Astrid & Gina enjoy a day at Cabana Spas on S.R. 56, receiving just some of the offerings available to the spa’s clientele to help them “Relax, Refresh & Renew!”

When chaos and stress are running up the score in the game of life, Cabana Spas offers a place to call a personal time out.

Located in the Seven Oaks Plaza on S.R. 56, Cabana Spas promotes itself as a place to, “Relax, Refresh & Renew.”

“Every one of our services fulfills at least one of those categories,” says Glen Harrod, who co-owns Cabana Spas with his wife, Jill.

Services available at Cabana Spas include hydro massage, oxygen therapy, facial LED therapy, an infrared sauna for multiple people, teeth whitening and more.

The rejuvenation begins as soon as a customer steps through the door, leaving the hustle and bustle of 21st century Wesley Chapel far behind. Within, it’s a “New Age” atmosphere at Cabana Spas, according to MacKenzie Carr, area manager of Glill (“It’s a combination of our names, Glen and Jill,” says Glen), Inc., parent company of the business “The energy of the store is relaxing,” Carr says. “You’re not really walking into a business; you’re walking into our home.”

At Cabana Spas, the concierge service is more like hospitable pampering.

“We want to make sure our clients are taken care of and we give them the royal treatment” says Carr, who explains that first-time customers begin their Cabana Spa experience with a conversation about what they want to achieve.

“We’re going to sit down with a client and have a consultation with them and ask them, ‘Do you want to relax, do you want to refresh, or do you want to renew?’”

A Unique Menu Of Services

Options are selected from Cabana Spa’s menu of services and treatments based on desired outcomes, such as relieving muscle tension or improving skin conditions.

“We’re big on making our customers feel good about themselves internally and externally,” says Carr. “We have a lot of services that take care of the skin and the hydro massage that makes you feel good on the inside.”

Services are provided in a self-directed manner, meaning clients generally apply treatments such as teeth whitening and facial masks themselves after receiving instruction from a Cabana Spas team member. Likewise with services such as the hydro massage, a deep-tissue stimulation delivered via a table with a mattress-like top that transmits energy from pulsating jets of water to a client’s body.

MacKenzie Carr and Tiarra Irish-Phillips will make sure you have all of the information you need before you try any of the relaxing and refreshing therapies at Cabana Spas, including (right), the FitBomb Infrared Sauna, where 2-3 people can relax or even enjoy an workout together.

One service not available at Cabana Spas is indoor tanning (although that is available nearby, at Glen and Jill’s South Beach Tanning Company location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in the SuperTarget-anchored Northwood Plaza; see below), Cabana Spas does harness the reputed cosmetic power of light in the forms of facial LED therapy, which uses intense illumination from different colored lights as treatment.

According to Wesley Chapel store manager Tiarra Irish-Phillips, each of four different colors used in the LED light therapy at Cabana Spas has specific benefits.

“Blue light is going to kill bacteria, so it’s really good for acne-prone skin,’’ she says. “Red light is going to help with scarring and fine lines or wrinkles and the green light is really good for oily or sensitive skin and blackheads. The yellow light has a relaxing effect and it’s really good for sunburn on the face.”

The hydration station is another popular service with Cabana Spas’ clients. It’s an open-ended capsule that mists the body with steam, which can include ingredients such as an aloe-based moisturizer.

“It’s like a steam bath from the neck down and is really good for hydrating the skin,” says Irish-Phillips.

Getting the benefits of a dry sauna has typically meant enduring not only heat, but the tedium of inactivity during a sweat session. That is not the case at Cabana Spas, which features an infrared-heated space called the FitBomb. It is cozy in size, with a capacity for 2-3 people, but is configured so customers can use their session to exercise, including resistance training with built-in D-ring fixtures, or relaxing by watching videos on a monitor inside the FitBomb.

The Oxygen Bar — It’s A Social Thing

A session at Cabana Spas can be breathtaking, and for clients who want to top off their lungs with some flavored oxygen, the members-only Cabana Room features an oxygen bar.

Customers partake of the life-giving gas through disposable “nose-hose” masks, that allow for drinking beverages such as coffee or water and having conversations. Carr says the atmosphere often becomes festive and has generated the idea of a Cabana Bash, whereby customers can rent out the facility to have a private oxygen party for a few hours after 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

It is popular with customers who gather in the Cabana Room to inhale the fragrant gas and often bond over the experience, perhaps comparing the merits of berry over mint and otherwise getting acquainted. It is a popular feature at “high-end Las Vegas casinos” according to Carr.

“It’s a really good place for members to get to know other members,” says Irish-Phillips. “They’ll just start talking and build up a friendship.”

Cabana Spas has been open for about eight months, with its official Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting occurring in January.

The Harrods often partner with other Wesley Chapel businesses to promote their shopping center oasis, and that’s how Astrid Jean-Paul discovered it.

She’s a busy executive who runs the J&M Consulting Firm in New Tampa, and the complimentary certificate she received from Mercedes Benz of Wesley Chapel for being a loyal customer has also now made her a loyal customer of Cabana Spas.

“I made an appointment not knowing what to expect, thinking deep tissue massage, hot rocks, etc…,” says Jean-Paul. “I was in another world of innovation, technology, deep muscle detoxification, and so many more surprises. I now continuously invite my dear friends and family to experience this phenomenon of alternative health and beauty.”

Cabana Spas’ services are available as individual sessions or as part of a monthly membership. Jill says they want to offer flexible access to meet the lifestyle needs of as many people as possible, whether they have 30 minutes or three hours available to indulge themselves.

“We’re affordable to your budget and also convenient because some people just want to run in on their lunch hour for one service or enjoy the oxygen bar,” she says.

The Harrods are true lifestyle entrepreneurs, as they also operate three South Beach Tanning Company franchises (including the aforementioned one in Wesley Chapel), a LaVida Massage franchise in Carrollwood, and expect to open their second Cabana Spas location in the Van Dyke Commons shopping center on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Lutz around the time this issue reaches your mailbox.

While they take pride in serving the unique needs of each of their businesses’ customers, Cabana Spas occupies a special place in the Harrods’ entrepreneurial hearts.

“With Cabana Spas, there’s nobody else doing this,” says Glen. “It’s building a brand based upon personal services at a great value. Our membership costs less than you would typically spend on one service at a resort-style spa.”

Jill sums it all up by saying, “Cabana Spas is truly our own unique brand.”

Cabana Spas in Wesley Chapel is located at 27607 SR 56. It is open  Mon.-Thur., 8 a.m.-9 p.m., 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on Fri. and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sat. and Sun. For more information, call 991-4433 or visit CabanaSpas.com. You also can get timely updates about special offers and events by searching “Cabana Spas-Wesley Chapel” on Facebook.

New Tampa Says Goodbye To Hailey

Hailey Acierno

I am from the snowflakes that fall from the sky and pile in heaps on the ground.

I am from the loon’s eerie wails, which I loved to stay awake in bed and listen to at night.

I am from the mix of the world’s best pancakes, and the batter of the world’s best fudge brownies.

Hailey Acierno wrote these words in a poem when she was 11 years old, shortly after the family had moved here from Minnesota.

Chris and Lisa Acierno, her parents, honored their daughter by sharing them with a New Tampa community that has tried to fill the holes in their hearts the past two weeks.

Chris read his favorite poem at Hailey’s funeral April 12 at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, before hundreds who attended a somber and sad goodbye to a young, 17-year-old woman her parents say had struggled for years with mental illness, and who took her own life in the woods inside Flatwoods Park, behind the Arbor Greene community where her family lived.

“Losing a child and the grief that accompanies that loss is a thought that every parent considers,” Chris said. “You imagine it as the absolute worst possible scenario of loss, pain and sorrow. Well, we can attest to the harsh reality that it is completely devastating.”

The church was filled with family and friends, and even the rescue parties and their dogs who searched for her over 10 days when Hailey went missing March 28. They cried, hugged and lamented the loss of a life too soon.

• • •

I am from the strawberry wafers sold at the rundown cornerstore where I would always bike to.

I am from “Because I Said So”, and “What’d You Say?”, and “There’s A First Time For Everything.”

I am from the cheers in the bleachers at my brothers’ baseball games.

Hailey, a 17-year-old Wharton student, left behind brothers Ryan and Josh and sister Katie, and her parents, who along with so many others in the community, remember her as bright and imaginative girl who made so many of those around her happy.

“She was brilliant, she was creative, she was always the smile in the room,’’ said Lisa. “She would go out of her way to be the happy, bouncy, silly kid willing to do anything to make someone smile.”

When she was 10, a year before the family moved from Minnesota to Tampa, she wrote about being in charge of the world, and how, if she was, she would ban chicken pot pies and blues music and the sport of curling.

Pet Dragons would be the norm in Hailey’s world, all waterheads would be filled with fish, and fudge brownies and ice cream cake would be vegetables. Chris shared that at her funeral, to let those who may not have known Hailey understand how her mind danced like children’s minds do.

“It was a beautiful mind,’’ he said.

She was loved by her classmates and teachers, and cared for everyone. When her cell phone was stolen and later recovered, she worried about what would happen to the child who was caught with it. “It was just a mistake,’’ she told her mother.

Beneath the surface, however, Hailey was plagued by dark thoughts, her mother said, thoughts she fought hard to suppress. She attended Pride Elementary in fifth grade, and had a perfect score on her FCAT. When she entered Benito Middle School, Lisa says she started to notice the changes: Hailey became more sullen, she stopped caring about school and she couldn’t stay on task.

“She was in so much pain,’’ Lisa said. “If you knew her, though, she hid it really well.”

Through it all, including hospital stays and visits to therapists and an unending procession of doctors and counselors, she never stopped smiling. Her artistic side continued to shine through. Her writings were deep and sometimes dark but always exceptional. She was two chapters into writing a book her mother insists would have become a best seller.

When Hailey went missing March 28, hundreds of volunteers showed up to search, combing as much of the massive 5,500-acre Flatwoods Park — where she enjoyed hanging out — as they could.

A vigil was held at St. Mark’s on April 4, and despite trying hard to remain optimistic, Lisa began to fear the worst.

On April 6, Flatwoods Park was closed as the search was expanded. A day later, in the early morning, Tampa Police officers on off-road bikes found Hailey’s body off the main biking and hiking paths. “Hailey had a troubled mind,’’ Chris said, “and needed to find peace for herself.”

• • •

I am from a pair of ice skates that my brothers and I walked with to the outdoor skating rink every winter night, and skated across the lumpy ice.

I am from the long, concealing limbs of the weeping willow, the perfect place to go for privacy and relaxing.

I am from the big pond behind the neighborhood, next to the willow.

Lisa doesn’t know what she could have done differently, but it’s hard not to think about.

She said she was on a neverending mission to find help for her daughter. Hailey suffered from bi-polar disorder (formerly referred to as manic depression), which causes extreme mood swings and, in many cases, suicidal thoughts. It affects nearly six million adult Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Hailey spent time in hospitals and with therapists as the family fought to find solutions. Lisa says she called at least 50 doctors searching for help.

Asked if she has any advice for other families suffering with the same affliction, she grows quiet. “Because we lost,’’ she says, “I don’t know how much my advice is worth.”

But after a moment, she steels herself.

“Just keep fighting,’’ she says. “Don’t give up. Don’t quit.”

Chris says the family can take some solace in the fact that Hailey is free from her torment. The pain never goes away, but some peace can be found.

“She is now free and she can find happiness fluttering with the butterflies and soaring with the birds in the clouds, and even exploring distant galaxies in space,’’ he said. “All the things she loved.”

I am in a different place now than where I’m from.

A new place, completely.

But really, I’ll never leave the places that I am from.

Updating Our Exclusive Map Of State Road 56 Near The Tampa Premium Outlets

It’s been a few months since we updated our maps of everything new that’s happening in Wesley Chapel and of course, the area most people want to know about is all of the new “stuff” coming to both the north and south sides of S.R. 56, in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets mall.

And, while a lot of people (including yours truly) still complain about having too many chain restaurants in our area, no one could possible deny that we have lots of new places to eat that weren’t here or weren’t confirmed when we last updated this map.

As you are probably aware as a Wesley Chapel resident, Pollo Tropical became the first place to open on the north side of 56 near the mall about a month ago. If you like flame-grilled chicken as much as I do, you probably should go and check out Pollo Tropical. Tell them I told you to order the chicken as “well done as possible.”

Right next to Pollo Tropical is the long-awaited second local free-standing location of Ford’s Garage, which will have opened by the time this issue reaches your mailbox. Look for pictures in our next issue, as well as in the episode of WCNT-tv (which might even have some footage from the Ford’s Garage pre-opening VIP party) and is scheduled to be released the same day this issue reaches your mailbox.

Great burgers, craft beer and more have made Ford’s Garage a big hit in Brandon and people are obviously excited about it coming even closer to us. 

Meanwhile, on the south side of 56, the location on our map directly west of Culver’s, which we previously incorrectly labeled as being Panda Express, will actually be a drive-through and sit-down Starbucks. Panda Express is still coming, and will actually open a few weeks before Starbucks north of Costco and just west of TPO. And, as you can see from the map, even though the south side of 56 is currently much more filled than the north side, there are still at least three more sizable parcels totalling nearly 30 acres available, including one site that we have heard might include a big outdoors sporting goods store, although it apparently won’t be the previously announced Cabela’s.

Firing Up The North Side, Too

Just as the south side of 56 has been a hotbed of new restaurant activity since the opening of Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Culver’s and Chick-fil-A, the north side of what will soon be the most overcrowded section of roadway in Pasco County (just a prediction) is just now kicking into gear.

In other words, in addition to Ford’s Garage and Pollo Tropical, the north side of 56 will soon also be home to the popular Mellow Mushroom pizza and more chain and Bahama Breeze, which will finally make its way into our area. The island-themed seafood eatery actually was turned down years ago for a space off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in the Highwoods Preserve area of New Tampa (in the space now occupied by TGI Fridays near the Muvico Starlight 20 movie theaters) because the developer for Highwoods Properties thought a tiki bar was not appropriate for an upscale area like New Tampa.

Oh well. At least we’re getting Bahama Breeze, Mellow Mushroom and Newk’s soon, although we haven’t been given a timetable for when construction will start or when they will open.

Also planned for the same area north of 56 between Pollo Tropical and I-75 are Wesley Chapel’s second Wendy’s location, yet another Taco Bell, another Mattress Firm location, a T-Mobile store and another Men’s Wearhouse (the closest location being on BBD in New Tampa, too).

And, just for good measure, in addition to the new Holiday Inn Express hotel which has now opened adjacent to Florida Hospital Center Ice, the Hyatt Place hotel has broken ground across I-75 from the new ice rink.

There’s lots of new stuff to report further east of I-75 off S.R. 56 and BBD, as well as on S.R. 54. Look for map updates in our future issues and on WCNT-tv!