(L.-r.) Preston Parilo, Cynthia Andujar, Joe Carrion & Ivan Plumb obviously enjoy serving — and eating — the delicious New York-style pepperoni pizza at 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass Mall. (Photo by Charmaine George)
Pizza continues to be a favorite option for lunch and dinner with our readers and none is more popular this year than owner Steve Falabella’s 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass, which won this year’s Favorite Pizza in Wesley Chapel with our readers by a fairly wide margin.
And, considering that Falabella opened not only his Falabella Family Bistro (our readers’ fourth favorite restaurant in WC) but also a second 900º Pizza location (900º New York Pizza, which finished a solid sixth with our readers in its first year) in The Grove at Wesley Chapel in 2021, the fact that so many still selected the original 900º location as their favorite pizza place is a testament to Falabella’s commitment to quality food at super-fair prices.
The primary difference between the two 900º locations is that only the original pizza shop in Wiregrass offers Neapolitan-style woodfired pizza (like the Margherita pizza in the photo, right), as well as the New York style ‘za available at both locations.
But, thanks to its other great Italian specialties, 900º Woodfired Pizza also finished 10th as our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Among the favorite appetizers are the deep-fried calzones known as Panzeretto and the bruschetta, while my favorite pasta dish is the authentic pesto Genovese, although the penne alla vodka, Alfredo and Bolognese sauces also are all pretty popular. And, wash them down with ice cold Peroni on draft, as well as bottled beers and wines by the glass or bottle. — GN
2. PizzaMania 1734 Bruce B Downs Blvd. (813) 907-0005 MyPizzaMania.com
One of the first pizza places to open in Wesley Chapel also is still high among our readers’ favorites, as the NY/NJ-style pies and Italian specialties continue to earn lots of votes.
Not only is there ever-popular regular pizzas, but also gourmet options, like But, of course, pizza, including gourmet options like Margherita, white sauce and more, but PizzaMania also offers everything from fried ravioli and bruschetta to arancini (traditional rice balls) and other appetizers, plus a variety of salads, hot and cold subs, calzones and strombolis, plus wings with a variety of sauces, lasagna, baked ziti, stuffed shells, gnocchi Sorrentina and pasta with vodka, white clam and pesto sauce and even a seafood combo of mussels, shrimp and clams that helped it finish tied for 34th Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel with our readers. — GN
3. NY NY Pizza 3757 Bruce B Downs Blvd. (813) 528-8771 NYNYPizzeria.com
Technically, the New York New York Pizza in Wesley Chapel is part of a small eight-unit chain (including one in Tampa International Airport) of no-frills Tampa-area pizza places that serve excellent true-New York-style pizza. But, chain or no chain, the Wesley Chapel location has been among the top five favorite pizza places with our readers since it first opened.
NY NY, which finished third to second-place PizzaMania by only two votes and ahead of Amici by a half-dozen, offers a large variety of pizza-by-the-slice and whole-pie options, including everything from cheese and pepperoni to meat lovers and white and from cauliflower crust to my favorite Grandma’s pizza with a garlic red sauce in our area.
NY NY also has a nice selection of salads, sandwiches and even burgers plus baked pasta options. — GN
The rest of the 2021 Pizza Top 10:
(4) Amici (5) Mellow Mushroom (6) 900 NY (T7) Fratelli’s (T7) Best NY (T7) Blaze (T10) Papa John’s (T10) Bosco’s.
1 — NOBLE CRUST When a new restaurant opens in Wesley Chapel, it typically become’s a reader’s favorite in its first year, and then gradually fades to the middle of the pack.
Not Noble Crust. A testament to an innovative and delicious menu, maintaining a steady staff in these difficult times for restaurants and focusing on excellence and consistency, Noble Crust has placed third in our Reader’s Survey every year since opening in 2017.
Great servers like Bri Small (on the left, holding the rigatoni + short rib ragu) and Josh Salinas (with the bronzed salmon) serving delicious food are a big part of Noble Crust’s win as this year’s Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. (Photos: Charmaine George)
Not this year, however. This year, Noble Crust has moved up to No. 1.
“That’s huge for us,” says operating partner Danny Autrey. “To be able to stand apart from our other two locations (in Carrollwood and St Petersburg) is great. We pride ourselves on our great staff, and it’s nice to see them rewarded by the community.”
There is much to like about Noble Crust, which is located at the Shops at Wiregrass — the service, the bar, the ambiance and let’s be honest, the place just smells terrific.
Billed as Deep South Italian, Noble Crust combines farm-fresh flavor with unique pairings to create tasty dishes. It is likely so popular with our readers because it does so many things well. You could make the case that it has the best fried chicken (Autrey confesses that it’s so good, he enjoys a piece almost daily), best pizza, best weekend brunch and maybe even the best Italian food around.
The fusion of Deep South and Italian is where it shines, however. Traditional Chicken Marsala is served over four-cheese grits and chicken sausage, the chicken fried chicken parmigiana is country-fried for a more rustic result, the BLT is served with fried green tomatoes, pork belly and pimento cheese and one of its most popular dishes, the bronzed salmon (bottom right), is highlighted by pickled raisins that bring it all together.
And, don’t sleep on the pasta dishes, either, like the super-popular rigatoni + short rib ragu.
Noble Crust’s brunches on Saturdays and Sundays are exceptional, with its popular friend chicken and waffles, lemon ricotta pancakes and steak-and-eggs among the standout favorites.
The service ties it all together. Autrey says his grandfather would never return to a restaurant if a manager hadn’t stopped by see how the meal was, and he has taken that to heart running the Wesley Chapel location. When we stopped by last week, he was busy helping deliver dishes and checking in with customers.
“The personalized experience is important,” he says. “It’s something all of us here strive for, and I think it keeps our customers coming back.” — JCC
2 — TREBLEMAKERS
Rather than resting on its laurels after debuting as our readers’ fourth (and yours truly’s #1) Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel last year, Treble Makers Dueling Piano Restaurant & Bar has continued to upgrade its menu and service under executive chef Kevin Maggard, GM & co-owner Lee Bevan and co-owner Jamie Hess and his family.
In fact, Treble Makers is this year’s Favorite Bar in Wesley Chapel with our readers this year, after adding great new bartenders and entertainment options to go with the popular weekend dueling piano shows.
But, for me, the best thing about Treble Makers is the food. With better fresh fish — like the grilled wahoo to the right — than most seafood restaurants and top-quality steaks, lamb chops, I hope you’ll check out Treble Makers soon.—GN
3 — FIRST WATCH Located in The Shoppes at New Tampa, Wesley Chapel’s popular breakfast chain is well-known for its long lines (especially on Sundays) as it is for its delicious and healthy breakfast and lunch menu.
We can’t remember a time that First Watch wasn’t the top vote getter for breakfast joints, and it’s third-place overall finish this year is a testament to its terrific food.
The breakfast menu has traditional egg-and-bacon dishes, omelettes, and Floridian French toast (photo) gigantic pancakes, but items like the healthy turkey omelette, superfoods bowls & power wraps set it apart.
Now serving beer, wine and unique mixed drinks, too, First Watch’s all-natural healthy juices and lunch items like a variety of salads and sandwiches (ham and gruyere melt, mmmm) have kept people coming back in droves for more than a decade. —JCC
4. FALABELLA FAMILY BISTRO Our highest-finishing newcomer has great weekend specials.
5. FLORIDA AVE. BREWING COMPANY The food might be better than the beer — a big compliment.
6. VALLARTA’S Wesley Chapel’s Latin favorite has its highest finish ever.
7. BAHAMA BREEZE Still high among your faves despite all of the new eateries.
T8. KEKE’S BREAKFAST CAFE Breakfast newcomer finishes in the top-10.
T8. GRILLSMITH Last year’s No. 1 has been the top choice six of last 10 years.
10. 900º WOODFIRED PIZZA Your favorite pizza place also makes your top-10 overall.
11. BJ’s BREWHOUSE Its huge menu and fair prices keep BJ’s near your top-10.
When you visit Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, you’ll meet co-owner Gail Sickler, herbalist Megan Davis and co-owner Danielle Howard. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store, a new store specializing in natural, chemical-free, refillable, zero-waste products, is more than just a business for owner Danielle Howard.
It’s a way of life.
After growing up with a number of maladies, Danielle says she set out on a journey to find a way to live cleanly. That led to her owning two Salt Room businesses — one in Wesley Chapel and the other at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills — and now Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store, which is located on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, a few doors down from Capital Tacos.
While Danielle says The Salt Room Wesley Chapel and the Salt Room at SVB specialize in halotherapy, which involves breathing salty air in order to help respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis and allergies, Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store takes a more expansive approach to the benefits and solutions of keeping one’s body and home environment clean.
“I can help them from the inside out,” Danielle says. “Lüfka helps their cleaning, and their laundry, and all the stuff they put on their bodies. This is for people who want to make a difference and are also conscious of what those chemicals are doing.”
Whether it’s better choices for toothpaste, hand-crafted soaps, deodorant or laundry detergent, skin and after-shave lotions and even cleaning sprays, she says, Lüfka offers the healthiest options made with the best ingredients.
And, while they can help make you healthier, they help the environment as well. Most Lüfka products come in glass containers, and you are encouraged to bring them back to have them refilled. Customers also are encouraged to bring containers of their own.
It’s no accident that when you first walk in the store, a table of both air and body sprays is one of the first things you see. Room deodorants are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to containing hazardous toxins, so Danielle and her co-owner and mom Gail Sickler are quick to point out safer alternatives that aren’t afraid to show exactly what they are made of to customers.
The five glass jugs of spray deodorants — Autumn Wood, Vanilla Bean Spice, Cranberry Orange Spice, Pumpkin Apple Butter, and Lavender & Tonka — all have labels listing all of their ingredients.
“This is the perfect example of our products,” Gail says. “You can use them to spray the room you are in, spray bedding if you are having guests over or, if you like it, you can use it as your body spray for the day. Just spray and walk through and it can land on your skin and doesn’t hurt anything because there’s nothing in there to hurt you.”
While perhaps more expensive than what you would get at a major store, Danielle says the products are worth every penny.
“If you do some research on a good, organic, clean, multi-functional spray, you’re looking at anywhere from $20-$40, and people will pay that,” she says. But, if you’re looking primarily for the cheapest stuff — say Glade Spray Air Fresheners that might be BOGO at Publix — Danielle says, “Well, we can’t help you. We can just let you know that this is something completely different.”
How It All Got Started
Lüfka Wesley Chapel is only the third Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste store in the Tampa Bay area.
The concept was originally hatched by Kelly and Parosh Hawaii, who opened the original Lüfka in Seminole Heights in 2019, and a second store in South Tampa in November 2020.
Danielle was turned on to the store by a friend, and immediately fell in love with it. She recommended it to all of her clients at her Salt Rooms. The clients raved about the products, and in turn raved about Danielle, who was helping them at the Salt Rooms, to Kelly and Parosh.
While they had thought of franchising before deciding against it, Kelly and Parosh liked Danielle enough — practically vetting her via all the clients she sent to their store — to suggest she open her own Lüfka store.
“Parosh told me he had been watching me, and saw that I was changing lives, and said he wanted me to open a place in Wesley Chapel,” says Danielle, who just happened to be thinking about opening another retail business at the time. “I started looking for places the second I left there.”
Danielle asked her mother if she wanted to be her partner and, in September, Lüfka Wesley Chapel held its North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting.
“We love it and it goes with everything we do,” Danielle says. “I really felt like Wesley Chapel needed this.”
What’s In A Name?
So, what is a Lüfka? A wash cloth, which is handmade in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and has been around for thousands of years. Parosh is passionate about sharing ancient handmade Kurdish products with the world, hence the name of the store.
The women who weave the Lüfkas from Babylonian willow bark fibers receive all the proceeds from their sales at Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store.
A Lüfka looks like a kitchen mitten, but serves as a wash cloth and can be opened so you can wash your back. Not only does it clean, but it also exfoliates the skin. Danielle says her skin is “as soft as a baby’s butt” when she’s done with hers, and Gail says the same.
Danielle takes the education part of her job seriously. While the average person is likely to think all natural products are more expensive and less effective, Lüfka has hundreds of products that work just as well as their chemical-filled counterparts and are priced competitively, according to Danielle.
You aren’t just choosing with your wallet, however. The laundry detergents at Lüfka, for example, have just a handful of chemical-free ingredients, compared to the 200 or so ingredients, mostly chemicals, in regular detergents.
The same goes for Lüfka’s regular soaps and shampoos, toothpaste, body and facial lotions and deodorant.
“There are so many chemicals that you put on your body for the whole day, and your skin absorbs all of it,” Danielle says. “Everything in here is better for you than what you are probably using, and it’s better for the environment, too.”
For people with autoimmune diseases and sensitive skin and/or sense of smell, the distinction between Lüfka products and those that aren’t chemical- and toxin-free is significant.
While deodorant is the store’s best seller, pet products also are very popular. Pet soap is a big one, due to skin issues, as well as other products, such as food-grade diatomaceous earth, which is a safe alternative to anti-flea products, which are some of the most toxin-filled products on the market.
Gail says local hikers come in to purchase the toxin-free bug spray (which lacks the chemicals that give regular bug spray its stickiness) and there is all-natural sunscreen as well as the ingredients needed (like apple cider vinegar, olive oil and vegetable glycerin) for those who want to make their own cleaners and soaps.
Megan Davis is Lüfka’s herbalist, and can help explain the uses and combinations of the herbs and other ingredients that line one wall of the store — like combining the bladderwrack and sea moss into an apple sauce-like paste that can be consumed and contains 102 trace minerals that your body needs.
However, no one at Lüfka is able to provide medical advice, and they do not sell food, although they might recommend some spirulina or turmeric for your morning smoothie.
Danielle hopes to send customers out on the same journey she is on — to eliminate the chemicals her body is ingesting in regular daily products.
There is some trial and error, she says, and everyone is different. But, for many of the things that ail you, like sores or rashes or just malaise, there might be a healthy option to solve it.
“It can change your life,” Danielle says. “It has definitely changed mine.”
For more information, look up @LüfkaWesleyChapel on Facebook, where you can find specials, candle-making classes and even private shopping events if you’re interested in transitioning to healthier products. Lüfka Refillables Zero Waste Store is located at 27221 S.R. 56. and is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and it is closed on Sunday and Monday. To find out more, call (813) 596-9376 or visit Lüfka.com.
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center has gone vertical and Hillsborough County could choose someone to manage it as soon as March. The NTPAC is expected to open in fall 2022. (Photo: Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) has finally gone vertical, and one of the final questions remaining before it opens sometime in the fall of 2022 is who will run the facility.
Ken Hagan, the Hillsborough County Commissioner for District 2, which includes New Tampa, said that decision could come by March 2022, now that the deadline for interested parties to respond to the county’s request for proposals (RFP) has passed.
The RFP was issued on Nov. 10 and expired Dec. 3, or after we went to press with this issue. The county is looking a performing arts resident company to manage all aspects of the NTPAC for 10 years, with renewal options for another 10 years, subject to annual satisfactory performance evaluations.
One of the groups that was expected to bid to manage the 20,000-sq.-ft. center is Florida Cultural Group, which was originally selected by the county staff. But, during a vote about the PAC’s funding in May, four commissioners — Mariella Smith, Kimberly Overman, Gwen Myers and Harry Cohen — voiced concerns about the organization, primarily because of its location in Manatee County.
Coomissioner Smith and Kemp, who were the dissenters in a 5-2 vote to approve the funding for the PAC, wanted a local group to run it. They also questioned the $1.4 million in county subsidies over the next four years requested by Florida Cultural Group.
The commissioners then unanimously voted to open up the facility’s management with an RFP.
Both commissioners specifically mentioned the New Tampa Players (NTP), a 20-year-old organization that was started by residents of Hunter’s Green and Tampa Palms. A large part of the effort to build the NTPAC, which is under construction off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. across from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green development, was to deliver a home for the NTP, which has staged performances at numerous locations, but none the group could call its own.
“The NTP are the driving force behind my championing the New Tampa Performing Arts Center,” Hagan says. “They are the reason. It will be their home and they are an essential partner in this being a successful and sustainable facility for generations to come.”
But, will NTPalso get to manage it? While producing artistic director Nora Paine declined comment, it is believed that NTP planned to submit a proposal. The troupe has held meetings with those involved in New Tampa’s performing arts scene in order to bolster its standing by forming a larger local and more inclusive group that includes dance and ballet.
Paine did say that NTP has not been involved in many large fund-raising campaigns. That is likely to be a major requirement for any organization that is selected to manage the new center.
About The Florida Cultural Group
Formerly known as The Manatee Players, Inc., which was created in 1947, the Florida Cultural Group is an umbrella organization that operates the Manatee Performing Arts Center and the Manatee Players community theater. It has a long track record marked by successful fundraising.
“When this issue came in front of us before, our staff was very enthusiastic about that group because of their fundraising track record,” Comm. Hagan said. “It’s paramount that we have local representation driving this partnership, but I don’t think you can ignore the importance of fundraising throughout this process.”
Hagan says he will let the county staff make the determination as to who should manage the NTPAC, but no matter who is selected, he would like to see a Board formed, and “it’s critically important that there’s a majority of New Tampa representation on that Board.”
Metro Development Group, which brought the country’s first Crystal Lagoon amenity to Wesley Chapel and will soon unveil a second one at the Mirada development (technically located in San Antonio, but just north of Wesley Chapel), continues to experience growth in the area.
In fact, according to housing market analysts Zonda.com, the Wesley Chapel area has five of the Top 20 fastest-growing new home communities in the Tampa Bay area, and three of them — Epperson, Mirada and Union Park — are Metro properties.
Epperson is the fastest-growing, according to Zonda, which was formerly Metrostudy, with 705 new home starts and 493 closings from September 2020 to September 2021.
Epperson also ranked No. 21 in Zonda’s national rankings for new home starts in that same timeframe.
The other Metro Development properties located in Wesley Chapel that made the Top 20 include:
• Mirada, ranked No. 8 on the Tampa Bay-area list, had 333 new home starts and 308 closings. The community includes Medley, an active adult community, and plans for a 15-acre Metro Lagoon, which will be the largest Crystal Lagoon amenity in the nation.
• Union Park, ranked No. 14, had 258 new home starts and 206 closings in the community, which is now almost completely built out.
Metro also is developing the No. 11 community (Southshore Bay in south Hillsborough, which is also getting a Crystal Lagoon as its primary amenity) and No. 15 (Cypress Creek in Ruskin) community on the list.
“Homebuyer interest in our Metro Places communities continues to be extremely strong, thanks to the convenient locations, the quality of our builder team, and the extensive and unique amenities we offer,” said Vaike O’Grady, VP of Marketing & Communications for Metro Development Group. “Our communities are simply a great value for homebuyers.”
Two other Wesley Chapel communities also were on the list, with Wiregrass Ranch at No. 5, with 433 home starts, but ranking No. 4 on closings with 360.
Watergrass was No. 6, with 388 home starts and 304 closings.
Pasco County continues to be hot, with New Port Richey’s Starkey Ranch and Land O’Lakes’ Bexley communities also ranking in the top 10.
With south Hillsborough county going through its own growth spurt, don’t expect to see any slowdowns in the near future.
“Demand in the suburban areas of Pasco and Hillsborough counties is coming from homebuyers moving to Florida from other areas of the country, from renters deciding to buy, and from people who simply want a new home,” said Tony Polito, Zonda’s regional director for Tampa and Central Florida. “We see this strong demand continuing into 2022.”
