From left to right: Sam Becker, a USF graduate student in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and City Councilmember Luis Viera.
A standing-room-only crowd packed Compton Park in Tampa Palms on Feb. 3 for the unveiling of the initial results of a New Tampa business study, and while the presentation did seem to assuage some of the concerns of those in attendance, the results of that survey are far from conclusive.
In fact, because many of the area businesses along Bruce B. Downs Blvd. south of I-75 â meaning Tampa Palms â have not reported data, like earnings and number of employees, to the City of Tampa, the study was only based on businesses along BBD from the I-75 interchange north to County Line Rd.
University of South Florida School of Public Affairs director Ron Sanders said the data the study did find south of I-75 âlooked funny.â
That meant that the closings of Staples, HH Gregg, Bed Bath & Beyond and Casa Ramos, which played a central role in triggering the study, were not included in any conclusions by the USF study, which included input from New Tampa (morning) Rotary Club and North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce members, as well as other local business leaders.
âYou have to take some of the quantitative analysis (from the study) with a grain of salt,â Sanders told the crowd, which included Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Tampa City Council member Luis Viera. âItâs limited by the data, and it is what it is. It had to be balanced by some of the real-life observations and anecdotal (evidence).â
While the study was spurred by community concerns about business closings in Tampa Palms that were pointed out to Viera (as well as to Mayor Castor while she was running for office), at least north of I-75, seems to paint a rosier picture.
According to Sam Becker, a USF graduate student in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, a total of 57 businesses closed in New Tampa north of I-75 between 2015-18, losing an annual sales volume of roughly $122 million.
However, in that same period, 94 new businesses opened, generating nearly $181 million in sales.
That produced a net gain of 37 new businesses, $59 million total sales volume and 1,651 employees.
But without data from south of I-75, Sanders says âit is hard to draw any conclusionsâ about the New Tampa area as a whole.
And, since the study began, the once-vacant HH Gregg and Staples spaces in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza have new tenants, and a handful of new restaurants have opened or will be open by the summer, including more than a dozen new businesses in the Village at Hunterâs Lake development.
The study made a host of recommendations, including creating a chamber of commerce-esque Business Retention & Expansion committee, attracting non-chains and marketing and branding New Tampa.
A community slogan â âSomething For Everyoneâ was floated as an example â as well as signage would let people passing through know they are in New Tampa.
âI still think it comes down to having a community identity that is amenable to everybody here in New Tampa,â Viera said. âItâs something we should work on, as the study pointed to.â
The studyâs results, while inconclusive, seemed to be met with enthusiasm by most of the 100 or more people in the crowd at Compton Park.
âI still miss my Bed Bath & Beyond, but I do feel better about the business climate,â said longtime Arbor Greene resident Noreen Luetteke. âI think itâs improving. I just hope it stays that way.â
Nothing Bundt Cakes arrived in Wesley Chapel quietly in March of 2017.
It was that day that its unique offering of tiny, moist bundt cakes with mouth-watering cream cheese icing nearly stole the show at the Taste of New Tampa. Competing against more than 35 restaurants, Nothing Bundt Cakes finished third overall in attendee voting.
The next year, Nothing Bundt Cakes opened at the Shops of Wiregrass, and now, the shop is your choice for best dessert in Wesley Chapel.
âThat is great,â says Tammy Mencia, who owns the Wesley Chapel and Carrollwood locations of the dessert franchise with her husband Ralph. âWe have had a great reception from the community since we opened.â
The franchise was started 22 years ago in Las Vegas, with bundt cakes made with all fresh ingredients and the best butter and cream cheese available.
The store, according to employees Amanda Burden and Anissa Rivera (pictured above), is always busy. The chocolate chocolate chip is the best seller, but no matter which of the 10 flavors you choose, or what size â bite-sized bundtinis, miniature bundtlets or full-sized or special order bundt cakes â you are guaranteed a moist, delicious treat that will leave you smiling.â JCC
2. Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt Happy Cow continues to outpace other local frozen yogurt shops in our annual Reader Survey, and among the items that distinguish this make-your-own frozen yogurt shop from others are its delicious, house-made brownies and chocolate chip cookies and its varieties of flavors & toppings.
3. Culverâs Culver’s started in Wisconsin, where they take their frozen custard seriously. The burgers and cheese curds are divine, but a shake, pint of frozen custard and the Concrete Mixers are worth the stop all by themselves. Wesley Chapel has two locations, so from one Cheesehead to the rest of you: youâre welcome!Â
4. Dairy Queen DQ doesnât do anything special with its desserts, and maybe thatâs the charm for locals â you know what youâre getting. The ice cream is good, the Blizzards are way better than McFlurries, and ice cream sundae, parfaits are easy choices and delicious ice cream cakes are always a treat.
5. Batter n Dough BnD on S.R. 56 specializes in topping trendy liege and other waffles with everything from ice cream to eggs & bacon, all with delicious flair. The ice cream waffle sandwiches are equally delicious with sweet or savory waffles. And, in less than two years, Batter & Dough has made our readersâ top-5!Â
6. Ice Dreammm Shop 7. 365 Caffe Italiano 8. Buttermilk Provisions 9. Jenny’s Mini Donuts 10. Le Macaron
Based on the results of our annual Reader’s Survey:
1 — COLDSTONE Cathy and Chip Byrne have owned the Cold Stone Creamery since it opened on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in 2004, employed hundreds of local kids and delivering thousands and thousands of delicious treats to area residents.
Welcome to Cold Stone, indeed.
New Tampaâs favorite desert joint has a fun and friendly staff that delivers a very rich ice cream, which has so much butter fat that Cathy wonât even tell us exactly how much.
The ice cream, which is actually made in the back, is scooped onto a cold stone (get it?), and whatever flavors (a heaping spoonful of peanut butter?) and treats (Kit Kats? M&Ms?) your heart desires are folded into it for a frozen delight. Dessert and a show!
Ice cream cakes are particularly hot sellers at the New Tampa store, especially the chocolatey ganache-topped Midnight Delight.
While being located in front of a movie theater ainât bad for an ice cream shop, what makes Cold Stone your favorite is that it is a high-quality product and a fun place. Just be ready to wait in a line if you plan on stopping by any weekend night!
2. Twistee Treat Twistee Treat is best-known for operating out of a giant ice cream cone, but its variety of soft serve ice cream flavors (including peanut butter and banana!), candy-infused Twirls, sundaes and great pricing make it a favorite.
3. Brusterâs Real Ice Cream Bruster’s is what it says â real ice cream. When it comes to variety, Brusterâs takes the (ice cream) cake, and what kid in New Tampa didnât grow up on the Dino sundaes? For a real treat, try a custom-made ice cream pie!
4. Dunkinâ Donuts Dunkin’ may not typically classify as dessert, but as a morning sweet itâs not a bad place to pick up a donut, muffin or coffee, and the addition of Baskin Robbins ice cream to some of our locations helps add to its dessert appeal.
5. The Cake Shop was purchased by Jean Paul Petit about a year ago. Petit, who had previously been the cake and pastry chef at Don Pan International Bakery in South Tampa, has brought a new flair to this local favorite. Â
Head Chef Adrian Luna (left) and owner Steve Fallabella.
Based upon votes cast in our annual Reader Survey, here are Wesley Chapel’s favorite pizza joints.
1 — 900 Woodfired Pizza Steve Falabella says he doesnât have one secret to his success as the owner of 900 Woodfired Pizza â he has many.
It starts with the pizza, sure. The New York-style pizza, his best seller, boasts a crispy crust â a little bit of whole milk when making the dough gives it some extra life â sauce derived from six different tomatoes and Grande cheese, which he says is the best around.
âItâs all about the cheese,â Falabella says, and he doesnât mix any other into his choice of mozzarella to cut any corners.
But itâs also all about the employees. If you wonder why the food â whether one of 20 different kinds of pizza, specialty pastas like the Tortellini della casa or a big plate or spaghetti or Pesto Genovese â is always delicious, itâs because itâs probably made by the same people that made it last time.
Head chef Adrian Luna has been with Falabella all eight years he has been at the Shops of Wiregrass, as have those providing top-notch service â Cynthia, Bryan and Ivan.
âConsistency is crucial, itâs what we do,â Falabella says. âYou know you are going to get the best quality ingredients cooked in the best quality way, and if you donât, we will fix it for you in a second.â
For more information about 900 Woodfired Pizza (28152 Paseo Dr.), call (813) 527-6940 or visit 900degreeswoodfirepizza.com.
2. Amici’s Amici Pizza & Deli dropped to 2nd place in this yearâs Reader Survey after winning the Favorite Pizza in WCâ title last year and thereâs no doubt that the pizza is true New York style and the linguini with white clam sauce is the best (and most authentic) in our area. The new location has been a blessing.
3. Mellow Mushroom Mellow Mushroom definitely has the funkiest decor of all the pizza joints on this list, and it pairs an eclectic environment with equally eclectic offerings like the Funky Q Chicken (BBQ), Holy Shittake (for the mushroom lover), Great White and Kosmic Karma, with a handful of gluten-free pies as well.
4. PizzaMania PizzaMania has never been much lower than the top three or four favorite pizza places with our readers since the day it opened in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza. PizzaMania offers authentic New York/New Jersey-style pizza and excellent veal and chicken parmigiana & other Italian specialties.
5. NY NY Pizza NY NY Pizza lives up to its name, serving up some pretty tasty NY-style pizza lauded for its sauce-to-cheese balance. One of the most popular items is the thin-crust Grandma Pie, with basil, garlic and plum tomatoes. With more than 25 kinds of pizza, as well as wings and sandwiches, NY NY has something for everyone.
6. Blaze Pizza 7. Best NY Pizza 8. Pomodoro Pizza 9. MOD Pizza 10. Fratelli’s
Grillsmith is one of the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa’s favorite restaurants, according to our Reader Survey. (Facebook)
The results of our annual Reader Survey have been published, and first up:
The Favorite Restaurants.
In total, we had a record number of right around 1,500 ballots cast this year, surpassing our old record of more than 1,200 a few years ago. And the split of the voters was roughly 900 Wesley Chapel ballots and 600 New Tampa votes submitted this year.
One thing that I know helped stimulate more votes this year was the fact there were far fewer categories. For example, the only way to judge who won categories that didnât appear on this year ballots â like favorite Latin, Asian, Mediterranean and favorite burgers was to see who received the most votes (five faves per ballot) for favorite restaurant in our coverage areas.
The Latin restaurant that received the most Favorite Restaurant votes in Wesley Chapel was Chuyâs Tex-Mex, followed by Capital Tacos, Los Vallartas, Rice & Beans and Cantina Laredo. Rice & Beans also received more âFavorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapelâ votes than any other newcomer, beating out Walk-Onâs Bistreaux & Bar and Blaze Pizza.
Chuy’s Tex-Mex in Wesley Chapel.
The Latin restaurant in New Tampa that received the most Favorite Restaurant votes was Vallartaâs, followed by Las Palmas (which will finish quite a bit higher on my list next month), Cantina, Tijuana Flats and Chipotle.
And, despite there being several more options, only two Mediterranean restaurants â Acropolis and Little Greek â finished in our readersâ top 40.
Other top-20 surprises this year (at least in one editorâs opinion) included Chick-fil-A (#7 Favorite Restaurant?), Cracker Barrel and Panera Bread.
Here’s your overall winners for Favorite Restaurant:
Steak Oscar at Bahama Breeze. (Facebook)
WESLEY CHAPEL 1. BAHAMA BREEZE Bahama Breeze Island Grille has only been located on the north side of S.R. 56 for two years or so, but the popular chain continues to attract large numbers of visitors â and votes in our annual Reader Dining Survey â each year it has been open.
New general manager Melissa Altamare recently took over for the beloved former GM Jeannie Lafever, but Melissa is a long-time Bahama Breeze employee who helped Jeannie open what we call the Wesley Chapel location.
Melissa is equally as friendly as Jeannie and the bottom line is that a lot of people love the whole tropical feel and menu of Bahama Breeze â even though some locals complain that the restaurant seems somewhat out of place here because itâs not located on a body of water.
Jannah and I have always been fond of Bahama Breezeâs blackened or almond-crusted fresh catch, as well as the burgers and the ahi tuna salad, and Iâm a fan of the churrasco steak pictured top left on this page and the braised oxtail and Jamaican sampler platter.
Melissa says her favorite dishes are the habañero wings, the jerk chicken pasta and the âtequila sunburnâ glazed salmon (bottom left). âBut I keep finding new favorites,â she says. âI really do love our food.â
And, considering that Bahama Breeze took first place for not only Favorite Restaurant but also Favorite Bar in WC (see next page) with our readers by comfortable margins this year, Melissa and her outstanding staff should continue to have big crowds to contend with at arguably our areaâs most spacious freestanding restaurant. â GN
2. GRILLSMITH Grillsmith has always been among Wesley Chapelâs most popular eateries since it first opened in the Shops at Wiregrass, but a recent menu upgrade to include a truly fresh catch every day has kept it close to the top on my list as well. Try the mashed cauliflower, too!
4. FIRST WATCH First Watch was the only real surprise for me in our readersâ top-5 in WC, not just because itâs only open for breakfast and lunch but also because the parking and wait times, especially for weekend brunch are often unbearable. Even so, I agree that the menu options are unique and tasty.
5. 900 WOODFIRED 900 Degrees Woodfired Pizza also won this yearâs âFavorite Pizza in Wesley Chapelâ category and owner Steve Falabellaâs quick stop in the Shops at Wiregrass has great NY-style and woodfired Neapolitan-style pizza. But, I was glad to see it also get some props as a restaurant because it has yummy pastas & salad, too. Â
NEW TAMPA 1. STONEWOOD GRILL Stonewood Grill & Tavernâs three-peat as our readersâ Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa should come as no surprise.Â
Zip code 33647âs most upscale eatery features great steaks and fresh seafood, plus an always-hoppinâ bar area that helped Stonewood also finish as our readersâ second favorite bar or tavern in New Tampa this year (see next page).
For me, Stonewoodâs decision to start opening for lunch a year or so ago was a great move. And, even though the menu is a little pricier than what many people want to spend for lunch, the food is great and the quieter, less-crowded atmosphere is perfect for conducting a business meeting or social event.
Jannah and I especially enjoy the seared ahi tuna appetizer, the 6- and 9-oz. filet mignon options, the fresh fish (we shared an excellent grilled grouper on our most recent visit) and the fresh, always tasty veggies.
In terms of food quality and service, nothing has changed since new managing partner Matt Passardi took over after the beloved Dave Rathbun departed last year, so this favorite 8-location, Florida-based mini-chain can expect to stay at or near the top of our readersâ list every year. â GN Â
2. CICCIO CALI Ciccio Cali, also located in the Shoppes at The Pointe plaza in Tampa Palms (in the same parking lot at Stonewood) should receive all the credit for first bringing âbowl cultureâ to New Tampa, and also has great pizzas, burgers and wrap sandwiches.Â
4. MR. DUNDERBAK’S Mr. Dunderbakâs and Stonewood were the only restaurants that made the top-5 in two categories (Favorite Restaurant and Bar) this year, so people obviously love it for more than just its beer variety. I enjoy the tasty schnitzel, sausages and sandwiches, plus German chocolate bars. Sehr lecker!
5. ACROPOLIS GREEKÂ TAVERNA Acropolis Greek Taverna has been the highest-rated Mediterranean restaurant in New Tampa by our readers since the days when it was the only Greek restaurant in New Tampa. If you havenât tried the saganaki (flaming cheese appetizer), lamb chops, filet shish kabobs, or the Athenian fish, you should. Â
6. THE FAT RABBIT 7. CHICK-FIL-A 8. VALLARTA’S 9. KOBE JAPANESE 10. SUSHI CAFE 11. GLORY DAYS GRILL 12. LAS PALMAS 13. CRACKER BARREL 14. CAPPY’S PIZZERIA 15. THE LITTLE GREEK 16. BAYSCAPE BISTRO 17. KOIZI ENDLESS HABACHI 18. SUKHOTHAI 19. RED LOBSTER 20. PANERA BREAD
