Category: Wesley Chapel

By Matt Wiley

Standing in the middle of the 18th green at the TPC of Tampa Bay in nearby Lutz after the conclusion of the 23rd annual Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay golf tournament on April 15, I listened as the crowd roared, breathing it all in.

Of course, it wasn’t meant for me. I wasn’t being awarded a giant check or a trophy. In fact, a professional would probably have written me a check to not be on his team, had I participated.

Nope, instead of me, the checks and trophies went to Michael Allen for winning the professional portion of the tournament, his second Champions Tour victory, and to Joe Theismann, the former quarterback for the Washington Redskins during their Super Bowl XVII victory in 1983, who won the pro-am portion of the tournament.

But, the feeling was still surreal, people clapping all around me as if I had just birdied my way to victory.

Moments before, the trophies for the winners had been parachuted onto the fairway of the 18th hole by U.S. Air Force Para Commandos as the waiting crowd looked to the sky. Fittingly, Van Halen’s “Jump” blared through the speakers as the Commandos glided through the air.

None of this would have been possible without tournament director Amy Hawk, the Arbor Greene resident who has been in charge of the Pro-Am for the past nine years.

“This year was a huge success,” Amy says. “Even with the new title sponsor. We had a record Sunday crowd and perfect weather.”

The tournament had been called the Outback Pro-Am from 2004-11, but switched title sponsors to Encompass Insurance for the 2012 tournament. Over the past 25 years, the event has raised more than $9 million for various charities.

Theismann was not the only celebrity in attendance, playing amongst the professional and amateur golfers of the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Champion’s Tour, a series of tournaments for professional golfers over the age of 50. The pros played in twosomes with an amateur throughout the three-day contest, some of whom were celebrities, such as Tampa Bay Lightning founder and Honorary Chairman of the tournament Phil Esposito — who teed off on Saturday with a hockey stick to the delight of Lightning mascot Thunderbug, to commemorate Lightning Day — as well as retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks, Bucs cornerback Rondé Barber, University of Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, former “Dateline” NBC-TV anchor Stone Phillips, television actor John O’Hurley and former Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman Fred McGriff.

Previous celebrities who have played in this popular pro-am include the likes of actors Bill Murray, Michael J. Fox, Mark Wahlberg and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Murray, one of my all-time favorite actors, was probably who I was hoping to see most, even going so far as to practice clever ways of introducing myself using a catchphrase from “Caddyshack,” one of his biggest hit movies, where Murray played a pot-smoking greenskeeper.

Even without seeing Murray, it was definitely still a great day on the links for an amateur “Cinderella story” like yours truly!

By Gary Nager

While there are some very good places in our area that some members of our staff at the New Tampa Neighborhood News are lukewarm about, there is no doubt in this reporter’s mind that Sonny’s BBQ, the 45-year-old Gainesville, FL-based “real pit” barbecue chain, isn’t one of them.

In fact, there wasn’t one person in the office who wasn’t excited when I said I was doing a story on the Wesley Chapel Sonny’s, which just happens to have been and continues to be owned by my friends and former neighbors in Hunter’s Green — Jim and Kristina Hoff (photo, right) — since the location in front of the Publix-anchored Hollybrook Plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (just south of S.R. 54) first opened 14 years ago.

Everyone in the office rushed to check out the menu online to pick their favorites. Office manager Nikki Bennett got her half chicken lunch plate, sales and advertising assistant AnnMarie Beck got to enjoy her pulled pork lunch (graphic artist Porsha Lemos was beaming about her pulled pork sandwich), staff writers Matt Wiley and John McGurl both slathered plenty of sauce on their pulled beef brisket sandwiches and yours truly had tastes of my two favorites — the rib sampler combo and the High Springs chicken (I love Sonny’s sizzlin’ sweet and other BBQ sauces, but I order the chicken without the sauce) topped with cheese and mushrooms.

I got the rib sampler in order to enjoy my Sonny’s favorite — the meaty, tender signature baby back ribs — but also to sample, for the first time, the new classic dry-rub ribs, which I really enjoyed dipping into the sweet BBQ sauce to offset the spiciness of the dry rub.

Speaking of sauces, you can take home all four kinds of Sonny’s bottled BBQ sauces — mild, smoky, sweet and sizzlin’ sweet — as well as the dry rub, and of course, Sonny’s also offers the fresh and delicious “Garden of Eatin’” for those dining in, as well as chicken Caesar and “big” salads both to go and to dine in-house. And, you can’t beat Sonny’s delicious corn on the cob, BBQ baked beans, French fries, homemade corn or garlic bread and other sides, like fresh veggies, plus homemade sweet tea.

 

Need A Cold One?

Back in 2010, the Hoffs were among the first Sonny’s owners to add the chain’s new “lunch counters,” where you can sit in comfort and watch big, flat-screen TVs while enjoying an ice cold beer, a glass of wine and premium liquor selections. There are even four varieties of great new chicken wings to enjoy and great all-day Happy Hour specials — just don’t call the lunch counter a “sports bar.”

“We separated the lunch counter from the dining room, so families can still be comfortable,” says Kristina. “You can get alcoholic beverages in the dining room, too, but adults who want to enjoy their food and drinks away from children really seem to enjoy the separate lunch counter.”

Jim and Kristina hope that now that the widening of both S.R. 54 and BBD has been completed, more of their regular customers — like the Neighborhood News staff — will start returning more…regularly.

“It’s been a long haul with the road,” says Jim. “We opened the lunch counter just as the construction really got rolling. Even some of our regulars didn’t know we had it because they just couldn’t handle the traffic to get here.”

In the ad on pg. 32, you’ll find a great deal on Sonny’s Special Feast for Four. And, Sonny’s is a great place to bring the family for Mother’s Day.

Sonny’s BBQ is located at 5324 BBD. For more information, call 994-8989 or visit SonnysBBQ.com.