Business Briefs — Defining Beauty Christens New Office & Many Chamber Ribbons Cut 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen (in gray) 
celebrated the Grand Opening of her new location in the New Tampa Prof. Ctr. in Pebble Creek by 
demonstrating how her Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

It’s been another busy month+ for Grand Openings and North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) ribbon-cuttings in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

On Aug. 29, Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa officially oopened its new location — in the same New Tampa Professional Park off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Pebble Creek as before, but in a larger suite, so owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen could better serve her growing number of patients and clients with more treatment rooms and more types of treatments available (as we told you about in our last issue). 

Grand Opening attendees got to see Karma demonstrate how her newest Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works and she also introduced permanent jewelry services and much more, as more than 50 of her patients, clients, friends and family were on hand to wish her well — and receive great “swag bags” and special offers on services. 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa is located at 8907 Regents Park Dr., Suite 330. For more info, call (813) 955-0408, or visit DefiningBeautyMedSpa.com. Memberships are available and members receive anniversary gifts and invitations to special events. 

Chamber Keeps Cutting Ribbons! 

As for who’s been cutting North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbons recently, on Aug. 22, our friends and local Realtors Chad and April Emory officially celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty, in one of the biggest Chamber ribbon-cutting events we’ve been to recently. 

Broker Chad Emory (with scissors) and his wife and fellow Realtor April (in front in white) celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty on Aug. 22. (Photo by Gary Nager) 

More than 100 people were on hand at the Signature Workspace in The Shops at Wiregrass to celebrate with Chad, the firm’s Broker, and April. They served delicious food from Rock & Brews, Falabella Family Bistro, Bubba’s 33, Texas Roadhouse and Main Event. 

Chad and April also thanked their family and friends — Mackenzie Maldonado for the beautiful balloon arrangements for the event, Vanessa Suarez for the stunning floral arrangements, Radiant Wellness Spa, AdventHealth Center Ice, Lisa Moore from the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa- Wesley Chapel (who helped plan their event) and the Hampton Inn & Suites, as well as Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy for her warm introduction. The Emorys also thanked their real estate team members Michelle Leann, Amanda Downing and Vanessa Suarez. 

It’s hard to believe that the Emorys could take enough time out from being at literally every Chamber ribbon cutting and every event throughout the Wesley Chapel and surrounding areas to plan, much less host, such a spectacular event. Congrats, you two! 

Emorys Rock Realty is located at 28210 Paseo Dr. For more information, visit EmorysRockRealty.com or call (813) 404-2286. 

Chiropractic Physicians Dr. Abigail & Dr. Thomas Farrar (both holding scissors) of Eden Chiropractic in the Brookside Professional Park on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel cut their Chamber ribbon on Sept. 5. 

We also want to congratulate Eden Chiropractic (in the Brookside Professional Park off S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel) owners and chiropractic physicians Abigail and Thomas Farrar, for hosting another well-attended North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 5. 

The doctors Farrar turned their Grand Opening into a fun scavenger hunt and gave away raffle tickets for a number of great prizes to those who completed a row of a Bingo card. 

Eden Chiropractic specializes in the Gonstead Method, created by renowned chiropractor Clarence Gonstead in the 1920s. The Gonstead Method (or Technique) focuses on how a patient’s nervous system is functioning to better determine the underlying cause of misalignments in the neck using X-rays and other instrumentation, as well as hands-on palpations and visualization. Eden Chiropractic provides chiropractic services for adults, children, women who are pregnant and even for women who are trying to get pregnant. 

For more information about Eden Chiropractic (29141 Chapel Park Dr.), call (813) 815-8135 or visit EdenChiropracticFL.com. 

Dr. Karan (left) & Dr. Agam Patel (both holding scissors) cut a ribbon at Palm Endovascular on Sept. 18. 

Next up was the Chamber ribbon-cutting at the new Palm Endovascular medical office, located at 2344 Crestover Lane, in the Cypress Ridge Professional Park (behind Pet Paradise) on the north side of S.R. 56. 

Palm Endovascular combines the talents of renowned interventional cardiologist Dr. Agam Patel and radiologist Dr. Karan Patel, at a unique facility where minimally invasive outpatient vascular disease surgeries that normally would have to be done at a hospital can be done in the office’s surgery center — without having to visit a hospital — thanks to its cutting-edge technology. Among the conditions the doctors Patel can treat include peripheral arterial disease, varicose veins, deep vein and uterine thromboses, spinal compression fractures and more. 

For more information, call (813) 563- 0917 or visit PalmEndovascular.com. 

Embodhi Medspa 

Then, on Sept. 19, Family Nurse Practitioner Aimee Talbot, MSN, APRN, FNP-C (right), cut an NTBC ribbon at her new Embodhi Integrative Wellness & Medspa, located at 16007 N. Florida Ave. (just north of Bearss Ave.) in the Magnolia Center in Lutz. 

At her event, Aimee said she currently is focusing on Botox® and fillers, but she also will be adding direct integrative primary care, hormone optimization, medical weight loss, and IV therapy services as Embodhi grows. The Embodhi website says that, ““Our mission is rooted in the belief that Divine Health is our inherent state, accessible to all.” 

For more information, call (813) 252-7633 or visit Em-bodhi.com. — GN 

Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman Talks Car Washes, Road Projects & More 


Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman (below left) is proud of Pasco’s new ordinance to limit new car washes to no more than one every 1.5 miles. (Above) 

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman says he has learned a lot about the inner workings of the county government since he took office in 2022. 

Weightman also says that listening to his Dist. 2 constituents has had him working to solve county problems — such as limiting the ability for new car washes to open countywide, but especially in the Wesley Chapel area, where there already are 25 or more…with more still to come. 

“I’m proud that, at our September 17 Board of County Commissioners meeting, we passed (by a 5-0 vote) a new ordinance limiting new car washes to no more than one in a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) and to keep them at least 1.5 miles apart,” Weightman says, noting that already approved (and built) car washes would not be affected by the new ordinance. “I agreed with my constituents that this needed to get done.” 

After seeing the overwhelming number of car washes in the Wesley Chapel area, Weightman asked the county staff several months ago to come up with a map showing the existing car washes, many of which were so close to each other the labels for them were on top of each other on the map. He also hopes to create a similar map showing all of the storage facilities in Pasco (there are at least 12 in the Wesley Chapel area). 

“The problem is that businesses like these take up a lot of area but don’t really bring a lot of new employment to the county,” he says. “We want our commercial land to be home to businesses that are employment centers.” 

Weightman, who attends the openings of as many new such employment centers as possible (including the Grand Opening of the new downtown building in Avalon Park), also has been keeping tabs on all of our area road projects, especially the widening of both Old Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd., a new traffic signal at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Lajuana Blvd., and intersection improvements at S.R. 56 and Meadow Pointe Blvd. 

The long-awaited Old Pasco Rd. widening (sign above) is proceeding apace, especially the grading of the land (below) along Old Pasco Rd. (both north & south of Overpass Rd., including in front of the new Sanctuary Ridge subdivision). The contract for the widening was amended in July to add a 6-ft.-wide sidewalk on the west side of Old Pasco Rd. heading south from Cypress Creek Middle & High Schools.

Old Pasco Rd. — Weightman says that in July, the $22-million contract between the county and B.R.W. Contracting was amended (it is now a nearly $30-million agreement) and the length of time was extended (by an additional 400 days) to extend the project further north of Overpass Rd. and to add a 6-ft.-wide sidewalk on the west side of Old Pasco Rd. to provide “connected pedestrian and bicycle facilities and needed roadway capacity to the Cypress Creek school campus, improving safety for all roadway users. The amendment results in substantial time and cost savings to the County by precluding the need for a separate solicitation for the shorter additional length of road.” 

Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. — Although we had originally heard that the $69.4-million WC Blvd. widening was going to begin sooner than later (we reported an expected August start date in our May 14 issue), at our press time, we hadn’t seen much, if any activity — not even utility work. 

Because WC Blvd. is a portion of S.R. 54, Weightman says that the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) is responsible for the project, but that he was going to find out when the actual work was set to begin. 

“What we do know is that once this project starts, a lot of people who live along Wesley Chapel Blvd. are going to be affected,” he says. 

The three-year project will impact those living from south of Lexington Oaks (including in Grand Oaks, The Oaks, Cypress Estates, Stagecoach and others), “but the sooner it starts the sooner it can get done,” Weightman says. 

S.R. 56 at Lajuana Blvd. — If you check out the local Facebook communities, there is agreement that one of — if not the most dangerous — intersections in the Wesley Chapel area is the intersection of S.R. 56 and Lajuana Blvd., which is the road with Cooper’s Hawk on the west side and the Audi Wesley Chapel dealership on the east side. 

Although many locals believe that the speed limit also needs to be reduced on S.R. 56, Comm. Weightman says that, at its Sept. 17 meeting, the County Commission acted to help try to fix the problem at this intersection with a new traffic signal. The $139,590 project was awarded to Kissinger Campo & Associates Corp. 

“There’s no doubt that this is a huge deal and really needed,” Weightman says. “I’ve been pushing for it ever since I first came into office. We got that expedited. That is definitely a dangerous intersection, so I’m excited that it’s finally happening.” 

S.R. 56 at Meadow Pointe (MP) Blvd. — Although this item was passed in July, Weightman also says that improvements are coming to the intersection of S.R. 56 and Meadow Pointe (MP) Blvd. (see graphic on this page). 

The big news with this item is that a much-needed second left turn lane will be added for the traffic heading eastbound on 56 onto MP Blvd. northbound. In addition, a second left turn lane also will be added for northbound traffic on MP Blvd. to turn west onto S.R. 56. The project also will include signal modifications. 

County Budget — “With the passing of this budget (also on Sept. 17), we cut general operating millage and, with me being the budget guy, I always want us to be very measured in taxes on folks. We dropped the road maintenance MSTU (Municipal Services Taxing Unit) from 0.5 mills to 0.4 mills. Among the items in this budget are several intersection improvements in the Meadow Pointe/Union Park area and those, by government speed standards, are going to be coming along pretty quickly.” 

Unfortunately, those planned improvements were not presented as line items in the budget, so I can’t provide specifics as to what those improvements will be until (most likely) next issue. 

Live Local Update — Although he says that there has not yet been any significant change in the plans for the previously commercially zoned parcel being called the ”Woods at Wesley Chapel” (or, as some still refer to it, the previously planned Lowe’s Home Improvement) site off S.R. 54 at Curley Rd. attempting to re-zone for apartments under the so-called “Live Local Act,” Weightman says that there has been progress made on the other Wesley Chapel site that had considered rezoning under Live Local, on Overpass Rd. at Old Pasco Rd. 

“They are not using Live Local, but they are now proposing a different mixed-use site plan with residential components on it that currently aren’t there (in the approved zoning) today,” Weightman says. “There is still conversation and activity around that, so even though they’re not using Live Local, they are proposing something that isn’t in the zoning the Board approved a couple of years ago. In other words, ‘We won’t play the Live Local card if you approve this kind of project instead.’ At least it’s collaborative and not hostile.” 

Celebrating The Opening Of The First Building In Avalon Park’s Downtown! 

Developer Cuts The Ribbon As The First Mixed-Use Rental Apartment & Retail Building In Wesley Chapel Opens! 
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli (with scissors) was joined by his entire development team, all of the tenants who have signed commercial leases at the new “downtown Avalon Park” mixed-use building, Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (to Kahli’s left) and North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy (to Weightman’s left) on Sept. 19 for the ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the first-ever “neotraditional” retail and residential building in Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George)

 So, whether or not it’s actually Wesley Chapel’s “downtown,” there’s no doubt that the Grand Opening and unveiling on Sept. 19 of the new nearly 17,000-sq.-ft., three-story building in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel is the start of at least that community’s downtown — and the first true mixed-use (residential and commercial), urban-style (some would call it “neotraditional”) building in all of Wesley Chapel. 

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli doesn’t hide his excitement about the new 17,000-sq.-ft. first building (below right) in Avalon Park’s downtown district. 

“This is long in the making,” said developer Beat Kahli, the founder, president and CEO of the Avalon Park Group, the developer of both Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and Orlando. “We were lucky, in 1988, to find 1,800 acres in Pasco County, owned by the Brown family — it was called the Brown Ranch —and when Mom Brown died, the IRS came in and said, ‘You have to pay a lot of taxes because you have 1,800 acres and here is your tax bill.’ And they said, ‘We’re just farming here and we don’t have that money at all.’ We bought the land for fair market value (at that time) and told them, ‘You still need to farm here for a long time.’” 

And, although the original New River Township portion of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel has been around for more than a decade and there are now around 2,000 single-family homes built or under construction (with a population of about 5,000 people) in the entire development, Kahli said Bill Brown and his family were able to continue farming the vast majority of their land for “more than a quarter of a century. We would have surveyors and engineers come out and they’d call me to say, ‘Hey, there’s a guy with a shotgun here saying it’s his property. And, we’d have to tell Bill, who was a great guy, ‘Please don’t shoot our surveyors and engineers.’” 

Kahli said that unlike in Orlando, “where we basically had to build the town from scratch, there was already a two-lane (now 4-lane), paved S.R. 54 here.” He also recounted the first homeowners association meeting in Orlando, when there were only about 30 homes, with the people asking him, “What’s the philosophy of the development here?,” to which he replied, “The goal is to build a town where people can live, learn, work and play. If you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to leave — and that’s the same philosophy here (in Wesley Chapel). We’re taking a big step forward with this almost-17,000-sq.-ft., $21-million building , which we have completed now, so we are having the ribbon cutting today.” 

The native of Switzerland also pointed to the “A”-rated Pinecrest Academy charter K-8 school and the adjacent church and likened it to life in Europe, “Where towns are basically built around a church and a school.” 

He also said that by having a place where people live, learn, work and play, “Some of you will become triple or even quadruple stakeholders — someone who lives, works or has a business, has kids in school and entertains, all here in Avalon Park, where we have events that already have 5,000 people attending, sometimes 25,000 in Orlando now [like the annual 4th of July celebrations]. So, the goal is to create a sense of place, a place where people feel at home and feel safe.” 

And, although Kahli said he didn’t miss the mountains or especially the snow where he grew up in Zurich, the largest city in his native country, “I missed having what we are opening here — a lifestyle where you can live somewhere, get in the elevator, sit in a coffee shop or restaurant where you don’t have to get into your car for whatever you do. And, you can have your kids walk to school, which is how I grew up.” 

He then thanked his entire Avalon Park Group (APG) team, as well as Dist. 2 (which includes Avalon Park) Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman and North Tampa Bay Chamber President & CEO Hope Kennedy for their support. 

Weightman said, “I’m just incredibly honored to be standing here with all of you to represent the commissioners. This is a testament of the partnership between Avalon Park Group and Pasco County to build something great.” 

APG senior VP of marketing & community relations Stephanie Lerrett also thanked the county, Kennedy and the NTBC, the Pasco Economic Development Council and all of the commercial tenants whose businesses will be located below The Flats at Avalon Park apartments. 

After the ribbon-cutting, attendees were treated to samples of Rudraksh Indian Cuisine’s kabobs, Tallo Restaurant & Bar’s Caribbean-style sandwiches and Rita’s Italian Ices (plus food provided by Vesh Catering) and were able to meet the tenants who are all opening businesses on the ground floor of the building — ISI Elite Training, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, Prime Barbershop, Vet Check and dentist Dr. Hetvi Patel of Dream Dental Studio. 

There also were tours of the beautiful 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments (there are 40 total) in The Flats, which are competitively priced with other luxury apartments in the area. 

For more information about Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, The Flats apartments and the new downtown building (at 4424 Friendly Way), visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com, call (813) 783- 1515 or (813) 851-4228. 

Lori Kalaaukahi Of Aloha Nui Counseling Provides Therapy With An ‘Aloha Spirit’ 

Licensed Clinical Social Worker Lori Kalaaukahi-Boone specializes in mental health therapy for teens, adults & couples. Her office is in Zephyrhills, but she also offers Telehealth appointments. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

In 2011, Lori Kalaaukahi-Boone was ready to get off the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where she was born, had been raised and lived her whole life. 

She had been working as a medical assistant and a nurse’s aide, and was struggling with mental health issues. She wanted to explore the world, so she did something unconventional for a single mom in her mid-30s. 

Lori enlisted in the Army. 

“At 34, I just barely made the age cutoff,” she says. “Growing up on a small island can become claustrophobic, and I felt like I was going in circles.” 

She asked her parents to care for her two kids, Tihani (then 17) and Ramsay (then 7), and she headed out to boot camp at Fort Jackson, SC. She found herself in basic training with kids just barely older than her older daughter back home, taking orders from people much younger than she was. 

After serving four years in the Army, she was living in Tennessee and was able to use GI Bill benefits to earn both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. 

At first, she thought she would be a nurse, but she was struggling in the program. Then, a friend who was a social worker told her about his job. 

“It just resonated with me, and I knew this is what I needed to do,” she says. “When I changed my program, everything started flowing naturally, and I knew I was supposed to be a therapist.” 

She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in 2018 and her Master’s in 2020. Now, she is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), which means she is qualified to provide services independently. 

When she first came to Florida, Lori worked with an agency in Clearwater providing community mental health. She helped people who were homeless and struggling with addiction, as well as many other issues. 

But now, this Wesley Chapel resident is tackling her dream of having her own practice, which she opened in Zephyrhills in July 2023. She provides teens, adults and couples with mental health care via virtual and in-office appointments. 

She says she named her practice Aloha Nui Counseling Services to embrace her Hawaiian heritage, and what is important to her in her relationships with her clients. 

“‘Aloha nui’ means ‘Take good care,’ or ‘Lots of love,’” she says. “It’s basically our version of southern hospitality.” 

She says it’s important to her that she incorporates that spirit with all of her clients. 

“In my culture, we’re brought up to help others, love others and care for others,” Lori says. “I wanted to implement that here in my practice.” 

EMDR Therapy 

Lori says that, as a former soldier herself, she is especially passionate about helping those who have experienced any kind of trauma to process their issues and heal. 

One way she does this is a specialized trauma therapy called EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing. 

Lori explains that EMDR is a well-known modality that uses eye movements to help people process trauma in a healthy way. 

“It helps your brain to process the images in your head in a healthy manner so it doesn’t get stuck,” she says. “It’s almost like how eating too much food can cause it to get stuck, and we start choking. images can get stuck in our brains, too.” 

She says EMDR puts a patient into a similar state to REM (rapid eye movement, a state of deep sleep) and she installs positive cognitions to help her patients process their trauma. 

“Once it’s completed,” she says, “you still have these images, but it’s no longer accompanied by heavy emotions.” 

Lori has completed 60 hours of training to be qualified to practice this modality. She also has used it under supervision to complete her training so she is well qualified to help those who need to work through traumatic issues and find healing from those difficult events or times of their lives. 

Lori definitely also has a heart for those who have served in the military, as not only a veteran herself, but also as the daughter of a veteran, and now the spouse of a veteran, too. 

When Lori was stationed and living in Tennessee, her parents loved to visit her there. She says it was her father who inspired her to join the Army. She knew it would “knock his socks off” for her to join, after his own 36-year military career. With the low prices relative to the cost of living in Hawaii, and the southern hospitality that reminded them of home, they relocated to Tennessee. 

Lori’s husband Barry Boone is retired from the Army and brought the family to Florida to work as a military recruiter. Tihani now lives in Hawaii, where she is married with four daughters. She is a nurse who earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2020, the same year her mom got her Master’s. 

Ramsay still lives with Lori’s parents in Tennessee and is in school to become a fashion designer, and her 12-year-old daughter Teveah is home-schooled. Barry has three adult children of his own, as well. 

With all of her experience raising children, as a single mom and as part of a blended family, she feels she has no problem relating to adolescents and understands what they’re going through. 

She encourages teenagers who are struggling or parents who see their children suffering from mental health issues to reach out to her. 

“It’s okay to not be okay,” Lori says. “Mental health is not something to be afraid of. Let’s normalize mental issues in the same way medical issues are normalized.” 

Aloha Nui Counseling offers a free initial consultation. While Lori is happy to see patients in person at her office in Zephyrhills, she also offers Telehealth appointments for anyone who prefers to meet that way. 

She works with clients who have insurance to pay the cost of counseling and those who self-pay. 

Bonita Ashe, a colleague of Lori’s who is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, says the following about Lori, which was published on Lori’s profile at PsychologyToday.com. 

“Lori has an authentic style and warm demeanor and she will immediately calm an anxious spirit,” Bonita says. “If you need a kind and compassionate therapist, your search ends here. Lori is EMDR trained and a therapist I would trust with any client.” 

To schedule a free consultation, call Lori at (808) 342-1042, email her at LLorik808@ gmail.com, or visit AlohaNuiService.com. Aloha Nui Counseling is located at 5344 9th St., Suite 105, in downtown Zephyrhills, and appointments are offered in person or via Telehealth. 

3 Natives Opens At The Shops At Wiregrass! 

After sampling two of his tasty sandwiches on my first visit, I’m hopeful that franchise owner/operator Rick Orosco can succeed with his 3 Natives franchise in a location in The Shops at Wiregrass where multiple other similar concepts have failed — next to Macy’s (between Fabletics and Zales Jewelers), at 28211 Paseo Dr. 

3 Natives, started in 2013 by three Florida natives in Tequesta (on the east coast of South Florida, near Jupiter Inlet), although only Tequesta local Anthony Bambino is credited as the founder on 3Natives.com. 

According to the website, Bambino traveled throughout Southern California as a salesperson and “saw little juice bars all over the place. He wanted to bring that type of healthy and quick food (and beverages) to South Florida to see if it would work.” 

The website also notes that, “What started out as a 900-sq.-ft. juice bar has quickly grown into 26+ stores in Florida and Oklahoma,” with more to come. 

Orosco says that his is the first 3 Natives franchise in the Tampa Bay area, with the closest stores in Lakewood Ranch and Orlando. He also says that the simple 3 Natives menu — featuring fresh juices and smoothies, açai bowls, sandwiches and salads has already been “very well received” by his growing list of customers in just a few weeks of being open. 

Rick loves giving away samples of those juices — “Lean n’ Green,” “The Beet” and “Easy Greens”(left photo) — to any and all newcomers, “because we press and bottle them right here in the store.” I’ve never been a veggie-based juice guy, but I did enjoy the sweetest of the three options (Lean n’ Green) after sampling all of them. 

I’ve yet to try the smoothies, salads or açai bowls, but I will say that I enjoyed both the tuna melt on tasty multigrain bread and especially, the hot, pressed Hercules wrap (with chicken breast, spinach, purple cabbage, pico, croutons, parmesan & Caesar dressing) — very yummy and obviously super fresh, too. 

For more info, visit 3Natives.com, call (813) 838-6491 or stop in and tell Rick I sent you! —GN