When I visited the Mochinut Korean-style donut and rice hot dog (not a misprint) place at 11401 N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace for the first time — to sample what has been announced as coming to the former location of Mahana Fresh on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. — I got a few surprises.
First of all, the donuts, which are now served at more than 130 locations around the country, and are available in a rotating variety of flavors — from caramel churro (below) to lavender — are light, airy and definitely taste nothing like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts. The rice flour hot dogs sound…interesting…too, although I’ve yet to sample them. The bigger surprise was that not only is New Tampa getting a Mochinut store, so is the Lutz/Wesley Chapel area across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, as Mochinut also is opening soon in the former Pho 54 Vietnamese restaurant/boba tea location in the same plaza as Mellow Mushroom and Astro Craft Ice Cream.
All Mochinut locations also serve a variety of boba teas, by the way. Best of all, both new locations are likely to open by about the first week in October.
For more information, visit or call the Temple Terrace location at (813) 374- 5781 and please tell them that I sent you. Or, visit Mochinut.com.
(L.-r.) Carly and Wendy Hobbs put together a beautiful bouquet of white roses at The Flower Box, located in the Grand Oaks Plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz, which stocks a great variety of uniquely beautiful flowers. (All photos by Charmaine George).
The Flower Box, located on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in the Grand Oaks Plaza in Lutz, is a locally-owned-and-operated flower shop providing a wide range of floral bouquets and arrangements for any occasion or event.
“We’ve been here for going on 18 years,” says owner Wendy Hobbs. “We’ve been in the community, in the same location, and we help people from all over.”
The Flower Box is a family-run business, with Wendy originally working alongside her mother and now working with her daughter, Carly Hobbs (as well as six other floral experts).
Although Wendy says many customers come looking for flowers for a specific event or occasion, many also stop by to get a “just because” gift for a family member, spouse, or other loved one.
In addition to offering classic floral arrangements, such as white or red roses and boutonnieres for events such as homecoming dances or proms, The Flower Box also stocks arrangements of unique flowers, such as circus (two-toned orange and yellow) roses. Also available is a variety of different orchids, which are easy to care for and provide elegance to anywhere they may be placed.
For those unsure of what floral arrangement they want, as well as those who may simply want to surprise a loved one with an unexpected floral gift, The Flower Box has a “Deal of the Day,” where the customer only has to pick the size of arrangement they want and the florists create a unique arrangement to fulfill that need. The store also offers a similar option called “Designer’s Choice,” where the customer fills out a brief form stating what occasion the arrangement is for, as well as who the recipient will be.
For anyone looking for more than just the usual floral options, The Flower Box also offers gifts such as gourmet chocolates, plush stuffed animals and balloons that can be added on to any arrangement.
Throughout the years, The Flower Box has provided its customers with many unique floral choices. For example, the shop has provided beautiful floral arches for weddings. Anyone looking for an unusual or large floral arrangement for a special event such as a wedding or baby shower can request a consultation on the store’s website (FlowerBoxWesleyChapel.com) under the “Weddings & Events” tab. Wendy says that many people looking to order flowers for their special occasion will come in with pictures found online from websites such as Pinterest for inspiration, and she does her best to duplicate these so the customer can get exactly what he or she wants.
‘Tis The Season, Every Season!
Besides having flowers for special occasions such as birthdays, graduations and anniversaries, The Flower Box also offers flowers that correspond with the specific seasons of the year.
For example, the shop offers a “Springtime Wishes” arrangement that features a variety of colorful tulips and roses in a wicker basket.
For the upcoming fall season, check out the “Harvest Glow” bouquet, which features warmer-toned flowers to correspond with the warmer yellow, orange and red colors seen in the fall. Another fall offering is a Cornucopia arrangement filled with a variety of fall-toned flowers and foliage. Being located in a subtropical area like Florida, specific tropical flowers, such as birds of paradise, also are available.
Wendy says The Flower Box utilizes several growers from the local Lutz/Wesley Chapel area. The shop also receives flowers from larger wholesalers as well. To be able to provide more tropical flower varieties, Wendy and her crew work with a wholesaler from Miami that provides flowers from Argentina and other parts of South America.
Overall, The Flower Box always provides a personalized approach to ensure that each customer receives exactly what he or she wants.
“We try to deal with each customer one on one, whatever their needs are, for all different kinds of events and special occasions.” Wendy says, adding that when working with customers, she first starts out by asking for the particular inspiration they may have and designing an arrangement from there.
Although The Flower Box is located in Lutz, the store delivers flowers and gifts to a wide array of zip codes, including Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, as well as Dade City, San Antonio and Land O’ Lakes. The store even has a network of florists to allow for delivery to many areas and cities nationwide. In case there is a need for a last-minute gift for someone special, same-day delivery is offered at no additional cost.
Customers love The Flower Box, too: “The ordering process was so easy and smooth,” said Ashlyn Hartford in her recent Google review. “They have a massive, stunning variety to choose from with affordable prices…the arrangements are all gorgeous. (I) ordered a bouquet for delivery as a surprise & I couldn’t be happier with how (it) turned out.”
In another Google review, customer Kathy Hershelm praises The Flower Box for its excellent service:
“The flowers are always fresh and the arrangements are beautifully done. I have ordered for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and funerals and the flowers are always stunning!”
Wendy says The Flower Box also has supported the local community by providing floral arrangements for several area schools.
The Flower Box is located at 26302 Wesley Chapel Blvd., Lutz. For more info, call (813) 907-1916, visit FlowerBoxWesleyChapel.com or see the ad on pg. 30. The shop also can be found by searching @flowerboxwc on Instagram.
On Saturday, the Zephyrhills Museum of Military History hosted an event in remembrance of 9-11 where Wesley Chapel resident and retired New York City EMT Stephen Spelman, Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman, Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn (from the movie “12 Strong”), FDNY Lt. Michael Basignato and Zephyrhills Mayor Melonie Bahr Monson were among the many guest speakers. There also was a Pasco Sheriff’s Office fly-by and multiple sky divers who landed in a nearby field as part of the event.
Read the full story of this 911 event and others in the Oct. 3 edition of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!
Locals have been asking for a while what, if anything, is coming to the closed Wendy’s restaurant (photo below) on the north side of S.R. 56 (next to Taco Bell).
We now know that the shuttered former Wendy’s will become the second Tampa Bay-area location of Shake Shack (the photo above is an already popular location in Midtown Tampa), a chain with more than 300 units in 32 U.S. states and more than 170 more everywhere from Mexico City to Singapore.
Started in 2004 at a hot dog cart in New York City’s Madison Square Park, Shake Shack serves Angus beef burgers, crispy chicken, hand-spun milkshakes and house-made lemonade. Beer and wine also are served at most of its locations.
Unlike the Midtown location, the Lutz/Wesley Chapel Shake Shack will be in its own freestanding building. We had no additional information about when it is expected to open at our press time.
The areas outlined in black on the two site maps on these pages are the separated sites of the two new rental communities coming to the northwest and northeast corners of Meadow Pointe Blvd. and Beardsley Dr. The graphic above shows the plan for the northwest corner, which will include a clubhouse and other amenities. (Source: Pasco County)
We’ve seen some recent posts online asking about what might be coming to the intersection of Meadow Pointe Blvd. at Beardsley Dr. Well, the answer is that it is no longer a “might be” question.
It appears that both empty grass lots, one on the northeast corner and the one on the northwest corner of Meadow Pointe Blvd. at Beardsley, are owned by the same property owner — Clearwater Bay Associates, Inc. — and were zoned together. In 2021, the property owner applied for and was approved to be zoned for residential rental units.
The grass lot (12.7 acres) on the northwest corner of the intersection moved forward with a developmental construction permit (applied for in June of this year) with an associated site plan.
The site plan for the northeast corner.
The other grass lot (11.7 acres) on the northeast corner was issued a permit on Aug. 22, the same day that crews arrived to start work on the site, where there is now a construction trailer. Construction fencing has been erected around both sites.
For permitting purposes, the two developments have been referred to as either Meadow Pointe West or Meadow Pointe East (depending on the side of the road), but the official name of the community is likely to change as it moves forward.
The site plans, designed by Heidt Design, show multiple rental units mixed together and laid out on each side, like rental townhomes with driveways and garages, single standalone units (individual rental houses) with driveways and garages, rental villas (duplexes) with driveways and garages, and rental townhome-style units without driveways or garages. Those units without driveways would have parking spaces like in an apartment complex, as opposed to their own garages. It appears that all of the units will have small, individual fenced-in backyards. All of the units also would be rented via the leasing office.
The start of the construction on the east side.
There will be a total of 99 units on the east side and 82 units on the west side. The clubhouse (which will be located on the west side) is expected to have a leasing office, fitness center, club room and a pool. A crosswalk is proposed to link the two separate parcels for residents on the east side who would have to cross Meadow Pointe Blvd to get to the community’s amenities on the west side. Meadow Pointe Blvd also is proposed to be widened to include left turn lanes.
At our press time, we did not yet know the timeline for when the construction is expected to be completed.
