Business Briefs — Shanks Indoor Golf, O’Reilly Auto Parts & Ribbon Cuttings 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

The area along Wesley Chapel Blvd. in front of the Lexington Oaks development is suddenly alive with new construction. 

We previously reported about the nearly completed Sentosa Lexington apartments, located south of Lexington (Lex) Oaks Blvd., as well as about a new Moe’s SW Grill-anchored retail/office plaza north of Lexington Oaks Blvd. on Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. 

Now, however, although construction has not yet begun, The Hub at Lexington is getting ready to begin vertical construction in front of Sonesta by Nov. 1. 

And, although The Hub leasing agent Courtney Bissett-Hayes didn’t confirm it for us, Shanks Indoor Golf & Bar (IGB) reported on its Facebook page that it is “Coming Soon to Wesley Chapel — Nov./Dec. 2024.” 

The Facebook announcement from Sept. 29 says, “Shanks IGB is an indoor facility that offers a realistic golfing experience through the use of advanced technology. Shanks IGB features multiple simulators equipped with high-definition screens, sensors, and computer software that accurately recreate the look and feel of many renowned golf courses. Players can use their own clubs and hit real golf balls into the screen, which tracks the ball’s trajectory and provides instant feedback on distance, accuracy, and shot data. Shanks IGB will provide a comfortable environment with amenities like lounge areas, refreshments, apparel and equipment, DIY Maintenance Stations, and professional instruction, allowing golf enthusiasts to play, practice, and improve their game regardless of weather conditions or time of day.” 

Our editorial researcher Joel Provenzano was able to locate a Pasco County development record stating that, “The project is proposing the development of a 40,000-sq.-ft. retail/restaurant center at the SW corner of WC Blvd. and Lex Oaks Blvd. This project is a part of the Lexington Oaks Plaza MPUD.” The property owner is listed as Specialty Restaurants Corp. in Costa Mesa, CA, and the applicant on the development request is Landis Evans + Partners in Lutz. For more information, visit ShanksIndoorGolfBar.com. 

O’Reilly Auto Parts Isn’t Shanks 

A while before I heard about Shanks, Jannah and I had been seeing a new building under construction at the southern end of the Sentosa apartments and wondered what it was, so I had Joel check it out and he found that the building (right photo) — which seemed to have no windows so we assumed it wasn’t a restaurant — and Joel found that it was an O’Reilly Auto Parts store, not Shanks (or another restaurant), as I had originally hoped. 

We had no further information about the building at our press time, as Joel couldn’t find any actual plans for the nearly-completed store, other than an application by One Oak Development, LLC, of Clearwater. The property owner also is Specialty Restaurants Corp. 

Recent NTBC Ribbon-Cutting Events 

In addition to the Spinner Law Firm and Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel events in conjunction with the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC), we attended a couple of other recent ribbon cuttings events where the NTBC brought its scissors. 

The first, on Oct. 17 was for Shells Florida Realty (left photo) and Broker/owner Michele Curtin, who has her office at SOAR Co-Working in Tampa Palms. Although she has worked for other real estate companies before, Michele said she named her own company “Shells” because people never spell her first name correctly, so she just calls herself “Shell.” The long-time New Tampa resident says she specializes in residential properties in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, but can help home buyers and sellers anywhere in Florida. 

For more information, call or text Michele at (813) 751-1211 or visit ShellSellsFloridaHomes.com. 

Then, on Oct. 19, business consultant Jonathan McKeen-Chaff held a ribbon cutting for his Prepense Business Solutions at the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC)’s SmartStart location at The Grove. 

Jonathan used his joint NTBC and Dade City Chamber ribbon-cutting event (above) to present Prepense’s “Cash Flow River: Our Philosophy of Marketing.” For more info about Prepense Marketing, call Jonathan at (352) 428-6067 or visit PrepenseSolutions.com. 

For more info about the NTBC, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com or call (813) 994-8534. 

Hilton Garden Inn Celebrates Five Years In Wesley Chapel With A Donation 

The Hilton Garden Inn’s fifth anniversary celebration included a $1,000 donation (above) and more than 150 toys (left) donated to the Celebrate Birthdays nonprofit organization. Pictured above are (l.-r.) Lori Behrendt of Emerald Hospitality Assoc. (which owns the hotel), Celebrate Birthdays co-founder Belinda Leto and Lisa Moore and Charlie Whiteacre of the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Sometimes, the most exciting thing about a ribbon-cutting event is the food. But, while the fifth anniversary celebration for the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel did include some pretty great food — and free drinks — the hotels market director of sales Lisa Moore and area general manager Charlie Whiteacre turned their North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting on Oct. 12 into something much more impressive, with more than 100 people attending. 

First of all, Moore had unique set-ups in three of the Hilton’s meeting rooms — one with rows of chairs, as though for a lecture, one with a circular conference table and the third with tables and chairs with black linens and gold sashes around the chairs, as you would have for a wedding or other special event. 

She also set loose the hotel’s catering staff, led by Chef Marcia, which provided a beautiful fruit display, deviled eggs, wrap sandwiches cut sushi-style, as well as pulled pork sliders, big fried shrimp, crispy egg rolls and more. 

But, perhaps the best thing was that Whiteacre and Moore had the Hilton gave a $1,000 donation and asked attendees to bring unwrapped toys to donate to “Celebrate Birthdays,” a 501(c) (3) nonprofit whose mission is “to ensure that every foster child, and all children, have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday and receive a present.” 

In addition to the big check, Moore says that more than 150 presents were collected and all of them were donated to Celebrate Birthdays. 

“It was a great event,” Moore said afterward. “We appeciate the community’s support and hope people also saw a lot of the ways they can utilize the hotel.” 

For more info about Celebrate Birthdays, visit CelebrateBirthdays.org. For info about the Hilton Garden Inn, call Moore at (813) 591-6907. 

Nibbles & Bites: Bang-Bang! Bowls Is Open In Pebble Creek! 

Even though I grew up in New York, I had no idea what to expect from the new Bang-Bang! Bowls (located in the space previously occupied by Coffee Speaks & Tea Talks in the Pebble Creek Collection), which bills itself as “NY-style Indian rice bowls.” 

Well, following our first visit, Jannah and I really like Bang-Bang! Bowls, which has only one other location — in Nebraska. I ordered the “make-it-yourself” bowl (above photo), which I got with long-grain yellow rice, jerk chicken (with a semi-spicy jerk sauce) and fresh veggies. Jannah loved the spicy chicken taco (left photo), especially the mild white sauce and the clearly house-baked soft taco shells. 

Bang-Bang! Bowls (19651 BBD Blvd.) is open every day, 4 p.m.-midnight, except Monday (when it is closed). For more information, visit Bang-Bang-Bowls.com or call (813) 406-4366. — GN 

First Segment Of Old Pasco Rd. Widening To Begin Soon 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

The map above shows the 1.33-mile portion of Old Pasco Rd. (from north of Deedra Dr. to north of Overpass Rd.) that is being widened by B.R.W. Contractors. The southern portion of Old Pasco Rd., which connects to Wesley Chapel Blvd., and the northern portion, which connects to S.R. 52, are not shown on this map.

Now that the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOC) has voted unanimously (on Oct. 10) to award the nearly $22-million contract to widen a 1.33-mile-long segment of Old Pasco Rd. from north of Deedra Dr. to north of Overpass Rd., the contractor — B.R.W. Contractors — has 600 days to complete the project, which means that this first phase of a planned three-phase widening of Old Pasco Rd is not expected to be completed until June 2025. 

The first phase of the widening is actually the middle portion of the seven-mile-long Old Pasco Rd. corridor, which connects Wesley Chapel Blvd./C.R. 54 to S.R. 52 in San Antonio. 

Rooker Properties, LLC, which is developing the North Tampa Bay 75 Industrial Park (see rendering below) — an 800,000+ sq- ft. warehouse project in four buildings, of which the first 187,000-sq.-ft. building has been completed — has provided up to 84 feet of right-of-way (R/W) from the southern end of its property (north of Deedra Dr., closer to Sonny Dr.) for the project. 

The rendering above shows the location of the four-building Rooker Industrial Property on Old Pasco Rd., south of Overpass Rd. and KB Homes’ Sanctuary Ridge subdivision. 

Pasco had previously said that no certificates of occupancy could be given to the Rooker development until this segment of Old Pasco Rd. was widened, but the BOC lifted that requirement by unanimous vote in March of this year because the project was already designed, funded and required no R/W acquisition. In addition, a temporary access plan will be used to allow vehicles to safely enter and leave the industrial park when the widening project begins. 

B.R.W. Contractors was one of five contractors to bid on the project after the county put the contract out for bids in June. 

As part of the contract, the traffic signal at Old Pasco Rd. and Overpass Rd. will be improved, and additional traffic signals will be installed at Lindenhurst Dr. and at one of the access points to the industrial park. 

Under the terms of the first segment’s contract, this portion of Old Pasco Rd. will be widened from two lanes to four, with 12-foot-wide lanes, a 22-foot-wide raised median and 5-foot-wide bike lanes on both sides of the roadway. 

The planned second phase of the project, which has been designed and is funded by the county in fiscal year 2027, will widen Old Pasco Rd. from the southern terminus of the current phase (north of Deedra Dr.) to north of Wesley Chapel Blvd. 

Pasco currently does not have funding in place, nor has it acquired all of the needed R/W, to widen Old Pasco Rd. from north of Overpass Rd. to S.R. 52. That segment includes Cypress Creek Middle & High Schools and the Pasco Hernando State College Instructional Performing Arts Center. 

So, the widening of the first segment getting under way, it will take several more years before the full length of Old Pasco Rd. can be widened. 

TrebleMakers’ Hop On A Cure Event Raises Nearly $20,000!

John Driskell Hopkins, the co-founder of the Zac Brown Band, was in our area with the band last weekend for two shows (Nov 3-4) at the MidFlorida Amphitheater.

Between those two concerts, Hopkins (who is suffering from a slow-progressing form of ALS), and his own four-piece band made a stop at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar in The Grove for a show to benefit his “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit foundation.

The show — which included some of Hop’s original compositions, as well as the Zac Brown hit “Toes” (Hopkins has a writing credit on that song), plus popular songs by Billy Joel and Tom Petty — raised just shy of $20,000 for Hop On A Cure.

In addition to the music, the highlights of the afternoon were the buffet meal included with each show ticket donated by TrebleMakers owners Jamie & Joe Hess and Lee Bevan, and the live auctioning off of two Taylor guitars signed by the entire Zac Brown band.

“It was a great day” Jamie said.