Say Goodbye To Unwanted Hair At Laser Affair In Tampa Palms

By Camille Gillies

Summertime means bathing suits, shorts, sleeveless shirts – and lots of shaving! The stubble, the irritation, the razor bumps
ugh! Perhaps you have tried waxing and found it painful or, well, just a pain. What’s a girl – or a guy with a hairy body – to do?Continue reading

Sonny’s BBQ Celebrates 14 Years In Wesley Chapel!

By Gary Nager

While there are some very good places in our area that some members of our staff at the Wesley Chapel 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.

‘Broadway Comes (Back) To Tampa’ — At Saddlebrook Resort!

By Matt Wiley

“Broadway Comes to Tampa” is turning lucky number 13 this year, as several top Broadway stars will once again be coming to Saddlebrook Resort & Spa Tampa in Wesley Chapel for the New Tampa Players’ annual event on Saturday, May 12, 6 p.m.

“Expect many new faces,” says Doug Wall, president of the New Tampa Players (NTP).

Only one of this year’s confirmed Broadway guests, Natalie Toro (“Les Miserables” and “Cats”) has attended the event in the past, so attendees will be treated to several different artists that they likely never have had a chance to see perform in person.

“I try to bring new faces each year,” Wall says. “I definitely like to keep it fresh.”

He says that about 60 percent of past attendees have such a good time that they end up attending again the following year, many from out-of-state and from all over the Tampa Bay area.

Wall says he is expecting a big crowd this year, since the event is being held over Mother’s Day weekend. He says he expects that many who plan to attend will make a weekend out of it at Saddlebrook, treating Mom to a spa getaway and a Broadway concert to top it all off. Hopefully, this year’s attendees will be surprised by the variety of artists performing and the musicals for which they are known.

This year’s “Broadway” event will be the fourth year at Saddlebrook and, in addition to Toro, will feature the talents of Sandra Joseph (“Phantom of the Opera”), Luba Mason (“Jekyll & Hyde” and “Chicago”), Lawrence Clayton (“It Ain’t Nothin but the Blues” and “Dreamgirls”) and Chuck Wagner of “Les MisĂ©rables” and “Into the Woods” fame. The group will be putting on a concert in which they sing many of the Broadway songs that made them stars, as well as others of their own choosing.

Wall is also pleased to announce the appearance of special guest star Michael Lanning, who has lent his voice to several national brands ( including Chevrolet), spent six years with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and starred in the Tony-Award-winning production of “Frank Wildhorn’s The Civil War.”

In previous years, Wall’s cousin and Broadway composer Neil Berg has provided the musical accompaniment for the show, but he will be absent from this year’s performance so he can to receive a prestigious humanitarian award from the Ellis Island Society in New York City on the same night. Berg’s wife and Broadway star of “Phantom of the Opera” fame Rita Harvey will be by his side to receive the award. Luckily, says Wall, he has Sandra Joseph to fill Harvey’s spot. Wall’s saxophonist brother Greg, however, will be performing again this year.

“The entertainment value is second to none,” says Wall of the annual event. “We take the stars out of New York and put everyone in an intimate setting. Everyone gets to have an amazing evening and hear some major stars sing their most popular songs.”

Proceeds from the event will go to help raise funds for a community theater, which has been in the works for some time (see page 10). To help raise funds, the event also will feature a silent auction and a raffle, with the Grand Prize winner receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to see two Broadway shows.

Broadway Comes to Tampa is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Saddlebrook Resort & Spa in Wesley Chapel. Tickets cost $175, or $1,750 for a table of ten and are available by calling 386-9333 or online at BroadwayComesToTampa. com. For tickets and questions, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Doug Wall at 781-1171.