We received word earlier today that two Irish pubs with Wesley Chapel addresses — Irish 31 in The Shops at Wiregrass and the Beef O’Brady’s on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in the Shoppes at New Tampa at Wesley Chapel, just south of the mall — had closed.
Irish 31 posted the following notice on its Facebook page on April 29:
“Thank you, Wesley Chapel, for 7 wonderful years! Sadly, our Wiregrass location has officially closed its doors, but we hope to raise a pint with you some day soon at one of our other Tampa Bay pubs.”
Meanwhile, although we saw no such announcement for the Beef O’Brady’s on BBD, the location was no longer included on the store locator on the Beef’s website and the manager who answered the phone at the Beef’s location on Wesley Chapel Blvd. (next to Winn-Dixie) — which is still open and under new ownership — confirmed that the BBD location had indeed closed.
In case you were wondering, the O’Brien’s Irish Pub in the Wesley Chapel Village Market on BBD is definitely still open, as is the new 40 Thieves Irish Pub on County Line Rd. at Livingston Rd. in Lutz.
Taylor Gardner grew up around gutters, learning his dad Ed’s business.
One thing he’s learned is that adding gutters is about the least expensive thing homeowners can do to protect the value of their homes, ensuring that Florida’s famous summer downpours don’t destroy their foundations or any aesthetic upgrades.
“Protecting the foundation of your home is the main purpose of gutters,” Taylor says, “but they also protect your paint and will help your grass and sod last longer. Gutters protect anything on the outside of your house to help it stay in great shape for as long as possible.”
Without gutters, Taylor says, water is much more likely to settle at the base of your home’s foundation. With that saturation, the water can cause erosion to the side of your home, leading to cracks in the stucco and window ledges, and form unsightly trenches. Water under the home also can cause wood floors in the home to pucker or pop.
That’s why Taylor Gardner Gutters on Land O’Lakes Blvd. installs and repairs gutters, soffits and fascias, and offers gutter cleaning, which keeps the gutters working properly and in good repair.
It’s now been about four years since Taylor took over Ed’s company, which was then known as Gardner Gutters.
Taylor Gardner is proud that his Taylor Gardner Gutters on Land O’Lakes Blvd. is carrying on the legacy of outstanding installation and repairs of gutters, soffits and fascias started by his father Ed and his brother Brandon, both of whom lost battles with cancer. Taylor and his outstanding crew guarantee quality workmanship on installations and repairs (All photos provided by Taylor Gardner)
Taylor came on board to help his dad after serving in the Marine Corps for nine years, including a tour of duty in Iraq. He had used his experience and his Business Administration (B.A.) degree from Liberty University (in Lynchburg, VA) to start a different career, but came home when his dad needed him.
The company quickly became Taylor’s responsibility when Ed passed away following a long battle against cancer in 2020. Taylor’s older brother, Brandon, who had decades of experience as an installer, came on board to help. Unfortunately, Brandon was then also diagnosed with cancer and passed away only eight months later.
So now, Taylor continues the legacies of both his dad and his older brother, and he does it surrounded by a team that would make them both proud.
“When I started, my dad had 35 years of experience and my brother had more than 20,” says Taylor. “I had some, but not what they did. It’s been hard to lose both of them, but things here have been amazing because I’ve got really great employees.”
That starts, he says, with Mike Caisco, the company’s field operations manager, who has 40 years of experience in the business and personally inspects every job Taylor Gardner Gutters does once it’s complete.
“Our installers are great, and we have several who have been with the company more than 15 years,” Taylor explains. “They know exactly what they’re doing.”
Then, Mike comes to inspect to be sure everything is done the way it’s supposed to be, which means the installers are held accountable to ensure that there’s never any corners cut on any job.
That’s important to Taylor because his company offers a lifetime warranty on its installations. He says this is something that sets Taylor Gardner Gutters apart from others.
The company’s policy is that any customer who experiences a warranty issue will have the problem inspected within 24 hours and fixed as soon as possible — no matter how many years it’s been since the gutters were originally installed.
“I’m confident you’re not going to have a problem,” Taylor says, “but in the event you do, we’re going to show up and take care of it.”
In addition to the installers and field team, he mentions the fantastic office staff — Allison and Kammie — and great salespeople — Mike and Kenny, who are involved in the community and incredibly knowledgeable.
Over the last few years, with Taylor running the business, it’s grown to five gutter trucks and four soffit trucks. In addition to helping homeowners, Taylor Gardner Gutters also installs, repairs and cleans gutters for business owners with commercial buildings. The company also works with several homebuilders to install gutters on newly built homes, including many new GL Homes neighborhoods in Wesley Chapel, such as The Ridge, Winding Ridge and Valencia Ridge, and David Weekley Homes throughout the local area.
Jim Akins just bought a brand new home in Lutz from a builder that did not include gutters. “We knew we needed them before the summer started,” says Jim, a long-time Florida homeowner who is familiar with the problems summer storms can wreak on a home’s foundation.
“Taylor personally came out and gave us an estimate,” Jim explains. “I asked him all of my questions and found him to be very knowledgeable, professional and courteous. The price was right, so we were very happy with that.”
Jim says he hired Taylor Gardner Gutters right away and couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.
He says the installation crew was focused and meticulous, explaining that they re-measured the whole house before they started, even though Taylor already had measured it as part of the estimate.
“I highly recommend them,” says Jim. “It was an easy choice.”
Taylor says that he is proud to continue the legacies of his father and brother by offering top-quality work that makes customers like Jim happy.
“There are so many days I just wish I could pick up the phone and tell my dad and my brother about what’s happened (with the company),” Taylor says.
But, since he can’t do that, he’ll continue to run the family business in a way that would make them both proud, and to leave a legacy for his own son — five-year-old Jacob — just like his dad did for him.
Taylor Gardner Gutters is located at 6202 Land O’Lakes Blvd. (U.S. Hwy. 41) in Land O’Lakes. Its hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com or call (813) 515-0844.
“Welcome to Moe’s!” was the familiar and unmistakable sound that filled the bright and airy new restaurant located at 5486 Post Oak Blvd. — the first business to open in the new retail strip center between The WingHouse and The Learning Experience, near the entrance to the Lexington Oaks community off Wesley Chapel Blvd. The second Moe’s Southwest Grill to open in Wesley Chapel (the other is in The Shops at Wiregrass) was a happening place during its Grand Opening on Apr. 19.
The lure was too good for some to pass up. To celebrate, the new Moe’s gave tickets for “Burritos On Us for a Year” to the first 50 people in line for the planned 10:30 a.m. opening. The tickets are good for one burrito (or bowl) per week for a year.
But, since there were already 75-100 people on line outside the new Moe’s long before 10:30, one of the restaurant’s partners, Jason Catalanotto, began handing out the 50 tickets at 9 a.m. “Many of them camped out overnight,” Catalanotto said.
José Garcia (photo, above), who received ticket #50, works in local construction and had just recently moved to Wesley Chapel. Garcia said his girlfriend is the one who told him about the burrito giveaway. When asked what time he had to get there (to be the last ticket recipient), he explained, “I got here a few minutes before 8 a.m.”
Those who arrived after 8 didn’t go away empty-handed. Next to the ordering counter, the new Moe’s had a colorful prize wheel set up where you could spin to win “merch” like squishy avocado shaped stress relievers, free kids meals, can koozies, or most creatively…T-shirts rolled up in foil like burritos!
Catalanotto said that he and his partners Chirag (photo, right) and Aman Patel began working on the vision for this Moe’s location nearly two years ago and Moe’s is now the first business to open in this new plaza. The four adjacent suites are not yet occupied, but the suite directly behind Moe’s in the plaza is busy with interior construction. Aman Patel told the Neighborhood News that Little Caesar’s Pizza will occupy the space next to Moe’s and the space on the other side of Little Caesar’s will be “either a Jimmy John’s Sandwich Shop or Jersey Mike’s Subs,” with a dentist’s office planning to open in the plaza’s other end cap.
Laceleaf Med Spa
The day Moe’s opened, owner Lisa Rezvan (photo, left) of Laceleaf Med Spa, which will be located directly behind Moe’s in the plaza, was busy going over construction plans and coordinating her build-out.
Rezvan, who lives in New Port Richey, wanted to have a location in Wesley Chapel but still wanted to live close to the water.
“I really like Wesley Chapel, you can feel the positive energy in the people here,” she said. She also said she plans to open Laceleaf in June, and that her focus is on luxury, level of care and most important to her, “long-term results,” not just something that is a temporary solution. She said the thing that sets her apart mostly will be the Radio Frequency (RF) Microneedling and other unique services she says you won’t find anywhere else in Wesley Chapel.
Attorney Denise Welter (left) and her paralegal Tara Ellis are happy to help you with all of your estate planning needs at the Welter Law Office in the Cypress Glen Professional Park, located just north of S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George)
A native Floridian and a lawyer in private practice for 22 years, Denise A. Welter, Esq., is celebrating going out on her own and the first anniversary of her Welter Law Office in the Cypress Glen Professional Park, just north of S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel. Denise and her trusted paralegal Tara Ellis deliver top-tier legal services in estate planning, wills, trusts, probate and advanced healthcare directives.
“Tara is a great paralegal,” Denise says. “She is the point person that makes it all happen for me. She came with me when we launched a year ago and all of my clients love her.”
With 17 years as a legal secretary herself, Denise discovered her passion by chance after being let go by her employer of a decade, a turning point she describes as the “best worst thing that ever happened to me.” At the time, she was a busy mom of two young boys married to a firefighter.
She explains, “I only had a two-year degree then, and I had to decide if I would be satisfied with being a legal secretary for the rest of my life. Did I want to get a paralegal certification? I talked to my husband, and we decided I was going to go for it and go back to law school in my 30s. I buckled down and finished the rest of my Bachelor’s and law degrees in five and a half years.”
Denise obtained both her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, majoring in Legal Studies, and her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Nova Southeastern University, which is based in Ft. Lauderdale.
A member of the Florida Bar since 2002, Denise passed the examination on her first try. After assisting in another firm’s real estate department, she found her calling in estate planning and probate.
“I found my niche, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she says.
Emphasizing the importance of wills and trusts, Denise highlights the role of these important legal documents in providing directions to the courts regarding asset distribution.
“I think that anyone at any age with any assets should, at minimum, have a will,” she says. “It tells the judge, ‘Here’s what I want to happen to my stuff when I die. Here’s who’s going to control everything for me, and here’s who’s getting it.’”
When someone passes away with assets solely in their name and without a designated beneficiary, their estate has to go through the court probate process before their assets reach their heirs. To bypass probate, Denise advises on the benefits of trust planning, which transfers assets into a trust, creating a separate legal entity that holds and manages them, ensuring a smooth transition to the deceased’s beneficiaries.
“With a trust, because you technically don’t own the asset at your death — the trust owns it — nothing has to go through the probate process,” she explains. “Most people do trusts to avoid probate and to protect their assets for their minor children.”
She also notes that when you have a trust, assets can be withheld for families with minor children, so they don’t receive everything at age 18. A trustee can pay their expenses and the distributions can occur later in their life. Leaving assets in a trust also protects those assets from creditors in a future bankruptcy, divorce, etc.
She says that trusts also are critical for families when naming guardians.
“If you (the parents) die, who do you want to raise your kids?,” she asks. “Do you want to pick them, or do you want a judge to pick them?” She asks.
She adds that trust planning serves as a preventive measure against court involvement and the necessity for guardianship in situations involving dementia or other illnesses that render individuals incapable of handling financial decisions.
“It avoids all of the potential pitfalls and still allows the elder to be taken care of by their own finances,” she explains. “Whenever we prepare a plan, typically the individual is the first trustee, but then it says if I cannot serve, whether incapacitated or I died, I appoint this person to be my successor trustee. I recommend having at least two (trustees).”
Denise provides a comprehensive binder to each of her trust clients, encouraging them to document family values, funeral preferences and account passwords, including those for cryptocurrency. She also stresses the significance of having a living will, which outlines preferences in situations of incapacity or terminal conditions.
“Two physicians — your primary and another physician — have determined that your death is imminent,” she says. “If all those things align, you don’t want to be prolonged heroically — including forced hydration and nutrition. You want to be able to pass without being kept alive with feeding tubes and IVs.”
Highlighting an often-overlooked scenario, Denise also suggests that parents of 18-year-olds heading to college should consider having healthcare surrogate designations, living wills, and powers of attorney to navigate potential HIPAA law challenges.
As an example, she shares a chilling, overlooked scenario: when an adult child is hospitalized, their parents are legally unable to get information from the hospital.
“We just went through Covid,” she says. “Your child could have been hospitalized with Covid. You can’t get there, and you can’t get any answers (on the phone).”
Denise also says that the most important skills she needs in this field are the ability to listen to what her clients’ want and expect and then putting together what they need for their family dynamic. For convenience, she offers both in-person meetings as well as online appointments throughout Florida for probate and estate planning.
“Clients can also email or call the office,” she says. “My clients have open access to be able to contact us in any way that’s convenient for them.”
Positive reviews, like Emilio H.’s on Google, commend the service provided by the Welter Law Office:
“My wife and I had an exceptional experience. Denise and Tara’s customer service was outstanding, showing a genuine compassion that is truly reassuring with such a sensitive topic. They paid meticulous attention to every detail with preparing our estate planning documents and provided fast, efficient service.”
Denise has much more than the mandatory three-year Florida Bar course requirements. She actively engages in continuous learning — attending seminars, reading, staying informed through Listservs (a Listserv is a way to communicate with a group of people over email. You subscribe to a topic and it’s almost like a newsletter of information) and connecting with fellow attorneys. Each year, she also orders an updated edition of the Florida Statutes. She is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, The Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, Lawyers of Distinction, and Lead Council Verified.
Denise also sends digital follow-ups annually to inform her clients of any law changes and encourages them to review their estate plans every five years or during important life changes.
“The best part of our firm is helping families through sometimes very difficult situations and conversations,” she says. “Nobody likes to talk about death, but we provide peace of mind to clients, knowing their families or children are protected if something happens to them. On the probate side, we help families through sometimes tragic losses when they’re grieving, and it’s really hard to think clearly. We can help them navigate probate’s waters and simplify that for them.”
When not at her law office, Denise says she can be found at the beach with Bob, her high school sweetheart and husband of 40 years, visiting her sons Chris and Eric, playing with her three grand-daughters, Abbey, Amelia and Lillian (who she calls “my heart”), global and domestic traveling, or participating in a marriage communications weekend with United Marriage Encounters.
For more info about the Welter Law Office (2405 Creel Lane, Suite 102), call (850) 462-7509, visit WelterLawOffice.com.
Although the biggest day of ribbon-cutting events in the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC)’s history took place on March 20, the NTBC stayed busy through the first week in April, with three additional ribbon-cutting events in our area.
The first, on Mar. 27, was for Doody Calls of North Tampa (which also serves Wesley Chapel; photo, above), which provides both residential dog waste removal and yard deodorizing for residents, as well as pet waste stations and bags and common area waste removal for businesses and apartment communities. For a free quote and more info, call (813) 940-4101 or visit DoodyCalls.com.
The next day (Mar. 28), Midgard Storage, located at 26504 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz, cut a ribbon with the NTBC (above). Midgard offers both climate- and non-climate-controlled units in a variety of sizes, 24/7 access to your unit and U-Haul truck, van and trailer rentals. For more info, call (813) 994-9228 or visit MidgardSelfStorage.com/lutz-fl-wesley-chapel-blvd.
Then, on Apr. 4, Maeva Modern Apartments (above) also cut a ribbon. Located at 3000 Grand Cypress Dr. in Lutz (directly behind Total Wine & More), Maeva offers beautiful 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments and is currently offering two months free rent for new tenants. For more info, call (656) 600-9860 or visit LiveatMaeva.com.
