(L.-r.) District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Nick LoCicero celebrate the opening of New Tampa’s fourth fire station, No. 23 (off of County Line Rd.), last month. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Foster)
New Tampa’s fourth fire station, Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23, is now operational.
Following a grand opening event in January, the station — located just off of County Line Rd. on Trout Creek Dr. — is now handling calls. The new station’s primary area of service are the communities of Grand Hampton, The Hammocks, the Esplanade and the Colonial Grand at Hampton Preserve apartments. The new station also will help ease the pressure on New Tampa’s other fire rescue stations.
Station 23 is the first new station to open in our area since 2012, when Station 22 opened on Cross Creek Blvd. Station 21 also is located on Cross Creek, and Station 20 is located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Tampa Palms.
All four of the area’s fire stations belong to the City of Tampa and serve residents within the city limits. Residents in unincorporated Hillsborough County, such as Pebble Creek, Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve are served by a contract with Pasco County, where the service is provided by Pasco Fire Rescue Station 26, located off BBD in the nearby Meadow Pointe I community of Wesley Chapel. There are mutual aid agreements in place, though, for emergencies that require additional help or when a rescue crew is already occupied with another situation.
Station 23 is expected to help to improve response times from Tampa Fire Rescue stations. According to a story in the Tampa Bay Times last year, the 34-square-mile district has a median response time of 8.96 minutes, which is 90 seconds longer than the city’s other four fire department districts.
“We have the worst response times in the City of Tampa (here in New Tampa),” says Luis Viera, District 7 Tampa City Council member, “so Fire Station 23 really goes a long way to addressing that.”
Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Nick LoCicero agrees. “It really affords a more appropriate level of protection for the communities in New Tampa and the general vicinity of where the station is located,” says LoCicero, “It provides a more robust and prompt response for that area.”
He explains it should immediately help the response time in Grand Hampton, which was previously served by the stations on Cross Creek Blvd.
“We are closely watching that and monitoring response times,” Chief LoCicero says. He adds that some of the longer response times are due to subdivisions that have enclaves that are harder to access. “There’s just no easy way to get there,” he says, “but we’re looking for improvement in Grand Hampton.”
LoCicero also explains that Station 23 is part of a phased-in program that included a redistricting last year, creating Fire District 5 that encompasses all of New Tampa. While New Tampa was previously part of a 50-square-mile district, the new District 5 is about 34 square miles.
The new station helps all of New Tampa, so that if multiple calls come in at the same time, or if a fire needs multiple companies to respond, there are more resources within the immediate area to handle those situations.
It includes a truck company, which has a ladder to reach taller buildings and handles primarily search and rescue; an engine company, which has hoses and connects to water to put out fires; and a rescue unit, which is the ambulance to help during non-fire emergencies in our area.
“We’ve gone from 17,000 residents to 60,000 today,” Viera says, “with more coming because of new development and God knows how many new homes in places like K-Bar Ranch. We’re a growing area, and that means the city needs to make more safety infrastructure investments.”
Station 23 includes a training room that will serve all of the fire companies in the area, allowing in-service training on fire and EMS topics to be conducted locally. This minimizes the time fire companies are away from their station due to traveling for training.
LoCicero says the grand opening itself was a nice event that showed the community’s support for its newest fire station.
“It was a warm and gracious reception for all the firefighters there,” he says. “There were quite a few people there, and Winn-Dixie (also off County Line Rd.) was very hospitable and gracious to us. They gave each crew a buggy full of groceries, and Jersey Mike’s provided sandwiches. It’s nice to be appreciated like that.”
He adds, “We’re happy for the community. We know they waited a long time for the station. It will be well served by the men and women of Tampa Fire Rescue.”
Viera suggests that the New Tampa community should check out the area’s newest asset. “It’s a great facility,” he says. “Go by and take a look at it. Oh, and bring some donuts for the first responders.”
Even though I know many of us are, like me, tired of mainly chain restaurants opening in our area, the fact is that all of the newcomers continue to expand our dining options in New Tampa and, especially, in Wesley Chapel — and that is good news.
Also encouraging is the fact that many of the later newcomers — and many of the chains already announced as still to come — are eateries that we at least haven’t had in our area before.
For example, after my recent visit to Orlando, I am really excited about the Saltgrass Steakhouse (see page 40) that will open, hopefully before 2020, between the Tampa Premium Outlets and I-75, just as I was pretty pumped that both MOD Pizza (which opened n 2018) and Blaze Pizza (which opened earlier this year; again, see pages 40-41) coming to our area, even though there will never be anything better than true New York-style pizza at the top of my Favorite Pizza list. But, I am a fan of the new “fast casual” pizza options — and I also like that MOD and Blaze both also have excellent make-your-own salad options.
There are some surprises on my list for 2018 and please realize that I got to wait until 2019 to make my choices (unlike our readers, who had to submit their surveys by November of last year), but I still have not included any restaurants on this list that were not yet open in 2018.
I will say that all of the new chain options did make it more difficult for me to pick just 50 favorite restaurants — I likely considered at least 100 different eateries between our two markets for this list. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed doing the research for it.
DEMPSEY’S STEAK HOUSE As it has been since it opened, the only problem with Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook Resort is that the average working guy can’t afford to eat there, other than for a very special occasion. With its $40-$60 steaks and all a la carte pricing, I wouldn’t eat at Dempsey’s at all, other than the fact that everything from the filet mignon to the bone-in ribeye steak (photo above) is as good as anywhere you’ll find in Tampa — including Council Oak, Fleming’s and Charley’s. The fresh seafood is equally impressive and there’s no doubt that the crab cake appetizer and sides for two are unequaled.
STONEWOOD I feel like I’ve known Stonewood’s Tampa Palms proprietor Dave Rathbun forever, but the bottom line is that this mini-chain is known for great food at fair, but certainly not bargain prices, and for outstanding service. Whether for lunch or dinner, dining at Stonewood (or even just enjoying food and beverages at the bar), is an experience, not just a meal. Is it worth $5-$10 more for Stonewood’s aged New York strip or filet mignon than you’d pay at Longhorn or Outback? I’d have to say yes. Recent menu changes, like the southern fried shrimp platter shown below (that I can’t eat because of my accursed shellfish allergy) and reasonably priced bowls (like an excellent tuna poke bowl) for lunch have moved Stonewood up to my favorite restaurant in New Tampa.
3. GRILLSMITH Anytime a restaurant I’ve tried before adds new menu items that are in my dining “wheelhouse” — like the addition of truly fresh “short trip” fish, like the mahi-mahi Mediterranean style pictured above at Grillsmith — I have to give it a try. But, while a lot of places do mahi or grouper, Jannah and I have gotten to enjoy wahoo, cobia and snapper at Grillsmith, which also has the best mashed cauliflower and sautéed spinach in our area. With a little better variety of steaks, Grillsmith could challenge Stonewood for #2.
4. LONGHORN Whenever I’ve compiled my list, I try to think of the places that I have visited the most and what I realize is that Jannah and I have spent a lot of time sharing food at the bar at Longhorn. Yes, it’s only a mile from where we live, but we love sharing Longhorn’s Flo’s filet and I feel the outlaw ribeye is a pretty good value. We also love the recent addition of cheesy baked cauliflower (you can get it that way for broccoli, too), as well as the salad, bread and the outstanding service at the bar.
5. BAHAMA BREEZE Bahama Breeze was fast becoming our favorite new restaurant last year when the Island Grille stopped having any “fresh catch” other than swordfish on the menu. We recently got to enjoy a fresh mahi-mahi at Bahama Breeze, and I do really enjoy the Jamaican specialties, but additional steak (top sirloin or filet) and chicken options would help.
6. CICCIO’S Ciccio Cali continues to please with three yummy tuna “Cali Bowls” on the menu, as well as the chicken and baby broccoli stir-fry, new spicy Brazilian bowl, wrap sandwiches and thin-crust pizzas. Other new menu items include two hummus appetizers, a vegan chopped salad and even the “impossible” burger. Nice wine selection, too.
7. LITTLE ITALY’S Without additional new menu items added in 2018, Little Italy’s dropped a few spots on my list, but it still has the best veal parmigiana and lasagne in our area and their pizzas and calzones are back. A fresh fish special and some veggie sides would be welcome additions.
8. ACROPOLIS Acropolis continues to expand its menu with more authentic Greek and Middle Eastern dishes, but my favorites are still the lamb chops, the Athenian fish and the Greek salad. Acropolis would finish higher on my list if I loved the roasted veggies and other side dishes.
9. NOBLE CRUST When Noble Crust opened, I loved that there was usually a fresh fish special and I do still love the double-cut pork chop, chicken fried chicken parmigiana, pizzas and sides like broccolini, garlicky greens and crispy Brussels sprouts, plus the homemade desserts.
10. SUKHOTHAI Sukhothai’s fresh sushi (especially the tuna tataki) and combination fried rice are still among my favorites in our area and I also love the crispy duck with ginger sauce, the new tuna sashimi poke bowl and the shoes-off, below-floor seating.
11. FORD’S GARAGE Despite another limited menu (unless you really love burgers), Jannah and I do crave the ahi tuna appetizer, chop-chop salad, chicken Henry and petite filet at Ford’s Garage, which also has good veggie side dishes and white cheddar mashed potatoes.
12. AMICI PIZZA Our readers’ new favorite pizza place definitely makes my top 5 for favorite New York-style ‘za, but what really helped the new location move up in my rankings were the authentic linguine with white clam sauce and tasty veal and eggplant parmigiana.
13. THAI RUBY The ambiance is second to none and the food never disappoints. I love Thai Ruby’s fresh fish specials and the crispy duck with ginger sauce is still the best in our area. This is a great place to start an intimate date night.
14. LIANG’S BISTRO I haven’t always placed Liang’s this high on my list, but I realize that it does feature my favorite New York-style barbecue spare ribs, great egg rolls and the sautéed green beans are among my favorite veggie dishes in the area. We always order them spicy!
15. OMARI’S BAR & GRILL My favorite non-chain newcomer in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, Omari’s menu will continue to grow as more folks make requests, but with super-fresh, chef-prepared dishes like the flounder almendrine pictured above, it is a definite must-try.
16. KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE Kobe already had the highest-quality hibachi steaks in our area, but Jannah and I also love it for its reasonably priced appetizers at the full-liquor bar.
17. LA PRIMA PIZZA Still my favorite New York-style pizza in our area and the Italian fare, like veal parmigiana and lasagne, also gets high marks.
18. THE FAT RABBIT The best blackened wings I’ve had, amazing salads and great sandwiches in a comfortable setting keep The Fat Rabbit in Tampa Palms high on my list.
19. 900 DEGREES WOODFIRED PIZZA One of my top-five New York-style pizza places, which also has the best penne with pesto Genovese in our area. Try adding fresh spinach and grilled chicken. Yum!
20. THE HUNGRY GREEK If you like getting great value for your money, you’re probably already one of the regulars at Hungry Greek, which features our area’s best gyros and authentic Greek salads.
21. BAYSCAPE BISTRO Another highly-ranked newcomer on my list, I haven’t yet sampled the fresh fish sauté special, but the Fiesta Fridays, wings, burgers and salads are all top-notch.
22. FUSHIA ASIAN BISTRO The menu continues to move towards more authentic Chinese fare, but I love Fushia for the best Chinese combination fried rice and beef with Chinese broccoli in our area.
23. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE Jannah and I definitely enjoy the Victoria’s filet and the Alice Springs chicken, and I do think the bone-in natural cut ribeye is a good value for the money.
24. SUSHI CAFE Up there with Sukhothai for the best sushi in our area, I also enjoy the soft shell crab appetizer, the kitchen-made hibachi fare and the tempura and ton katsu fried options.
25. OTB CAFE Not only has the new location on BBD in Wesey Chapel added some new menu items, the addition of real bacon for breakfast has upped OTB’s stock with me a lot.
26. FRATELLI’S PIZZA & CAFE This newcomer in the former Woody’s location in the Wesley Chapel Village Market features very good pizza and excellent penne with broccoli rabe and sausage.
27. GINZA Our area has more than its fair share of value Japanese restaurants, but Ginza’s Mongolian beef, sushi and appetizers are all-you-can-eat for $12.95 during the week.
28. VALLARTA’S Although some say the quality of the food isn’t the highest, Jannah and I can’t get enough of Vallarta’s chicken fajitas, which are better than the rest in our area.
29. HILTON GARDEN INN GARDEN GRILLE & BAR It’s still pretty new, so I haven’t sampled all of the menu for breakfast or dinner yet, but the Pan Asian ribs and NY strip steak are both enough to keep me coming back.
30. KOIZI Just a tad below Ginza for my tastes, I do enjoy the fact that the hibachi is cooked tableside and the even-lower-than-Ginza price of $10.95 for weekday lunch.
Rest of Top 50 Alphabetical
Arroy Thai -Great garlic & black pepper sauce!
Bonefish Grill-Two words: tuna sashimi!
Bonsai Sushi-Popular for sushi & Japanese fare
Bosco’s-Try the gator pizza & pasta
Capital Tacos-Tasty fajita salads
Culver’s-Good burgers, amazing frozen custard
FJ Expresss-New value-priced & tasty Japanese fare
Hibachi Express-Best prices for tasty hibachi!
Irish 31-Great salads & upscale pub grub
Lanna Thai-Really good food, great atmosphere
Minerva-Lamb kababs & Chinese-style fried rice
NY NY Pizza-Try the Grandma’s pizza!
Oakley’s Grille-Best burgers & now great meatballs
On Monday, I celebrated 25 years as the owner, publisher and editor of the Neighborhood News!
And of course, even though life is even more hectic than usual these days, you know I can’t let such a milestone go by without some sort of celebration.
To that end, sometime in April (we will announce the actual date in our next issue), the Neighborhood News will host a party at the Bayscape Bistro at Heritage Isles Country Club. We also will (hopefully) be unveiling our new website — NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net (aka the “Online Network for New Tampa and Wesley Chapel”) — at that event and rest assured, there also will be great free hors d’oeuvres, karaoke (it is my party, after all), some nice prize giveaways (also to be announced) and the opportunity to hang with our staff and some of the business owners whose advertising revenue allows us to continue to not only thrive, but also expand the online and video sides of our business, which has now received funding support from the Google News Initiative.
All you have to do to get onto the guest list is email me us ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com, put “Neighborhood News Guest List” in the subject line and give us your first and last name, the community you live in and the names of any people you plan to bring. You’ll receive a confirmation email back from us, which also will serve as your entry into all of our prize drawings that evening (and yes, you must be present to win any of those prizes).
Please note that this event will be held on a Saturday evening and is not really intended for children. For more information, please call (813) 910-2575 or visit NTNeighborhoodNews.com.
Speaking Of Online…
Since receiving our funding from Google in mid-January, we have recorded two Featured Business videos, our first episode of “Chappie Chatter” (with Wesley Chapel Community Facebook page administrator Jennifer Ames), a North Tampa Bay Chamber news update and our first News Desk of 2019 (photo above left, with co-anchor Susanna Martinez), which is all about everything coming to both sides of 56 near the Tampa Premium Outlets.
We’re pretty proud of the new content, but there is so much more to come and still more ways for your business to get the benefit of not only the primary print voice of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities for the last 25 years, but also of our online video content, as well as our Facebook/Neighborhood News posts that link you to our website, which currently is still NTNeighborhoodNews.com.
As I mentioned before, all of our online content will soon fall under the NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net umbrella and we are now offering your business the opportunity to:
1) Receive our lowest possible print advertising rates
2) Have a Featured Business Video done in conjunction with (and released at around the same time as) your print Business Feature story, just like Florida Executive Realty has in our most recent issue and Samantha Taylor Fitness had last issue
3) Become a sponsor of our online videos and of our “regular” website content
We have sent this information to all of our current, recent past and prospective advertisers, but if you haven’t received yours or you have any additional questions about how it all works, please call (813) 910-2575 or email Ads@WCNT-tv.com.
Congrats, Barry & Trinity Café!
I’ve been telling you for some time now how proud I am to be a member of the Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon, which meets Wednesdays at noon, also at Bayscape Bistro.
I’ve called our club of fewer than 25 members “Small, But Mighty” in previous editorials and I have more proof of that to tell you about.
Not only did our club win awards from our Rotary District 6890 for our increase in membership and for per-person contributions to the Rotary Foundation (the nonprofit wing of Rotary International that has been the primary force behind the drive to eradicate polio from the world), we also recently held a hugely successful, first-ever New Tampa Brewfest in November (the 2019 Brewfest already is scheduled for Saturday, November 16; visit NewTampaBrewfest.com for tickets and details).
And now, club member Barry Shuman and his wife (and chauffeur) Claire have helped the Trinity Café, a program of Feeding Tampa Bay, raise a record $9,000 at last month’s annual Outrageous (and super-fun) Bingo event held at Hamburger Mary’s in Brandon.
Barry (far left in right photo), who was this year’s event chair, and Claire were on hand at our Feb. 13 Rotary meeting when our current club president Gary Lefebvre (right) presented Trinity Café executive director Mandy Cloninger (center) with checks totalling an additional $1,000 from not only our club, but also from past president Vinnie Kudva and Sergeant-at-Arms Scott Hileman, who donated the proceeds from the recent opening day of the Tampa Nekter Juice Bar he has opened with business partner Brian Erwine (their second location).
The parking lot between the Panera Bread and Dunkin’ Donuts off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in the Walk at Highwoods Preserve is undergoing a transformation that should charge some people up.
If they have the right kind of car, that is.
What is currently a fenced-in site with little hint of what’s to come will soon be an electric car charging station, part of an Electrify America network that is aggressively expanding across the country.
The New Tampa location is one of 484 sites that will be finished by the end of June.
The location, in one of New Tampa’s busier breakfast and lunchtime locations, is exactly what Electrify America is looking for, according to company spokesman Mike Moran. While Moran says the proximity to I-75 is ideal, so are the variety of things to do for those waiting for their car to fully charge.
Photo: GreenCarReports.com
Although the technology continues to improve, to charge an electric car can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours or even overnight, so stations are often located in high-amenity areas and at many hotels.
“It’s a combination of many things, really,” Moran says. “But part of the criteria is we are looking for places that are accessible and also provide an opportunity to other amenities, like shopping, food and beverages and other facilities.”
Most automakers are working on, or are already producing, electric cars, or EVs (for electric vehicles). Sales of EVs in 2018 were up 81 percent over the previous, with 361,307 sales nationwide, according to InsideEVs.com.
Many of the sales are being driven by the price of fueling up with gas, as well as awareness and concern over the effect that fuel emissions have on the environment.
Ironically, it was an emissions scandal that led to the creation of Electrify America.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of German automaker Volkswagen, Electrify America was created in the aftermath of an emissions scandal in 2015 in which Volkswagen was discovered to have programmed roughly 11 million cars, including 500,000 in the U.S., to activate their emissions controls only during testing. Outside the testing facilities, however, it was discovered its cars were emitting 40 times more nitrogen oxide than allowed by the Clean Air Act.
As part of its settlement with the U.S., Volkswagen agreed to invest $2 billion over 10 years in U.S. EV infrastructure, which includes new stations as well as educational initiatives, and launched Electrify America in 2018.
More stations could prompt more sales. One major issue with owning an electric car remains the range of your vehicle, and where to power up in a pinch. While a high majority of EV owners have a charging station at home, one of the by-products of owning an EV, especially for those with long commutes or looking to make a long trip, is finding a station when you need one, aka “range-anxiety.”
But that is slowly changing.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, there were 61,067 electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. in 2018. That number has increased every year since 2008, with the fastest growth coming the past three years, with annual growth of roughly 10,000 stations since 2015.
There are about 3,000 public charging stations in Florida, compared to more than 20,000 in California, which has the most.
The Electrify America station isn’t the first EV charging station in New Tampa. In fact, there are PlugShare charging stations at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Galbraith Rd. right behind The Walk at Highwoods Preserve, as well as two PlugShare charging stations at the USF Federal Credit Union on BBD.
There also is a ChargePoint Charging Station located on Amberly Drive in the parking lot of the JAEB Center For Health Research, and Plug-In America has stations at Wesley Chapel Nissan, Honda and Chevrolet, as well as a handful of stations in and around the Tampa Premium Outlets.
Tesla, which uses proprietary charging stations, has plans to build a station near the Super Target on County Line Rd. sometime this year, according to its website.
For those in Wesley Chapel who are not wowed by new restaurants, fast food chains, big retail outlets or fancy new intersections, this one might just be for you:
Say hello to the area’s first green grocer – Earth Fare.
The popular and quickly-growing organic food franchise will open its doors to Wesley Chapel on Wednesday, February 20, just before 7 a.m., and if the grocer’s previous grand openings are any indication, folks will be lining up long before the sun rises at the new store’s location at 25535 Sierra Center Blvd., across S.R. 56 from Tampa Premium Outlets and behind the Ford’s Garage..
There is a VIP sneak peak on Tuesday. Check out our video coverage HERE or HERE.
Virtually everything new that opens in Wesley Chapel gets Hope Allen, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, excited. But this, she says, is a different kind of buzz. An all-natural organic buzz, perhaps?
“It’s our first one, the first organic grocery store to land in Wesley Chapel,” Allen says. “There’s been a big demand for it. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”
The Wesley Chapel store will have an Heirloom Café & Juice Bar, where shoppers can buy smoothies and coffee, and lunch and dinner are offered from selections that include a salad bar, hot food bar, pizza station and sandwich counter.
Wesley Chapel does have Publix and Winn Dixie supermarkets offering organic selections, as well as the Nutrition Smart on Bruce B. Downs, which currently offers the area’s widest range of organic foods, vitamins and supplements.
But, Earth Fare is bringing 24,000 sq. ft. worth of the stuff — and roughly 100 jobs — to its new location in the Cypress Creek Town Center on S.R. 56 (at 25535 Sierra Center Blvd., across from the Tampa Premium Outlets).
The Wesley Chapel location will be Earth Fare’s third in the Tampa Bay area, joining stores in Oldsmar and Seminole.
Overall, ours will be the 12th Earth Fare in Florida.
The most recent Florida opening took place in Viera, FL on Jan. 9, and there are more to come, the company says, as it pursues aggressive expansion into Florida.
“We’ve made a concerted effort in recent years to help Tampa-area shoppers have more convenient access to cleaner, healthier foods— the kind of food that will help them live a longer, happier, healthier life,” said Frank Scorpiniti, president/CEO of Earth Fare, in a statement.
Earth Fare holds grand openings in the same way popular new businesses like Chick-Fil-A do, with long lines of early arrivers hoping to grab some free swag.
Last month, nearly 800 people showed up for the 6:45 a.m. opening of the 11th store in Viera, and the first 500 received a mystery gift card worth as much as $1,000, followed by other giveaways, food samples and contests.
Those who show up at the Wesley Chapel opening can expect more of the same thing.
Each person who signs up with the Wesley Chapel/Lutz store’s Healthy Rewards program will receive a free re-usable bag, while supplies last.
“I think we’ll see a lot of people (at the opening), because eating healthier foods has wide appeal,” Allen says. “I think that will add an extra layer of excitement to this opening.”
Earth Fare touts a selection of items that specifically do not contain things like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial fats, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives, or meats that were bred with antibiotics or growth hormones.
The chain has a “boot list” — a long list of banned ingredients it does not allow in anything sold in any Earth Fare store.
Frank Scorpiniti
Founded in 1975 and based in Asheville, NC, Earth Fare’s tagline is “healthy food for everyone,” as the green grocer claims to offer “clean” food at prices every shoppers can afford.
The company’s 50th store opened last month in Steel Creek, NC, and Scorpiniti has said there could be as many as 100 locations in a few years.
Like most green grocers, Earth Fare offers some distinct goodies to shoppers. The Wesley Chapel store will have an Heirloom Café & Juice Bar, where shoppers can buy smoothies and coffee, and lunch and dinner are offered from selections that include a salad bar, hot food bar, pizza station and sandwich counter.
Earth Fare also offers a small seating area with free Wi-Fi for those who want to sit and enjoy their purchase. Painted on the wall is: “Have A Seat, Stay Awhile.”
Staying awhile is something you may just end up doing at Earth Fare. The store will carry a substantial selection of craft beers, one of its more popular characteristics, and also offers more than 1,000 private brand food products. There also will be a large offering of Wellness & Beauty products, like self-serve, scoop-your-own body scrubs.
“We are passionate about helping our community make the connection between clean food and living longer, healthier, happier lives,” Scorpiniti said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to become the newest member of the growing Wesley Chapel community and to continue to bring the leanest, healthiest options for years to come.”
Earth Fare will open in Wesley Chapel first, but construction of a Sprouts Farmer’s Market in New Tampa is under way across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Hunter’s Green and will be the second large green grocer to hit the area.
