Category: News

Kiran Indian Grocery — Treating New Tampa Like Family For 20 Years

*Kiran’s son Satvik (left) is a clinical psychiatrist; her younger son Sahit is in medical school.*

Kiran Indian Grocery, located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza, has been a mainstay at this constantly-changing plaza since 2014. Before that, owner Kiran Vanthenapalli owned a store (from 2003-06; and an Indian restaurant, too) on E. Fowler Ave. and, from 2006-10, her store was in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

That means that some of her beloved customers have known and trusted Kiran and her family and staff to provide their (predominantly) Indian and Pakistani spices, coffees and teas, frozen foods, meats, snacks, sweets and even hair care and other cosmetic products (and so much more) for almost 20 years.

And of course, Kiran is perhaps best known for her amazing selection of fresh produce, with so many Indian specialty items I’ve never tasted (or even seen) before at prices that she says she knows, “no one can beat. I do my research — and no one beats my prices on produce.”

For example, she can describe the difference between coconuts used for Indian prayers and those that are meant for eating, and of course, stocks both in the store.

But actually, saying that Kiran is best known for her produce isn’t 100-percent accurate. Kiran Indian Grocery is actually best-known for Kiran herself, something that no other store of any kind can boast.

Not only can Kiran tell you where each and every one of her thousands of available items are located, she also can tell you the prices for each — all off the top of her head. That’s kind of amazing because she has so many different items and many different brands of the same types of products — e.g., she has as many different “masala” seasonings and brands as most grocery stores have beers — crammed into a store that somehow seems both much bigger and much smaller than it actually is because it offers such an amazing variety of products.

“I can’t do my own inventory on a computer,” Kiran says. “My computer is right here (pointing to her head).”

But, Kiran’s staffers also are knowledgeable. It’s just pretty much impossible for anyone else to have memorized the prices, sizes and exact location within the store of so many different items — many of which aren’t even marked with prices.

But, if Kiran tells you what the price is on any item, rest assured that when that item is rung up at the check-out counter, the exact price she quoted will pop up.

Also stored in Kiran’s computer brain are the favorite items of every one of her regular customers. She re-orders many items based on when she knows the customers who regularly purchase those items will be back in to buy them.

“I don’t like disappointing anyone,” she says with her usual sweet smile. “If I am running low on an item you always get, I’ll hold enough of that item for you,” so you can stay stocked until she gets her next shipment of it. And, “If I only have three left, and I don’t know how soon I’ll get more, I’ll tell you to buy two of them.”

And, if Kiran does somehow run out of one of your favorites, she’ll suggest an alternative that you can try that you might end up liking better.

A Love Of Animals

Kiran and her husband Sudeer have always also served not only their community, but people — and even animals — in need around the world.

She has been involved — at least since opening her store in Cross Creek — with the Tampa Bay chapter of the SPCA (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and she has donated fresh produce, rice and really anything the local chapter has needed because she is such a strong believer that people need pets and that so many of the pets in shelters can and do help individuals and families who need the kind of companionship and love that only a dog or cat can provide.

“I love the SPCA,” Kiran says. “It feels good to help them because they help so many people…and animals.”

When Covid-19 hit back in March 2020 and I started going through issues with my printer, Kiran was probably the first (but thankfully, not the only) advertiser to call me and say, “What do you need? How can I help?

She thought I said that I was going out of business. “I started crying,” she said. “I told (her husband) Sudeer, ‘We have to help our brother.’”

Even though I thankfully never got to that point and have no Indian heritage whatsoever, Kiran has been calling me her brother for years now. And, even though she seems to treat everyone who stops into the store like a member of her family, I refer to her as my sister, too. You just can’t fake her kind of genuine goodness and compassion for others.

“Gary, my brother, I’m so sorry that I’m out of your favorite chocolate bars right now,” she said to me on my most recent visit. “I also had to order (my wife) Jannah’s favorite tea. I’ll let you know when all of that comes in.”

But, it’s a big compliment to me because Kiran does also have an amazing family of which she is equally proud. Sudeer is a software engineer and their older son Satvik graduated from medical school at USF and is now a clinical psychiatrist, while younger son Sahit currently is in med school and plans to become a psychiatrist as well.

Another case in point about how Kiran treats everyone is that, when people check out at her store, she or her cashier will put coupons from other local businesses in the customers’ shopping bags. She has helped most of the Indian restaurants (as well as the new Gorkhali Kitchen Nepalese restaurant now located next to her store) and other businesses owned by people from India and Pakistan in our area this way and she says that she would be happy to do it for other businesses, too.

“We’re all in this together,” she says.

And of course, whether you like or want to cook Indian food or not, if you’re a fan of delicious chocolate cookies or other sweet and/or salty treats, or you want the best prices in town on a most unique selection of fresh produce items, you owe it to yourself to visit my sister Kiran.

Kiran Indian Grocery is located at 10042 Cross Creek Blvd. and is open Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information, call (813) 994-6202, search “Kiran Indian Grocery” on Facebook or see the ad on pg. 34.

Kiran Indian Grocery New Tampa

Looking Ahead To 2023 In Wesley Chapel After A Crazy Busy 2022

Gary Nager Editorial

I’m so thankful for how things went for me, both personally and professionally, in 2022.

I found out this year that my sons and Jannah’s daughter and son will increase the number of grandchildren between us from two to six by April of next year. And, after a couple of years of serious pain, I had both of my knees replaced in 2022 and I’m back to working out regularly and feeling like I’ve turned back the clock to younger, healthier times.

In addition, the Neighborhood News is still going gangbusters, despite me having to suffer through those two knee replacement operations and many weeks of difficult physical therapy following each of those surgeries.

And, here in Wesley Chapel, 2022 was another year of unprecedented growth, as our all-direct-mail distribution grew from 29,000 homes, apartments and businesses and fewer than 82,000 people in zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545 to more than 31,000 residences and businesses and more than 85,000 people over the course of the year, despite the fact the once-insane local real estate market finally cooled off…at least somewhat.

I’m also proud to say that we added more than three dozen new advertisers in 2022 and continued to make the vast majority of our advertisers, old and new, happy with their results.

On pages 4 and 6 of our last Wesley Chapel issue of the year, managing editor John Cotey recaps some of the biggest 2022 stories in Wesley Chapel with look-towards-2023 updates on those stories. But, there are a few other stories we are looking forward to covering in 2023 and there’s little doubt that many of them also will be big news for us. Here are a few, in no particular order:

BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel opening — Although not as large as the existing AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital, adding a second full-service hospital in Wesley Chapel will definitely mean more access to health care within a few miles for more Wesley Chapel residents. Remember that a new hospital also means more doctors, nurses, therapists and jobs in our community and yes, more people moving to our area. I know that not everyone thinks that’s a good thing, but I, for one, am not opposed to it.

St. Luke’s Eye Center opening — After having cataracts in both eyes fixed at the St. Luke’s center in Tarpon Springs right before the pandemic began, I am hopeful that locals will be able to stay in our area (next to Miller’s Ale House) to get their eye surgeries done.

More new restaurants opening — In his 2022 recap, John mentions just how much response we got online when we announced that Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant was coming to S.R. 56, but it isn’t the only new restaurant we can look forward to opening in 2023. Although it hasn’t begun building yet, I’m hopeful that Rodizio Grill, The Brazilian Steakhouse, will open before the end of 2023 on the Wesley Chapel Blvd. extension, next to At Home. Other restaurants expected to open in 2023 (that we already know of) include Crazy Sushi at the Shops at Wiregrass, Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar (in the same plaza as Chicken Salad Chick) and Pho 54 (in the former location of Sweetea Café on S.R. 56; see pg. 36). These are just the ones we know for sure are coming, but of course, you know we’ll keep you posted about any and all others.

More road projects — In addition to the new interchange off I-75 at Overpass Rd., which could open before the end of 2022, John’s 2022 recap story on pages 4 & 6 also mentions the widening of S.R. 54 from east of Curley Rd. to Eiland Blvd./Morris Bridge Rd., the Zephyrhills Bypass and the opening of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. to S.R. 54 as other road projects expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

However, 2023 also is expected to see the completion of the improvements just south of the S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. intersection and hopefully, the start of anticipated improvements to Wesley Chapel Blvd. between S.R. 56 and S.R. 54. All we’ve seen so far on Wesley Chapel Blvd. is the addition of one new traffic signal on this dangerous two-lane road, which also is adding some new apartments near Lexington Oaks and some new commercial properties across from Total Wine & More. We definitely plan to provide an update on everything planned for Wesley Chapel Blvd. during the first few months of 2023.

And…We’ll also check in to see how new District 2 (which includes much of Wesley Chapel) Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman is doing in his first few months in office; how the dispute between Pasco and RADDSports at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus (see story on pg. 8) gets resolved; and the planned opening of the first neo-traditional buildings in downtown Avalon Park on S.R. 54…and more.

In other words, keep reading for all the news of another busy year in Wesley Chapel!

BayCare

Can 2023 Top 2022 In Wesley Chapel? Sure, Why Not?

Will Wesley Chapel ever stop growing?

Conventional wisdom suggests that, eventually, the area will just run out of available space for new development.

On the other hand, there’s currently still a lot of developable space and 2022 was packed with more eye-opening developments and announcements, portending a future that will continue to delight those eager for new “stuff” and infuriate those who don’t want to be stuck in traffic getting to that new stuff.

Here are five of the biggest things that went down in Wesley Chapel in 2022, with an eye towards 2023.

1. The KRATE at the Grove Container Park finally debuted in June, and we think it’s fair to say that while it’s not perfect, it was still Wesley Chapel’s No. 1 success story of 2022. The grand opening event of what is, at the very least, our area’s most unique and one-of-a-kind hangout, drew roughly 8,000 people, and its neverending stream of special events — like ‘70s Night, ‘80s Night, movie nights and more — routinely draw more than a thousand patrons at a time.

Comprised of converted shipping containers with an Instagrammable flair, KRATE has a little something for almost everyone. It boasts 29 restaurants with a variety of ethnic offerings – many doing well in our annual Reader Dining Survey of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa eateries; results will be online next week — as well as 17 retail stores. The KRATE’s stage features some kind of live entertainment most weeks.

And, the park continues to come up with innovative new ideas — like wrapping up 2022 with “Swiftmas Christmas” celebrating Taylor Swift with contests and Wesley Chapel performer Isabella Diaz singing the pop superstar’s hits — that provide just another taste of what we can expect in 2023.

2. The Pop Stroke groundbreaking was definitely one of the more buzz-worthy beginnings of a new project in or near Wesley Chapel in 2022. Sure, there are bigger and more consequential developments in the area, but a hip new place to do stuff in an area that has complained about a lack of it for years will be huge when it opens in early 2023.

With Tiger Woods’ backing, the unique mini-golf course is sure to draw big crowds to its location at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd. If it also can draw, well, Tiger Woods, to its grand opening, wouldn’t that be something?

Heck, Pop Stroke might even be open before the more traditional, family-oriented mini-golf course at The Grove, which we expect to announce it is officially opening….any…day…now…

3. Saddlebrook Resort — which deserves maybe more credit than anything else for putting Wesley Chapel on the map as far back as the 1980s — was sold in 2022 for $15 million, and long-time owner Tom Dempsey told us that it was just the first step in an expansion and renovation of the storied golf resort and residential development.

Sure enough, buyers Mast Capital and Amzak Capital Management are prepping to get their money’s worth from the deal. On Jan. 5, the developers

will present their plans to the public at a Pasco County Planning Commission meeting, with hopes of taking it to the Board of County Commissioners in February for approval.

Those plans include expanding Saddlebrook’s master-planned unit development (MPUD) by more than 400 acres and converting one of its two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses and the resort’s driving range into a site that would potentially include commercial/retail, restaurants, apartments, homes and other uses — serving as something of a Saddlebrook town center.

4. New roads may not be that sexy of a thing to list in the year’s biggest news, but Wesley Chapel took a few giant steps (and maybe a short drive) forward in 2022.

First, the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) is now fully open at the S.R. 56 and I-75 and, except for some clean up and road markings, has been completed.

Considering the issues the interchange had with its previous construction company, which caused a months-long delay, the completion of the DDI is a pretty impressive feat. And, while it may still be a little confusing to some people, there is little doubt the interchange has proven to be a success.

Any day now (maybe even by the time you read this), the Overpass Rd. Interchange at I-75 also will be open, another project expected to have a big impact on area traffic. Located halfway between the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits, the new Exit 282 interchange will be a boon for those settling in the quickly developing northern part of Wesley Chapel, and heck, it might even also improve the S.R. 54 interchange, which likely has taken over the title from S.R. 56/I-75 as the worst area locally to be driving at 5 p.m. on a weekday.

Toss the widening of S.R. 54 from east of Curley Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd. in there, which also is making steady progress and should be completed late in 2023, and, all in all, it kind of feels like this year was a win for area commuters. And, next year also should see the opening of at least the first leg of the long-awaited Zephyrhills Bypass from S.R. 54 to Morris Bridge Rd.

5. Wiregrass Ranch, which has been simmering for the past few years, is starting to boil, too.

In 2022, it was announced that a second hospital (Orlando Hospital) was coming to the Ranch, along with Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant (which blew up our Facebook page more than any other story in 2022). A number of plans also were filed with the county to begin work on some of the other long-vacant parcels in the DRI, including the long-awaited town center.

With Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which will serve as the spine to the entire development, just about complete, we’re expecting a slew of major announcements from developer JD Porter in 2023.

DDI JD Porter krate saddlebrook

County’s Default, RADDSports’ Lawsuit On Hold For Now

Pasco County and RADDSports failed to settle their differences over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus at a November mediation, and have decided to pause efforts to reconcile those differences for 60 days until a second mediation can be held in February 2023.

A lawsuit, filed by RADDSports on Nov. 15, now hangs over the negotiations, as well.

The two sides issued a joint statement on Dec. 12, which was signed by RADDSports’ chief operating officer Anthony Homer and Pasco’s chief assistant county attorney David Goldstein, acknowledging the lawsuit and the lack of a settlement at the initial mediation session on Nov. 28, but stated that the two sides were still trying to resolve their issues.

“The parties have now agreed to place their disputes on hold for 60 days while they continue to work towards a definitive resolution,” the joint statement says. “There has been no judicial determination of whether RADDSports is or is not in default of the (contract).”

Homer says RADDSports wants that judicial determination, which is why the company filed the suit.

“What we are suing for is a declarative action,” Homer says. “We simply want a judge to look at the county’s allegations, compare it to the contract and to essentially declare whether or not we are in default (as the county claims). That’s it.”

Goldstein declined comment.

After receiving a letter of default from Pasco County on Nov. 4, and receiving no response to its defense of the claims in the letter, RADDSports filed the suit, which claims that the county has long sought to undermine the management company’s efforts.

“Now, under the pretense of a default, the county is trying to terminate a 20-year contract with false claims in order to take over operations at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus,” Homer says.

“We’re not asking for damages, we’re not asking to renegotiate the contract,” he adds. “We’re perfectly happy to live within the terms of the agreement that we committed to at the beginning of this for the next 18 years. All we’re asking is for a judge to determine whether or not we are in default, and if we are not, we go back to business.”

While Homer hasn’t ruled out another suit for damages if the county proceeds with terminating the management company’s contract, RADDSports did agree to suspend its lawsuit during the current 60-day break in talks.

Both sides are still communicating, however, as well as collecting information and fulfilling public records requests that they expect will bolster their arguments on Feb. 7 when they meet again.

The two sides are at odds over how the sports facility, which opened in July of 2020 but officially opened in January 2021, is being run and the results of those early efforts.

On Oct. 25, the county’s Board of County Commissioners (BOC) approved a Notice of Default, originally written by Florida Sports Coast director Adam Thomas, which also included approval of roughly $3 million to take over management of the sports campus from RADDSports.

The county claims that RADD has focused too heavily on local events and did not promote tourism and overnight hotel stays – including failing to properly market the facility and not working with the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, which is located on the same campus.

The default letter received by RADD, which Homer says was different than what the BOC initially approved, was delivered to RADDSports on Nov. 4. Homer delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to the default claims at the following BOC meeting on Nov. 8.

Homer says that RADDSports asked the county to withdraw its claim of default, but was met with silence from the five county commissioners.

The suit was filed because “Pasco County basically left us in purgatory,” Homer said, after putting the accusation of default in the public domain.

RADDSports claims it has not only promoted tourism and met all of the other requirements laid out in the contract, but actually has exceeded the number of room nights in the company’s agreement with the county and has spent $1.5 million of its own money to do so.

It says the county also paid consultants roughly $35,000 to produce data on RADDSports’ tourism efforts, and that data only confirmed that the management company has met expectations.

In addition, Florida Sports Coast is accused of attempting to turn other local businesses against RADDSports, with false accusations that those businesses refused to sign off on.

Homer says he is “optimistic” that the next mediation session will produce an agreement that both sides find satisfactory.

“We want the same thing the county wants,” he says. “The more people we bring into the building is better for us, and also better for them. It is unclear to us right now exactly what the county’s expectations are, since they are claiming we are in default, yet their own data they paid an outside company for confirmed that we are doing exactly what we said we would. In fact, their vendor said we were doing better than even we had estimated. So, there’s an alignment of interests to be found. Hopefully we can all agree on some objective metrics and move forward.“

RADD

‘Kidpreneurs’ Learning The Art Of Making Business Deals

On the way to school one day just over a year ago, one of the neighborhood kids that Danielle Cannon was driving to school mentioned that she wanted to start selling some of her homemade bracelets.

Cannon’s own two kids, 7-year-old Jane and 9-year-old Adam, chimed in that they were interested in selling some stuff as well.

“So I posted online asking if anyone knew of a good place to do this little thing for the neighborhood,” Cannon says.

That little thing, however, became a much bigger thing. Within a day, more than 20 families had replied that their children wanted to be a part of it as well, and the Tampa Children’s Business Fair was born.

At the end of last month, Cannon’s army of “Kidpreneurs” set up more than 40 tables at the KRATE at The Grove container park, selling everything from artwork to tree saplings to cookies to Christmas trinkets to — you guessed it — bracelets.

“It has really grown,” says Cannon, who has poured thousands of dollars of her own money into her nonprofit fair where all the business owners are kids, ages 6-16. “Literally, the only limitation is finding places to hold it,” Cannon says.

The KRATE was generous enough to provide the space for free, although Cannon says other locations have charged as much as $1,500 to host a fair.

Cannon’s first event late last year attracted about 20 kids. The final event of this year, held at the Temple Terrace Recreation Center on Dec. 11, featured a whopping 75 tables and more than 100 Kidpreneurs.

“We would have had more but there was no more room,” Cannon says.

It was the fifth business fair of the year, and some of the young business owners — like New Tampa sisters Alghaliah (13-years-old), Layal (11) and Nouf Rizq (6) — have sold their wares at all of them.

The sisters, who all attend Turner-Bartels K-8 School, sell a variety of different necklaces and bracelets, including ones with clay beads displaying positive messages like “Kind,” “Cute,” “Love” and “Shine.”

At the KRATE fair, the trio’s Queen of Hearts business displayed an expanded product line to include pens and PopSockets (to help you hold your cell phone) and, at the Temple Terrace fair, they unveiled jewelry boxes made of resin.

“You can add colors to them,” Alghaliah says. “It looks really cool.”

The sisters have made more than $400 at the fairs. They say they wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship and the process has helped them become more confident.

“It’s been fun,” Layal says.

Cannon says the Rizqs are some of her best Kidpreneurs, even winning “Best Presentation” honors at one of the fairs. Typically, Cannon has local business owners help her choose the booths that have the “Best Presentation,” “Most Creative Business Idea” and “Highest Business Potential.”

*Wesley Chapel resident Gabrielle Thompson shows off her wares at the recent Tampa Children’s Business Fair held at the KRATE at the Grove. (Photos: Charmaine George).*

Gabrielle Thompson, a 15-year-old sophomore at Wesley Chapel High, was one of the “Kidpreneurs” selling blinged- out tumblers and other items from her business, jets_customs. She also does custom items if you’re looking to put a name or saying on a 12- or 20-ounce tumbler.

Gabrielle has been doing pop-ups for a few years now and was excited to join the TCBF event, and hopes to continue to do so in the future.

“It’s taught me patience and organization,” Gabrielle says. “And, money management, too, of course.”

The Tampa Children’s Business Fair encourages children to embrace all the tenets of entrepreneurship — developing a product and a brand, building a marketing strategy, setting prices and selling to customers.

Booths cost $25, but Cannon tries to return $5 to each business owner so they can walk around and network and buy things from their fellow Kidpreneurs.

Cannon hopes one day to not have to charge at all. She is hoping to land some sponsors to help cover some of the costs of running the quarterly fairs moving forward; those costs also include things like insurance and sometimes having to hire off-duty law enforcement officers, a requirement for some of the sites.

“I’m way over full-time hours working on this, but I know once people know about this they are going to love it,” Cannon says. “This is awesome, I love doing it, and the kids love it.”

For more information about the Tampa Children’s Business Fair and future fairs, visit TampaCBF.org.

Kid fair