Sweet! New Tenant Looking At Old Sweetbay

We’re happy to tell you that the one-time Sweetbay Supermarket in New Tampa, closed and abandoned for nearly eight years, is finally on the brink of a much-needed transformation.

Located right across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the AMC movie theater and next to Home Depot, the property the building sits on is currently under contract and, if things proceed as planned, a new tenant will begin the process of moving in by early 2021.

Who that new tenant will be, and what kind of business might be headed for the long-empty building, however, was still a mystery at our press time.

“I can tell you it has been under contract, but I can’t tell you who,” says John Neukamm, the attorney for KNK Tampa, Ltd., the California-based owners of the building. “Hopefully, within the next few months, you will see some changes up there.”

Neukamm wouldn’t give any hints about what kind of business might be filling the vacant building, which has more than 30,000 square feet of space.

It won’t be a bowling alley, which he confirmed after we jokingly took a wild guess, and Neukamm says it is unlikely to be another grocery-type store, considering that Sprouts just opened a little north of the location and an Aldi has begun construction directly across the street. 

“I think the neighborhood will be happy,” he says. 

Neukamm also says he is confident the buyer will be putting some “major renovations” into the project.

It will definitely need it.

The Sweetbay building closed in 2013 and since then, has been unoccupied while its parking lot has gone through various stages of disrepair, overflowing at times with tractor-trailers and parked storage trucks while also serving as a dumping ground for people getting rid of old furniture and appliances.

Tampa District 7 City Council member Luis Viera and his predecessor Lisa Montelione sicked code enforcement on the property’s lease-holder multiple times over the years.

“It has been a long road for New Tampa with this property,” Viera says.  “Its inactive status has caused many challenges for New Tampa and I am happy that it is under contract and look forward to seeing what comes in here. The fact that this is under contract by itself is a good step for our New Tampa community, as this has been a problem site.”

The property currently is worth $1.5 million, according to Hillsborough County property records. KNK Tampa, Ltd. bought it in 2001 and leased it to Kash n’ Karry for a 20-year term beginning in November of that year.

Kash n’ Karry operated under the lease until June 14, 2006, when its Belgian parent company Delhaize America, Inc., converted it into a Sweetbay.  

But, despite its rebranding, Sweetbay could not compete with nearby Publix or Walmart. When Delhaize announced it would be closing 22 stores in the Tampa Bay area, its New Tampa location was part of that group.

In October of 2013, Jacksonville-based Bi-Lo Holdings, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, paid $265 million for 72 Sweetbay stores, plus the leases to 10 other underperforming Sweetbay supermarkets that had already been closed. One of those leases belonged to the New Tampa location, which had six years remaining on it, but Bi-Lo Holdings declined to do anything with the property other than pay the rent.

Finally, it’s time for something new.

“Probably, by early next year, it will all be coming out; it will be obvious what is going on,” Neukamm says. “It is going to be an asset for the neighborhood.”

We asked our readers on our Neighborhood News Facebook page what they would like to see in the space currently occupied by the old Sweetbay, and they responded.

Some responded jokingly (we assume), by suggesting New Tampa could really use a giant Starbucks (hardy har har, Brandon Maldonado) or a combination pizza, burger, and self-storage facility (also real funny, Richard W. King).

Others were emphatic, with ALL CAPS!!!! (We get it, Chris King, you want a Trader Joe’s and as you said) “NOTHING ELSE IS ACCEPTABLE!!”

King, however, spoke for the most of those who responded. In fact, our readers really, really, really want a Trader Joe’s, even with Publix, Sprouts and soon-to-be Aldi all within walking distance. And, how much do people love their trendy grocery stores? Lucky’s Market, Fresh Market and Whole Foods also all received some votes.

Those other markets didn’t receive as much love, however, as Total Wine & More, which wasn’t too far behind Trader Joe’s when it came to our readers.

You want food and drink, clearly — although a good many folks also want something to do — and we concur! A bowling alley, roller skating rink and indoor go-kart place all received votes, although we were disappointed to see no one suggest a Dave & Busters (JCC) or a live music venue (GN).

Kevin Waters: I would love a Wright’s Deli somewhere in New Tampa/WC. Driving to S. Tampa is too far.

Pam Smith: Go carts, Fresh Market, Armature Works-like venue, Indoor small business venue

Diane Kelly Payne: Quaker Steak & Lube, outdoor music stage, car shows, etc…a fun place to go

Tara Fritsch Schmidt: Luekens Liquors or Trader Joe’s.

Donna Billie: A regular skating rink…not ice.

Lucy Meyer: Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market or Total Wine!

Dannieal Cooper: Indoor go-carts and arcade. Well kept with food and beverages

Kim Channels: A bowling alley or Spaghetti Warehouse

Geraldine Gomez: Kohl’s, Total Wine, PF Chang’s or Trader Joe’s!!! No more storage units!

Armando Rivera: Is a Medieval Brothel a possibility…asking for a friend.

Christie Frederick: A really good seafood restaurant. (There are) none around New Tampa

Doug Smith: A micro brewery!

Nagesh Nayak: Raquetball Court.

Barry Doupnik: Anything!! It’s a dump and an eyesore.

Tim N Catia Notarpietro: Planet Fitness! We need one up here!

Gina Arkell Tim Stokes: Just not another gym.

Richard Spencer: Bowling & arcade. Or trampoline park.

Nicolette Marie: Lucky’s Market!

Ivant Liberty: Cabela’s

Here are some of the other suggestions we received: 

Smoke-Free Karaoke, Pool Tables & More?

I’m not bragging, but I have spent time in every bar that has opened in the Pinebrook at The Grove plaza on C.R. (aka S.R.) 54. I remember the original Fatheads Pub, Skinny’s Sports Bar and of course, our long-time advertiser, Joe Whiskey’s Sports Bar.

The only reason Jannah and I, until now, haven’t spent more time at Joe Whiskey’s is because it has always been a smoker-friendly bar inside. Well, when bars were allowed to reopen during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic a couple of months ago (under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order), Joe Whiskey’s reopened as a smoke-free bar with a covered outdoor patio for those who still want to smoke. 

Inside, Joe Whiskey’s is now smoke-free, for those of us who want to shoot pool, sing karaoke (with karaoke jock Allan Hudson Brady), play darts or video arcade games and/or watch football (or hockey) games while enjoying a drink at the premium, full-liquor bar with great prices (and with Jessica, one of our favorite bartenders, top left photo above) — without the thrill of having to breathe in second-hand smoke. Allan has a great karaoke list and he’s currently there every Thur.-Sat. evening.  

Joe Whiskey’s (27429 C.R. 54) is open noon-2 a.m. every day. For more information, call (813) 973-8336 . — GN

Corley Says 2020 Vote Smoother Than Hoped


In an election season defined by partisan vitriol and hate, Danny Burgess tries a little kissing (of his wife Courtney, of course) to woo a voter or two. 

Despite worries nationwide about the voting process in 2020, due to taking place in the middle of a pandemic and concerns raised by President Trump about the validity of mail-in votes, Pasco’s Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said the county’s efforts this past election were about as smooth as could be.

“Overall, it exceeded my wildest expectations,” Corley said. 

Roughly 304,000 votes were cast in Pasco County, including 302,621 votes for president. President Donald Trump received 179,621 votes, or 59.4 percent, while President-elect Joe Biden received 119,073, or 39.4 percent.

Nationally, however, Biden defeated Trump by more than six million votes and in the Electoral College 306-232.

The 304,000 votes cast in Pasco represented 78 percent of the eligible voters, far exceeding 2016’s totals of 244,950 ballots cast and a 73-percent turnout.

Despite the record-setting numbers, Corley said the ability to secure six gymnasiums countywide for early voting and the influx of mail-in votes prevented some of the 3-4 hour long waits in line he feared beforehand.

In fact, only 65,000 votes (21% of all ballots cast) were cast on Nov. 3. Twice that number, 113,000, were cast during early voting, and more than 121,000 were mail-in votes, compared to 68,178 in 2016.

“The mail-in votes were a great safety valve and allowed for the in-person voting to be less crowded,” Corley said.

Corley added that mail-in voting has been growing in popularity since Florida started it in 2002, “but this year it was on steroids because of the pandemic.”

Despite President Trump’s disinformation campaign against mail-in voting (except in Florida, where he said it was okay), Corley thinks the mail-in numbers will only grow in the future.

“It got politicized, and that is very unfortunate,” he said. 

Not surprisingly, Pasco County remained red, as Republican candidates went 9-0 in the vote, including Gus Bilirakis (U.S. Rep., Cong. Dist. 12), Danny Burgess (State Sen. Dist. 20), Randy Maggard (State Rep. Dist. 38), Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning and County Commissioners Jack Mariano and Kathryn Starkey.

For complete Pasco County 2020 General Election results, visit PascoVotes.org. — JCC

Diverging Diamond Delay

The Diverging Diamond Interchange now under construction at the junction of S.R. 56 and I-75 is expected to alleviate the traffic issues at arguably Wesley Chapel’s most congested point. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) chairman Mike Moore has always taken great pride in his efforts to expedite the construction of the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at the busy junction of I-75 and S.R. 56.

With help from state legislators, what was originally scheduled for a 2024 completion was moved up and expected to be finished by the fall of 2021.

However, that date is now very much in question, which has riled Moore, who represents District 2, which includes most of Wesley Chapel.

“It’s very, very disappointing,” he says.

Armed with letters from constituents and his own daily experience driving through the congestion at the under-construction interchange, Moore is disappointed to hear that the project — originally expected to cost $18.5 million but now carrying a $33-million price tag — could now drag on until the spring of 2022 or even later.

Which is why, when Moore drives by the project now and sees workers, well, not working, it makes him seethe.

His frustration was on full display at a BCC meeting last month, when Moore delivered a blistering attack on the company, D.A.B. Constructors, Inc., in charge of the project.

Moore said he recently drove through the interchange and took pictures of the general malaise happening. He said he saw two workers standing next to a truck doing nothing, and a second group of construction workers standing on a hill.

“On a project of that magnitude, those are the only people I saw working on a Monday, a sunny Monday, at 1:30 in the afternoon,” Moore said. “I think that’s insane, that’s ridiculous, that’s embarrassing.”

More than 100,000 vehicles pass through the interchange on a daily basis. The eagerly-anticipated DDI is designed to create fewer conflict points at the interchange, and despite looking like a confusing, diamond-shaped jumble of roads in pictures, Florida’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange (at Exit 210 of I-75, in Sarasota) has been lauded for being safer and more efficient than your traditional junctions. 

Businesses Are Unhappy, Too

The Wesley Chapel DDI will be Florida’s second, and Moore isn’t the only one disappointed that it is so far behind schedule. 

In September, the Cypress Creek Town Center Property Owners Association (POA) — which includes the Tampa Premium Outlets, Costco and more than 20 other businesses located west of the interchange, sent a letter to Moore and District 3 Commissioner Kathryn Starkey expressing concern about the progress of the interchange.

The POA, which said it has spent $25 million over the last 15 years “reconstructing and widening miles 

of highway in the State Road 54/56 corridor” to offset the additional traffic the Town Center attracts, said it reached out to the Florida Department of Transportation when it was becoming clear that the project was falling behind schedule.

It asked FDOT to accelerate the DDI during Covid-19, due to the reduction of traffic, but were told material deliveries had hindered the project and that D.A.B. Constructors “did not feel any substantial gains could be made.”

The POA wrote to Moore and Starkey that they were told the project was at least 200 days behind schedule — pushing the completion date to late summer of 2022.

“It’s very unfortunate that this is happening,” said Comm. Starkey, “but at least FDOT is doing as much as they can to push it along.”

Pasco County has no control over state road projects like the DDI, but Moore and Starkey both reached out to David Gwynn, the FDOT secretary for District 7, after receiving the letter from that group of angry businesses.

FDOT has taken efforts to remedy the situation, and could impose more penalties. Gwynn wrote back to Moore telling him if D.A.B. Constructors can’t meet the contracted end date, “liquidated damages, of $9,837 a day, will be assessed for every day that the contractor is late in completing the project.”

That means that for every month they are behind schedule, D.A.B. Constructors would incur a $300,000 fine.

Pasco’s BCC chair Mike Moore says D.A.B. Constructors “can’t handle it” when it comes to finishing the diverging diamond project on time.

The DDI construction kicked off in early 2019, and had an original schedule of 800 days, resulting in a finish date of April 2021. That did account for delays due to rain and holidays (though not for something like Covid-19, which did cause delays for materials for many area projects).

Gwynn wrote that in roughly 20 months, D.A.B. Constructors had been granted 99 days for weather, 34 days of holiday time and 30 days for unforeseen conditions. All told, that added 163 days to the contract, changing the end date to August 26, 2021.

“Ninety-nine rain days? I don’t how that is, but okay, I guess?,” Moore said. “I guess if it sprinkles outside they don’t work?”

Moore also found 34 days off for holidays “extreme.”

Moore wants to see FDOT come down hard on D.A.B. Constructors, including fines and heavy pressure. He went as far as to suggest D.A.B. “sub out every little piece of the project going forward…cut their losses, and get out.”

He doesn’t want the company used on any more projects in Pasco County, where it is currently working on 10 other projects, including the widening of State Roads 54 and 52.

“They have so many projects going on right now they can’t handle it,” Moore says.

Starkey worried that any further delays could impact the traffic for yet another holiday season in 2021, further hurting businesses in the S.R. 56 corridor.

We Have Moved Again, Thanks To All Of These Businesses!

When you stay in business for 27 years and have had to move more than one or two times, you definitely dread having to do it again.

Well, I will be celebrating my 27th anniversary of owning and publishing the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News in a new location (more on exactly where that is below) in February, which will be our sixth office location in all that time.

I doubt that anybody can name all five of our previous office locations, but rather than make a contest out of it, I’ll tell you all of them at the end of this editorial. (if even I can remember them).

This would definitely have been the worst and hardest move, business or residence, of my entire life, if not for the help of several of the advertisers who appear in this publication and one Rotarian I greatly admire.

I don’t consider myself to be a “hoarder,” per se, but those of us in the news business are supposed to save records for at least a certain period of time and I may have taken that to something of an extreme in my nearly three decades of serving the same distribution areas.

In addition, there was a time when we would order many hundreds (500-600 or more) of extra copies of each issue, so that we could, by leaving copies around the community, provide more people with all of the information they couldn’t get anywhere else. But, not only did that never benefit the business financially, it left us with hundreds of extra copies of hundreds of issues of the paper. Do the math. That’s literally “crap-tons” of paper!

We started ordering and saving fewer extra copies a few years ago — and we’ve always thrown out/recycled hundreds of copies each year, but all I knew was that we couldn’t (and shouldn’t) take it all with us to our slightly smaller new office, located less than a half-mile west on S.R. 54 from the office we were leaving, both of which are very close to Saddlebrook Resort. 

Shred (360)Your Troubles Away!

So first, I called on Cam Caudle, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Rotary Club of New Tampa (the club that has been meeting on Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club for almost as long as I’ve been in business). Cam also is a recent (2015) “Franchisee of the Year” of Shred360, an incredible mobile document destruction company.


So, whether you have years of no-longer-needed financial and other records that you want to safely dispose of, or thousands of copies of publications that you’ll never need (or both), Cam will send his mobile unit to your home or office and will shred all that paper, on-site which will then be recycled. (Note – The Neighborhood News is and always has been printed on 100% recycled paper, no matter which stock we’ve been using.)

In our case, Cam’s guy Ed (photo above) pulled the truck up to our office, and we dropped those thousands of copies into a rolling bin from our second floor stairs. The bin then got loaded into the truck (several times) and I was able to watch, on a small monitor, 27 years of my memories literally being torn to shreds…in a good way.

Got a large or small shredding job for Shred 360? Cam does some shredding events for charity throughout the year, but his prices are very fair and his people are as excellent at their jobs as Cam is funny. 

Call Cam at (813) 944-2223 or visit Shred360.com and tell him I sent you (and told you to watch his stand-up comedy debut. Really funny stuff, but not suitable for kids!)

Why Is This Hauler Smiling?

Next, I definitely needed a good junk guy to get rid of…well, everything that wasn’t coming to the new office that wasn’t able to be shredded.

And believe me, that was a lot of stuff. We had several old filing cabinets filled with old advertising agreements, office furniture that wasn’t going to be needed in the new office, a safe, and a whole lot more.

And, it just so happened that our old friend Don Smith — also known as The Happy Hauler — of Smith’s Clean-Up Service (top left photo) had just started back up advertising with us again. 

Don’s another hard-working man. I stuffed lots of large, contractor-sized bags of garbage and he carried those bags — and the aforementioned filing cabinets and other garbage — to his waiting trailer and loaded all of it by himself.

Don told me that when he receives items he believes will be useful to local charities — like The Children’s Home Foundation of Tampa or the Sunrise of Pasco Hospice — he’ll set those aside and drive them to the organizations. He told me our filing cabinets, the safe and some of the furniture might be useful to those charities. Best of all, he was done in less than an hour and his rates are extremely reasonable. 

So, for everything from single item pick-ups to yard waste, construction debris, small building tear-downs and yes, office (or home) clean-outs, call Don at Smith’s Clean-Up Service at (813) 727-6655. Be sure to tell him that Gary from the Neighborhood News sent you! 

Who’s Gonna Clean This Mess?

Another aspect of moving out of one office and into another is that the place you’re leaving has to be broom-clean and even though the place you’re moving to should also be broom clean, I wanted both offices to be as clean as possible. 

For our “move-out” clean-up, I chose the company that’s been cleaning our office at the last three or four of our locations and the last at least 10-15 years — D Ultra Cleaning Services.

My friends Eduardo and Deborah Ferreira of D Ultra have always been reliable and although some of their cleaning folks don’t speak much English, Eduardo and Deborah are both bilingual in English and Spanish and anytime I’ve had an issue over the years, they’ve always taken care of it right away. They’re good people who also do grout/ceramic cleaning, pressure washing, carpet and window cleaning and house and light commercial cleaning.

Call D Ultra Cleaning Services at (813) 758-9710 or visit DUltraCleaningService.com.

Because both jobs were so big and I had limited time to get them both done, I decided to let my other friend Celly De Freitas of Clean-it (at right in photo above, which was not taken at our new office, by the way) take on the job of getting our new office sparkling clean before we moved into it. 

Celly came with her outstanding crew and in less than two hours, made the new office ready for primetime — or at least for us moving in. 

Clean-it has other excellent references, is licensed and insured and also has been cleaning homes and offices in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for nearly 20 years. Call (813) 505-0431 for a free quote today.

What I Really Need Is A Nerd!

I don’t know about your business, but our office has to have working computers and I still don’t know the difference between a server and a network and had no idea how to make sure we were able to safely move all of our desktop computers to the new office.

So, I called my friend Michael Varnadore, the owner of Nerds To Go Computer Service of New Tampa (photo top right), which has a brick-and-mortar location in the Pebble Creek Collection (behind KobĂ© Steakhouse; one of our former offices was in the same plaza). 

I have had a service agreement with the New Tampa Nerds to Go for over a year, but I never felt as fortunate to have it as I did as we got ready to move. Mike said to me, “Gary, this is why you hired us. We’ve got you covered.” and dispatched his newest Nerd, Derik Jenkins, to our old office a few days before our move. 

Derik came to see how things were connected to make sure that we could move the whole shebang safely, and when he came back, he got it disconnected, reconnected and up and running — and we literally never missed a beat.

If this kind of peace of mind is important to you, you should definitely visit Nerds To Go at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Ste C-6, or call Mike’s awesome sidekick, Maxine, at (813) 321-1700 or visit NerdsToGo.com. Also, check out the ad in our latest issue for a great Black Friday special on an Acer Aspire TC-865 Desktop PC and other deals.

So, there you have it. Our new office is in the Westbrook Professional Park at 28949 S.R. 54, Wesley Chapel 33543. As soon as we get everything put away, we’ll host an Open House/party to show off our new digs. 

In the meantime, listed below are all five of our previous offices:

1. Gerry Mann Financial Building (11201 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace)

2. Palm Plaza (12108 N. 56th St., Tampa/Temple Terrace)

3. Pebble Creek Collection (19651 BBD Blvd., New Tampa)

4. Shoppes at Amberly (15345 Amberly Dr., Tampa Palms)

5. Brookside Prof. Park (29157 Chapel Park Dr., Suite B, Wesley Chapel)

Thanks again to all of our advertisers and friends who helped get us moved in quickly, cleanly and safely.