Stonewood Edges Via Italia As Your Favorite Restaurant In New Tampa! 

The Grill At Morris Bridge, Cali Tampa Palms & The Fat RabbitPub Round Out The Top 5! 

(Above) The quality of long-standing favorites like its bruschetta appetizer, plus it always-outstanding service, has kept Stonewood Grill & Tavern as our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa for eight consecutive years. 

1. Stonewood Grill & Tavern  

17050 Palm Pointe Dr., Pointe at Tampa Palms 

(813) 978-0388 

StonewoodGrill.com 

When our 2022 Dining Survey asked our readers to name their Favorite Restaurants in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, Stonewood Grill & Tavern finished fourth in that overall voting (behind three restaurants based in or near Wesley Chapel), but still finished as the New Tampa restaurant our readers liked best. That means that with its win again this year, the mini-chain (with fewer than ten Tampa Bay-area locations), has won the title of our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa for each of the last eight years, after finishing as our readers’ second Favorite in New Tampa in 2015. 

There’s no doubt that Stonewood’s long history in the same location and its never-wavering commitment to quality food and outstanding service has kept it at #1 with our readers for nearly a decade. 

(Above) The pasta Bolognese at Via Italia Wood Fired Pizza & Bar is one reason the restaurant has risen in the rankings with our readers every year since it first opened in 2020. 

2. Via Italia Wood Fired Pizza & Bar  

8644 Hunter’s Village Rd., Village at Hunter’s Lake 

(813) 475-4857 

EatViaItalia.com 

In one of the closer votes in recent memory in New Tampa, Via Italia narrowly trailed Stonewood with our readers in this year’s voting. Since it first opened in 2020, owner Roberto Maganuco’s quality pizza and pasta restaurant and bar has improved its finish with our readers every year — from 9th in 2020, to 4th in 2021, 3rd in 2022 and now 2nd in New Tampa for 2023. 

Via Italia offers more different styles of pizza than you’ll find anywhere else, and its many varieties of authentic Italian pastas keeps helping it add new fans. 

(Above) The seafood risotto at The Grill at Morris Bridge includes shrimp, scallops, lobster and a lobster cream sauce. The Grill has finished in the top-three with our readers in both 2022 and 2023.

3. The Grill at Morris Bridge  

10920 Cross Creek Blvd., Cross Creek Commons 

(813) 388-5353 

TheGrillatMorrisBridge.com 

Because it opened as the reader voting was already ending in late 2021, The Grill at Morris Bridge finished as the second Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa last year and third in this year’s voting. 

Owners and brothers Frank and Jimmy Gouveia added our area’s only true tomahawk ribeye steak to The Grill’s already impressive menu, which also features outstanding fresh fish and seafood and the Gouveias have constantly evaluated and improved the menu since it opened. 

The Grill also features New Tampa’s most extensive wine list and excellent service. 

4. Cali  

17004 Palm Pointe Dr. 

Shoppes at The Pointe 

(813) 975-1222 

EatCali.com 

Cali, the mini-chain previously called Ciccio & Tony’s and then Ciccio Cali, has finished as high as 2nd Favorite in New Tampa with our readers more than once, but the restaurant that first brought “bowl culture” to New Tampa also has somehow — and somewhat surprisingly — missed the top-25 a couple of times (including last year) after finishing 7th in 2021. 

5. Fat Rabbit Pub 

16029 Tampa Palms Blvd. W. 

City Plaza at Tampa Palms 

(813) 252-3004 

FatRabbitPub.com 

Having finished as high as 4th with our readers, and also being the runaway winner as Favorite Bar in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel this year (see pg. 36), the Fat Rabbit has been a pretty consistent favorite for its crispy, delicious wings, great burgers, sandwiches, salads, hot dogs, a wide variety of crispy tater tots and other bar favorites, along with a great “vibe.” 

6. Liang’s Bistro Asian Cuisine  

17515 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 

(813) 978-1225 

LiangsBistroTampa.com 

Another consistent favorite with our readers, Liang’s was 4th Favorite in New Tampa last year, 3rd in 2021, 5th in 2020, 3rd in 2019, 3rd in 2018 and…well, you get the idea. Liang’s Asian fusion cuisine also has kept it atop our Favorite Asian Restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel reader rankings pretty much every year it has been open — and repeated that win again this year.

7. Fresh Kitchen  

8648 Hunter’s Village Rd. 

The Village at Hunter’s Lake 

(813) 336-3800 

EatFreshKitchen.com 

Fresh Kitchen has elevated the fast-casual bowl concept to both a science and an art form, as even the sometimes long lines (especially at lunch time) never really slow you down and the options are all delicious and definitely offers healthy options. 

The Florida-based chain, now with 12 locations, has only been open here since 2021, but it finished as the 10th Favorite in New Tampa with our readers that year and was up to 9th Favorite last year and has now jumped up to 7th for 2023. 

8. Mr. Dunderbak’s 

14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 

Oak Ramble Plaza 

(813) 977-4104 

DunderbaksBeer.wordpress.com 

Although it mysteriously disappeared from last year’s top-25 with our readers, Mr. Dunderbak’s and its German cuisine has otherwise been super-consistent — 2nd in 2021, 3rd in 2020 and 4th in 2019. 

Also known for its huge selection of beers, Mr. D’s is Tampa’s “German Bierhalle, Braueri, Marketplatz und Restaurant” 

9. Olive Garden  

9. Olive Garden 

17011 Palms Pointe Dr. 

The Pointe at Tampa Palms 

(813) 866-5253 

OliveGarden.com 

This is the one restaurant that has ranked with our readers nearly every year that I simply don’t understand, other than for its value. Even with its unlimited salad (which I do like) and breadsticks, I have never been a fan. 

Although Olive Garden missed our readers’ top-25 in New Tampa last year, it finished 23rd in 2021 and 14th in 2020. 

 

10. Minerva  

19050 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 

New Tampa Plaza 

(813) 978-8586 

MinervaTampa.com 

Not only is this Minerva’s first-ever top-10 finish with our readers, I’m pretty sure it’s the first Indian restaurant to ever crack the readers’ top-10. 

Known for its huge lunch buffet and dishes from every region in India, Minerva has won “Favorite Indian Restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel” before, but this was a major rise in its overall rank. 

Our Readers’ 2023 Top-25 Favorite Restaurants In New Tampa (#s 11-25) 

11. Sushi Cafe 

12. Lima Peruvian Cuisine 

13. Frammi American Grille & Italian Food 

14. Chili’s Grill & Bar 

15. Cantina Mexican Grill & Bar 

16. Glory Days Grill 

17. EggTown 

18. Thai Lanna & Sushi 

19. First Watch 

20. (tie) Kobe Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse 

20 (tie) Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood 

22. Acropolis Greek Taverna 

23. Capri Pizza & Pasta 

24. (tie) Gorkhali Kitchen Tampa

City Of Tampa To Host Hanukkah Celebration Tomorrow At New Tampa Rec Center!

District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera says that, “Before last year, New Tampa never had its own (city-hosted) Christmas tree event. Last year, I sought to have both a Christmas and Hanukkah event on the same day.” This year, the city held its Christmas tree lighting on Nov. 27 and is hosting a Hanukkah event on Monday, December 11, 6:30 p.m., also at the New Tampa Recreation Center (17302 Commerce Park Blvd.). 

“This is all part of the efforts I have been undertaking since 2016 to continue to have an increased connection between our city government and New Tampa,” Viera says. “It is important that we get the same dignity and respect as all other parts of the city have.” 

At the Christmas event (l.-r. in photo, above), State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Viera and his fellow City Council member Lynn Hurtak, Heather Erickson and Tony Mulkey of the Tampa Parks & Rec Dept. and Tampa Palms resident and the event’s M.C. Tracy Falkowitz were all on hand for the Christmas tree lighting and festivities (photos below). 

As for the Hanukkah event on Dec. 11, it’s entirely possible that some of you may not receive this issue — or may not read it that quickly, even if you do receive it on time — before that event is held, but Viera says that he wants to make sure that people know his #1 concern for that event is public safety. 

“We are looking forward to a wonderful celebration of this holiday and hearing from community members on what Hanukkah means to them at this time,” Viera says. “I am acutely aware of the sentiments and feelings of our American Jewish brothers and sisters in this time of increased and immoral anti-Semitism, so we will have security on hand for this event.” 

Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli — A Sandwich Place ‘Disguised’ As A Butcher Shop! 

Dax (left) & Drew McLochlin invite you to visit Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli (store photo below) in the Grand Oaks Plaza on WC Blvd. in Lutz. (Photos by Charmaine George & Dax McLochlin) 

When Daxton (Dax) McLochlin and his brother Drew were kids, they used to stay at their Grandpa’s condo in the Saddlebrook Resort community when their family would visit Florida from their native Indiana. The McLochlin brothers loved visiting our area, with its much warmer climate and beautiful beaches a short drive away. 

The fresh certified Angus boneless (l.-r.) NY strip, filet mignon & ribeye steaks at Mac’s.

When Dax tore his arm up during his sophomore year at Huntington University in Indiana, he transferred to the University of South Florida hoping to walk on the baseball team. 

When that didn’t work out for him, Dax worked a number of sales jobs, while Drew got a job working for the Tampa Bay Bucs. 

The brothers had no idea at that time they would partner up with their entire family to open Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli in the Grand Oaks Plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz. 

“We loved this place called Rick’s Custom Meats + Deli in Plant City,” Dax says, “so we modeled pretty much everything about our store after theirs, when we saw that the Wesley Chapel area didn’t really have a great meat market. Without Rick’s, none of this would even be possible.” 

Try Mac’s self-labeled sauces. 

Boneless certified Angus ribeye, NY strip and filet mignon steaks are the main stars in the Mac’s meat case and I can vouch for how delicious and tender all of those steaks are when you grill them. The meat case also features huge chicken breasts and wings, a variety of pork products (including beautiful chops and fresh bacon), as well as ground beef, Nathan’s Kosher-style hot dogs, beef jerky and more. 

Dax says that on the first Saturday of pretty much every month since the store opened, Mac’s has hosted a “Grill & Chill” event where Dax and Drew’s dad Mike grills one or more of those delicious meats and the store sells plates of them with a side of chips and a drink, “to introduce our customers to some of the different meat options we carry,” Dax says. 

To date, Jannah and I have enjoyed the hamburger, chicken and steak fajita and hot dog Grill & Chills, which also always feature one of Mac’s delicious self-branded sauces. Dax and I agree that the “Chick’n Dippin’ Sauce” is our favorite. 

But, What About The Deli? 
Everyone loves Mac’s fresh-pressed Cubans.

I’m so glad you asked. Mac’s, which opened with a different brand of sliced deli meats and cheeses for its sandwiches, switched over to Boar’s Head® brand a few months ago, “because it seemed like pretty much everyone requested it,” Dax says. “We definitely sell a lot more sandwiches than meat. And, all of our customers really seem to love our pressed Cubans.” 

And, those Cubans come in a nice variety of options, including not only a traditional, with ham, pork, salami and Swiss cheese, but also turkey, ham & cheese and my favorite roast beef Cuban with Swiss (or provolone), all on fresh pressed Cuban bread. There also are “Mac Daddy” (with double the ham) and “Big Mac” (with double roast beef, turkey, ham and cheese) Cuban options. 

You can even get grilled cheeseburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, pork and steak sandwiches at Mac’s. The grilled Boar’s Head pastrami and cheese pressed on Cuban bread also is a must-try, and all of the Boar’s Head meats and cheeses are available by the pound. There’s also tuna and egg salad, cole slaw, potato and macaroni salad available. And, all frozen meats are 30% off regular prices, with deeper discounts available on certain Wednesdays. 

“Drew and I also want to give a shout-out to our entire family — our dad Mike, mom Jessi, my wife Macaley and my young son Chance” for being so supportive of us during this journey,” Dax says. 

In other words, if you haven’t yet checked out Mac’s Custom Meats & Deli, please visit the clean, attractive shop soon — and please tell Dax and Drew we sent you! 

Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli (26316 Wesley Chapel Blvd.) is open Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sat. It is closed Sun. & Mon. For more info, call (813) 428-6573, search “Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli” on Facebook. 

Regents Park Dr. & Pebble Creek Dr. Resurfacing Nears Completion 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

A portion of Regents Park Dr. that has been resurfaced. 

For many months now, the residents of New Tampa’s Pebble Creek subdivision have had to deal with the ongoing resurfacing of the community’s two main thoroughfares — Regents Park Dr. and Pebble Creek Dr. 

The portion of Regents Park Dr. near BBD Blvd. where the Roadway Resurfacing signs are located are the only portions of the roadway not yet resurfaced. 

As of the last few weeks, however, all but about 0.2 miles of the 2.3-mile stretch of the circular Regents Park Dr. — from its northern Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. terminus to its southern BBD connection — have been resurfaced, with only about 0.1 mile at each terminus of the roadway closest to BBD now completed. 

Likewise, all but a couple of hundred feet — again, the portion closest to BBD — of Pebble Creek Dr. also has been completed. 

According to Chris Wilkerson, a senior media relations strategist with Hillsborough County, the Pebble Creek Roadway Resurfacing project represents 4.78 total lane miles of the county’s 285 total lane miles and $1.995 million of the $35-million Roadway Pavement Preservation plan of county-maintained roads approved by the county commissioners in 2021. 

Although most of the actual repaving has been completed, Wilkerson says the remaining work on this project includes paving entrances, stripping and signage, tree planting and the installation of traffic beacons and that the anticipated completion of everything, minus the traffic beacons, is early December 2023. 

The cones shown above are now gone & the patches shown are now covered 

“There is a long lead time on the traffic beacons,” he adds, however, “so final completion will be early spring 2024.” 

The project also includes brand new bike lanes in the sections of the roads that are wide enough. Public works officials say that in sections where there isn’t room, there may be shared road markings for bicyclists. 

Although it has taken a while, the county has done a great job of resurfacing these two main roadways in Pebble Creek. If it’s been a while since you visited the community, it’s worth taking a drive to check out how much better the two roads are now. 

For more information about this and other county projects, visit HillsboroughCounty.org

Shred360 Is Great, Both For Your Business & The Community! 

U.S. Army veteran Cam Caudle has been a franchise owner of Shred360 since 2015. (All photos provided by Shred360)

When Cam Caudle joined the U.S. Army after his college graduation in 1991, he didn’t want to be just an everyday soldier. He wanted to go above and beyond, so he set his goal high and became an Army Ranger. 

Now, as the franchise owner of Shred360, based in Wesley Chapel, he has been carrying that desire to reach higher into the business world. 

“We take a lot of pride in doing a great job for people and doing more than is expected of us,” Cam says. “People are happy to see us arrive, and my guys are phenomenal, so (our customers are) happy when we’re done, too.” 

Cam started his business in 2015 when his friends and fellow military veterans wanted to expand their South Carolina-based document-shredding business into Florida. He agreed to start a franchise in Wesley Chapel, where he lives. The franchise model hasn’t expanded, but Cam’s business surely has. 

Back then, his company was just him and one truck. Now, he has five trucks and a staff of three full-time drivers, a couple of part time drivers and a sales director, and the business covers the entire Tampa Bay area and then some — north to Gainesville, south to Port Charlotte, and east to Orlando. 

Shred360 provides primarily on-site document shredding and hard drive destruction for both businesses and individuals. 

Although Shred360 does have a drop-off option, Cam says, “Most of the time, we go to wherever the material is, whether that’s a home, business, or storage unit. From a security standpoint, it’s better that people can watch their documents be destroyed right in front of them.” He adds that although the destruction happens inside the truck, “it is visible on a screen.” 

When you utilize Shred360’s shredding service, your documents are loaded into a bin and the shredding machine allows you to see them destroyed. 

He also says that the alternatives to on-site shredding are far from ideal. You can either use a home office shredder, which is cumbersome and time consuming, or drop documents off at a store, where you’re often leaving them in a bin — for who knows how long and without any idea of who will have access to them until they are destroyed. 

Karen Wallace is practice administrator for Friendly Smiles Dental Care, with four locations in the Tampa area. She says she was one of Shred360’s first customers. 

“We needed an alternative to having shredders in our office,” Wallace says. “It was so loud and disruptive, and not really sufficient for the amount of paper we have to destroy, due to HIPAA regulations.” 

She adds that she’s continued to work with Shred360 because of Cam and the way he runs the company. 

“In business, it’s so refreshing to meet someone like him,” Karen says. “I’ve always been so impressed. If one of his guys is out for some reason, he comes out, driving the truck (himself).” 

She calls Cam the “consummate professional” and says everyone he hires follows in his footsteps. 

“When they come in, they’re quiet, they don’t interrupt any work, they say ‘hi’ politely and depart,” she says. “It’s like white glove service.” 

Medical offices such as Karen’s, along with law firms, credit unions, hospitals and other businesses with a lot of records that need to be destroyed, have ongoing service with Shred360, where documents are picked up on a regular basis, anywhere from once a week to once every twelve weeks. 

The other service is a one-time purge, although Cam says many of his clients purge again at a later date. 

Shred360 can accommodate everyone from residential customers with a few boxes to commercial customers with a full warehouse — and pretty much anything in between. 

“In the time it takes an employee to shred a box of documents at an office shredder,” Cam says, “we can do 250 pounds.” 

Before starting Shred360, Cam says he sold all kinds of things, from furniture to medical equipment, but he says none of those jobs were exactly the right fit. 

“I love what I do now,” he says. 

He appreciates the opportunity to make his customers happy — and you can’t argue with his results —of 630 Google reviews, 628 are five stars (out of five), and he insists that the two four-star reviews his business has received— from eight and five years ago, respectively — should have been five stars, too. 

Giving Back 
When Shred360 hosts a charity shredding event, you line up in your car, your documents are shredded and you make a donation to the event’s selected charity. 

Cam also sees his business as a way to both give back to the community and set an example for his children and stepchildren. He and Ines, his wife of three years, have five children between the two of them. 

Shred360 does a charitable event every month, where they set up like a drive through lane at a particular location. People pull up next to the truck, stay in their car, have their documents shredded while they wait, and then make a donation to the selected charity. 

In nine years, Cam says Shred360 has raised more than $70,000 for organizations that are doing good things in the community, including the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Community Food Pantry, and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. 

“These events are important for serving the community where I live,” he says, “We’re busy, so sometimes it’s hard to fit those in, but they’re important, so we still do them.” 

To find out about upcoming charity shredding events, visit Shred360.com/Tampa or “Shred360Tampa” on Facebook. 

Cam also has been a long-time member of the Rotary Club of New Tampa, which meets on Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, and in 2021, he was one of the co-founders (and is still a Board member) of the New Tampa Rotary’s After Hours Satellite Club. He says that Rotary gives him another outlet to volunteer, support the community, and show his kids the importance of serving others. 

It goes back to those early lessons he learned in the Army. He started active duty two weeks after graduating from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, in 1991 on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, and stayed in active duty until 1996. 

“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, if not for the Army,”Cam says. Not only is that where he met the owners of Shred360, but also because of the values that have carried over from that experience to his business. 

“Doing things with integrity, doing more than what’s expected,” he says, “My motto is. ‘When you think you’ve done enough, do more./” 

He’s proud that Shred360 has won “Business of the Year” through the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and that he has also been honored as its volunteer of the year. 

For a price quote on a one-time purge of documents for your home or business, or if you would like information about setting up ongoing service, call Shred360 at (813) 944- 2223, visit Shred360.com/Tampa.