(Above, l.-r.) Jan (Anna Jeffries), Rizzo (Alyson Gannon), Kenicke (Kyle Fisher), Danny (Dylan Fidler), Sandy (Olivia Carr), Frenchy (Ariyonna Thomas) and Marty (Heather Rich) headline the cast of ‘Grease’ through July 30, at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. (Photos by Charmaine George).
Although there already has been a New Tampa Players (NTP) preview show and a Penguin Productions presentation of “Beauty and the Beast” at the sparkling new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), “Grease” — the first official show of NTP’s 2023-24 season — made its debut at the NTPAC last weekend.
Unfortunately, due to the timing of our issues, we aren’t able to share pictures of actual scenes from ‘Grease” in this issue, but as a minor player in the cast, I am able to share these preview pictures we were able to take of some of the cast members, in their costumes.
I will tell you that, even the week before the cast premiered the 1972 Tony Award-winning musical, that “Grease” is a super-fun show with an awesome cast that you should still be able to check out this weekend — although tickets were already getting a little scarce at our press time.
According to NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine, the six performances of “Grease” over two weekends (July 21-23 and July 28-20) were already nearly 70% sold out as this issue went to the printer (on July 16), with the Sunday matinee (3 p.m.) performances both weekends having the fewest tickets remaining.
Vince Fontaine (a certain local publisher & editor) and Miss Lynch (Suzanne Bainbridge) will be cutting a (very brief) rug again this weekend.
More tickets, however, still remained for the Friday and Saturday night (at 8 p.m. both nights) performances, but after what I’m certain was a smash opening weekend — under the direction of G. Frank Meekins with choreography by Sarah Walston — all I can say is don’t wait too long to get yours!
The outstanding ensemble cast delivers too many standout performances to name everyone here, but rest assured, all will be praised (and hopefully, pictured) in our next issue.
Among my favorite moments from the show include Tripp Peavyhouse (“Roger”) and Anna Jeffries (Jan) performing “Mooning,” Heather Rich (Marty) singing “Freddie, My Love,” Kyle Fisher (Kenicke)’s “Greased Lightning,” Alyson Gannon (Rizzo)’s mocking “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” the perfect falsetto of Trevor Lloyd (who portrays both Teen Angel and Johnny Casino) on “Beauty School Dropout,” and Olivia Carr (as Sandy) on both “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and her duet with Dylan Fidler (“Danny”) on “You’re The One That I Want.”
Michael Figueroa (Sonny) and Heather, Tripp and Anna, Kyle and Alyson and Makayla Raines (as Cha-Cha) and Dylan provide standout dance performances.
Don’t have your tickets yet? Visit NewTampaPlayers.org or see the ad below to get yours now!
Whether or not you’ve ever entered one of our previous Reader Dining Survey & Contests, I hope you’ll consider entering at least once this year.
Yes, while we still have at least three (there could be more) free dining prizes, from $35 to $100 — to the restaurant of your choice in the Tampa Bay area — we’re making it easier than ever before for you to enter.
Instead of a full page or more of different dining categories, all we’re asking you for is to answer one or two questions in any issue between now and Thursday, November 16, and you’ll receive an entry into those random prize drawings for each Survey question you answer.
This issue, we’ll start you off with two questions, each of which asks you for FIVE (5) different answers.
The first question, on this page, asks you to “Name your Five Favorite Restaurants (of any kind) located in New Tampa” (including all of zip code 33647 — Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from south of the Pasco County line to where E. Bearss Ave. meets Livingston Ave. — and all of Cross Creek Blvd.).
For your entry to be valid to win prizes for these questions, you must name five different restaurants for each of them. If you only name one or two restaurants or fill in the name of the same restaurant in all five spaces for either question, you’ll only have one (or two) votes counted and your entry will not be eligible to win any of our prizes. Please also do not name restaurants located in Wesley Chapel as among your favorites in New Tampa or vice-versa.
Then, in each of the next five issues, we’ll ask you to name only one or two of your favorites — for example, your Favorite Chinese Restaurant, Coffee Shop or Pizza Place — and we’ll give you one additional entry into our random prize drawings for each valid entry you submit. We feel as though this should stimulate more people to enter the contests, because the task won’t be as daunting as having to completely (or nearly completely) fill out an entire page of favorites — and doesn’t everyone who lives in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have at least five favorite restaurants located in or near our distribution areas?
As always, there’s no purchase necessary to enter or win a prize. All we ask is that you follow the following rules:
1. Enter by clicking HERE and filling out the online survey form.
2. You can mail us your filled-out entry form (send it to “2023 Neighborhood News Dining Contest,” 2604 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Suite 102D, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544) or email it to us at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. *Note-Entries filled out on our website do not need to be mailed or emailed to us.
3. Please check the addresses and zip codes of the restaurants you choose, as we will only consider votes for restaurants in zip code 33647, the portion of zip code 33559 (Lutz) on Bearss Ave., from BBD to Livingston Ave., and in the Oak Ramble Plaza (33613) as valid New Tampa votes, and only votes for restaurants located in zip codes 33543, 33544 and 33545 (Wesley Chapel) and zip code 33559 (Lutz, on S.R. 54 no further west than Oak Grove Blvd.) will be counted as valid “Wesley Chapel” votes.
4. In order to be eligible to win any of our free dining prizes to the restaurant of your choice, your entry form with a response to at least one of our questions over the next five months must include your full name, the community you live in (Hunter’s Green, Grand Hampton, etc.), a daytime phone number where you can be reached and your valid email address.
We look forward to seeing how this year’s contest shakes out. Good luck!
You can also clickHEREto fill out the online form to tell us your favorite Wesley Chapel restaurants!
(Left, l.-r.) Wesley Chapel residents Brittany Long and her daughter Lillian, with New Tampa residents Reha, Mahi and Rudra Patel and Nicole Tuminella, the Tampa Bay Invention Convention Worldwide affiliate for Hillsborough County Public Schools. (Photos provided by Brittany Long and Reha Patel).
Our sincere congratulations go out to New Tampa resident Mahi Patel and Wesley Chapel resident Lillian Long. These two young inventors recently won some impressive honors at the seventh annual Invention Convention Worldwide (ICW)- Youth National Invention Convention June 5-8, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.
Representatives from the U.S. Patent Office enjoy checking out Lillian’s unique, award-winning slime.
Lillian is a 4th grader at Clark Elementary who invented a “derm-friendly” slime that is suitable for people who have eczema and other skin sensitivities. Meanwhile, Mahi, a 5th grader from Chiles Elementary, created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) program through coding to help better — and more quickly — recognize lung cancer in body scans.
First, the girls entered their projects in the Hillsborough Regional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Fair back in March, after each won first place at their respective school STEM Fairs. Both were entered in the Invention categories in their respective grade levels. Out of more than 1,500 projects at the District-level elementary fair, the girls were then chosen to represent Tampa Bay at the ICW-Youth National Invention Convention.
Mahi with her “Top Show Board” prize winner.
Going for the experience and to share their passion for their respective inventions, both girls ended up walking away from the National Competition with two outstanding awards each. Mahi won 1st place overall in the country for 5th grade entries and the Top Show Board award for the entire event, while Lillian won 2nd place overall in the country for 4th grade entries. She also won the top Medal/Health award of all projects K-12 in the entire event. These were surely some huge accomplishments, considering that there were 366 students who were selected to attend the 7th Annual ICW nationwide event.
Both students have personal connections to their inventions and sought out solutions to help others.
Lillian hopes to create a product line that can be used for many purposes in dermatology offices, child psychology offices, and occupational therapy offices as well. She says her primary goal is to create an inclusive product that is safe for everyone.
Mahi hopes that her product, which uses a different algorithm, can help identify a variety of cancers at a much faster rate, allowing more people to have quicker care and less chances for misdiagnosis. Mahi’s brother Rudra, who is going into his junior year at Middleton High, also has competed in (and won) science fairs in the past.
Both girls also have been selected to represent the U.S. and have their inventions at the worldwide virtual competition, which will be held at the end of this month, with the awards to be announced on Aug. 11! Good luck, young ladies!
Rashmi Maharaj and Sunil Mohammed are the husband-and-wife team that owns Totally Blu Pools, located in the Summertree Plaza off Eiland Blvd. and S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel.(All photos by Charmaine George).
Over the past 16+ years in the pool service business, Totally Blu Pools co-owner Sunil Mohammed says he’s seen it all.
His business has survived the last major U.S. recession (2008-09), the pool-building boom and supply chain shortages of the Covid era (2020-22) and pretty much everything in between.
So, what made Sunil and his wife Rashmi Maharaj decide to finally open their first-ever brick-and-mortar store in the Publix- and Home Depot-anchored Summertree Plaza at the corner of S.R. 54 and Eiland Blvd.?
“There are just so many new homes being built here in Wesley Chapel,” Sunil says. “And, most of them have swimming pools. I felt there was definitely room for a new mom-and-pop pool supply store here. Plus, we live 5-10 minutes away from the store.”
Unlike pool supply chain stores, Sunil is able to reassure his customers that he only carries quality pool supplies and will help them keep the water in their home pools clean, with the right pH levels and that he will stake his 16-year reputation on his ability to keep them happy.
“We give good service,” Sunil says, “and I know we have the best prices.”
And, Sunil adds that even though Home Depot is located in the same plaza, “the Home Depot guy is not our customer. He already knows what he’s looking for and wants to take care of his pool himself. We attract the customers who are new pool owners or who have no idea how to take care of their pools and who want to ask questions of someone who has that expertise.”
Sunil and Rashmi’s son Savir tests the quality of a customer’s pool water.
Part of that expertise is testing the pool water for what Sunil calls “the four basic food groups” of your pool — chlorine (or salt) level, the pH, as well as calcium and stabilizer levels. “We have everything you need to make sure that all four levels are properly balanced,” he says. “If all of those levels aren’t correct, you could have a problem.”
And, although Sunil says that he handles both residential and commercial clients, “We are really focused now on residential pools. Back in 2008-09, we had mostly commercial clients, but when that recession hit, we could have lost the business. So now, I’m very selective about taking on commercial clients. I have to know who they are.”
He adds that because of Totally Blu’s great reputation, some developers do get in touch with him to service or even help design their community pools, including Siena Cove and Bridgehaven here in Wesley Chapel.
Totally Blu Pools stocks a wide selection of pool cleaners.
“I have licensed contractors working with me,” Sunil says, “so now, not only can I service your pool, I also can help complete, refinish or repair your pool. With all of the fallout from local pool companies that didn’t treat their customers fairly during Covid, we may even get into designing and installing pools in the future, too.”
Totally Blu Pools also has a current special on an ICHLOR salt chlorine generator from Pentair. Sunil says you can buy it for $1,000, “or, if you become a new service customer with me, I will install one for free. In that case, I would still own it and I’d take it back out if you fire me, but I know it’s a great deal. I love Pentair because the replacement parts for their systems are so much less expensive than others.”
Totally Green Lawns, Too
For the last four years, Sunil also has had his Totally Green Lawn Service. Even though he had never had a lawn service before, when one of his pool customers asked if he knew anyone who could cut their grass, he said he could do it. Four years later, he now has 700 residential lawn accounts, mostly in the Wesley Chapel area.
“We cut, do the fertilizing and even pesticide application (in partnership with another company that is licensed to do that),” Sunil says. “We can take care of your pool and your lawn.”
Sunil adds that giving back to the community also is important to him, and he has raised funds to help buy ice time for the Wiregrass Ranch High hockey team that his son Savir plays for (although Savir actually attends Wesley Chapel High).
“We have helped people who couldn’t afford their lawn or pool service,” he says. “And we currently have a promotion where if you spend $50 with us, we’ll give you a $5 discount and match that with a $5 donation to a local elementary school in need.”
Totally Blu Pools is located at 32781 Eiland Blvd. For more information, call (813) 788-7665, or visit totallybluh20.com.
Co-owner Elijah Pratt (left) and store manager Jay Ewanish of One-Stop Landscape Supply on S.R. 54 (almost to Zephyrhills) invite you to check out their extensive supply of plants, rocks, soil, pots and other accessories to keep your yard looking its best. (All photos by Charmaine George).
At One-Stop Landscape Supply on S.R. 54, just west of Eiland Blvd. and across the street from the New River Branch Library, owner Elijah Pratt says his family business is the culmination of generations of his family’s experience in the industry.
“Our family has worked in landscape businesses from my great-grandpa down to me,” says Elijah. From lawn maintenance, to landscaping maintenance and design, and now the garden center, the decades of experience help Elijah to understand what customers need when they visit One-Stop Landscape Supply.
Whether someone is looking for a few plants or wants a complete overhaul of their entire yard — or somewhere in between — One-Stop Landscape Supply is ready to help with a wide variety of products and exceptional customer service.
One-Stop stocks large varieties of beautiful plants (above), as well as flower pots and supplies (below).
“We have nursery and garden center expertise and plant knowledge,” says Elijah, “We pretty much always have someone walking around with you, talking through ideas and answering questions, such as which zone a specific plant goes in or how a certain tree will work in a specific location in your yard.”
Many times, that person walking around with you is One-Stop store manager Jay Ewanish. While he’s not part of the family ownership that includes Elijah and his dad, Matt, Jay has been at the store since it opened in July 2020.
“We’re a family-owned business, so we take a lot of pride and joy in our work,” Jay says. “We always have smiles on our faces.”
Jay explains that he previously worked for his brother in a family-owned business, so he takes his responsibility very seriously. In a corporate environment, a single employee might not be too concerned if each and every customer is happy, but it’s different at One-Stop.
“It’s just plants, but people take pride in their lawns here in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa,” Jay says. “So, I learn more, to be sure I’m giving out the right information.”
Jay adds that the store’s Google reviews — an average of 4.9 out of 5.0 stars — speak for themselves, as many customers rave about the great experience they’ve had, and often mention Jay and Elijah by name.
“People pick us because of the knowledge we have and the pride we take in everything we do,” Jay says. “We go above and beyond for every customer.”
Chuck Battino lives in Forest Oaks in Wesley Chapel and says he’s a frequent customer of One-Stop Landscape Supply, purchasing many palm trees, shrubs, topsoil and mulch since the store opened three years ago.
“When you call,” Chuck says, “there’s always someone knowledgeable who can answer your questions and give you recommendations.”
He adds that when he bought his new home, it needed a lot of landscaping work. Purchasing a few items at a time from One-Stop Landscape Supply was a budget-friendly way to improve his yard over time. He says every recommendation given to him has worked out well.
“I’ve lived in Wesley Chapel for 10 years and, based on my experience, I can say they are the best — the most accommodating and the least expensive company in the area.”
Chuck adds that he often takes advantage of the delivery service, which has impressed him. “The delivery staff is well trained and they are hardworking people,” Chuck says. “Most of the time they can deliver within a few hours and it’s right to my home.”
In addition to the wide variety of plants and trees at One-Stop Landscape Supply, the store offers a selection of rocks, mulch and soil. Its 3,000-sq.-ft. warehouse also is stocked with fertilizers, irrigation products and tools.
Elijah says he works with many homeowners who have just moved into a new home. Often, they’ve built a new house and want to upgrade their builder-grade landscaping. But, some homeowners call or stop in after they have purchased a home that’s new to them and they want to re-do their entire yard.
For those clients, Elijah schedules an appointment to come to your home for a free consultation, then uses software to map out a design for your front yard, back yard, or whatever area of your home you want to spruce up. He then provides an estimate that can include delivery and installation.
He says that, typically, homeowners are looking for low-maintenance plants and materials, so once they are installed, they don’t require a lot of time or effort to sustain.
Elijah adds that many new customers find One-Stop Landscape Supply when they see what a great job the company did for one of their neighbors.
“We’ll do one house in a section of a neighborhood we haven’t been in before,” he says, “and, all of a sudden, a bunch of the neighbors are calling.”
Since One-Stop opened in July 2020, its customers have had to navigate ongoing road work on S.R. 54 in front of the store. While that has been a challenge, Elijah hopes the end is finally in sight.
“We’ve been told the construction will be completed in August,” he says, “and then, we’ll finally be able to put up a sign.”
He hopes the sign will help his business to be more visible to passers-by and help customers find it more easily.
Coming from the west, One-Stop Landscape Supply is on the right and is easy to turn into. However, coming from the east, Elijah says there’s now a median, so customers need to pass One-Stop on the left, then make a U-turn to get back to the store. Alternately, he says anyone coming from the east can turn left at the new Taco Bell. That road leads to a back gate at the store that is open whenever the store is open, allowing drivers to get to One-Stop without having to make that U-turn.
One-Stop Landscape Supply (34100 S.R. 54) is open Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. For more information, follow One-Stop Landscape Supply on Facebook (@OneStopLandscapeLLC) and Instagram (@OneStopLandscape). Or, call (813) 355-3480, visit OneStopLandscape.com.
