If you havenโt yet tried the new Greenlane Salads and Wraps drive-through location at 24801 S.R. 54 in Lutz (next to Los Chapos Tacos and the now-closed Fazoliโs), photographer Charmaine George, Jannah and I all urge you to go ahead and give it a shot.
We all agree that co-founders Chris Kern (above) and former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski are onto something with this growing local mini-chain that is now up to five locations.ย
We all have our own favorites โ Jannah loves The Gronk wrap above left (sheโs also now had it as a salad bowl), with roasted broccoli (which Jannah calls โamazingโ), roasted sweet potatoes, crispy bacon, green onions and cheddar Jack cheese on a bed of romaine lettuce with Greenlane Goddess dressing. Charmaineโs fave is the Tuscan Sun salad bowl (right), with pepperoncini, crispy chickpeas, marinated mozzarella, salami, grape tomatoes and Italian vinaigrette on a bed of romaine. She liked it with the grilled steak shown below, but says she definitely will try it with the grilled chicken next time.ย
I already have three favorites โ the caprese salad (bottom left), with nut-free basil pesto mozzarella, Florida ripe cherry tomatoes and house-made balsamic vinaigrette; the ginger sesame crunch wrap (below) and the Cobb wrap. You can order any of these as a wrap or a salad and everything is customizable to your exact specifications. There also are smoothies and slushies on the menu. In our eyes and tastebuds, Greenlane is a winner! For more info or to order, visit GoGreenlane.com. โ GN, photos by Charmaine George
The Pasco County Librariesโ newest addition โ the Wesley Chapel (WC) Library at Seven Oaks โ is finally open (after nearly two full years of construction) and pretty much everyone we spoke with since the library opened on Feb. 23 has been thrilled with the cozy new 14,000-sq.-ft. (with a 13,000-sq.-ft. interior; the other 1,000 sq. ft. is a covered outdoor โreading porchโ), $11-million library.
โItโs a little smaller than I expected,โ said one young mom, โbut this childrenโs reading area (photo, above and below left picture) is amazing!โย
Although branch manager Julie Shepherd (at right in right photo) couldnโt tell me on opening day exactly how large that childrenโs area is, but, by my estimate, it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000-sq.- ft. If accurate, that would mean it takes up more than a third of the libraryโs inside space, with shelves full of cool kids books and interesting spaces for parents to read to their kids.ย
But, the libraryโs overall size is a little small, especially when compared with the Land OโLakes Library (18,000+ sq. ft.) or the New Tampa Regional Library (25,000-sq. ft.).
โBut, I think itโs a wonderful space,โ said Roz Fenton (below right photo), the president of the countywide Friends of the Library, who was on hand for the opening. โDid you see the art on the entrance walls? That was all done by Pasco County Library staff members. Fabulous, right?โย
In addition to books, magazines and the โLibrary of Thingsโ โ a collection of non-traditional, check-outable items, including adaptive toys, Wi-Fi hotspots, ukuleles, bird-watching kits and board games designed for enrichment and exploration โ the library also features public computers, printers, collaborative spaces, a gallery wall in the lobby, an outdoor event lawn and a multi-purpose room for makerspace and other activities.
Pasco Library Friends president Roz Fentonย
Thereโs also a sizable meeting room, and a number of study rooms, including a specially-designed teen study room. Drive-up services also are available at this location, which has its entrance on Mystic Oak Blvd., next to Seven Oaks Elementary.
Thereโs no doubt that the opening day was a soft opening, attended by only a few dozen people โ many of whom (including Jannah and yours truly) were signing up for library cards โ and that all of the new libraryโs programming wasnโt yet in place.
Here are the activities scheduled for the rest of March & April at the WC Library:
Thursday, March 19, 4 p.m. โ Wesley Chapel Book Club: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Every Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. โ Preschool Story Time
Every Friday, 10:30 a.m. โ Toddler Story Time
Monday, March 23, 4 p.m. โ Teen Advisory Board & Volunteer Info Session
Wednesday, March 25, 6 p.m. โ Adult Volunteer Info Session
Wednesday, April 15, 4:30 p.m. โ Adult Literacy New Tutor Training
Thursday, April 16, 4 p.m. โ Wesley Chapel Book Club: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Wednesdays, April 22 & 29, 6 p.m. โ English Conversation Corner
Wednesday, April 29, 5 p.m. โ Adult Volunteer Orientation
What About Those โMakerspaces?โ
โWeโre going to be hosting our โMobile Makerspaceโ at the Wesley Chapel branch,โ Shepherd told me the day the WC Library opened. โThe idea is to bring the best of all of our other makerspaces to Wesley Chapel and offer a variety of different services.โ
Among those makerspaces, each of which will be making appearances at the WC Library in the future, are the following:
โข โThe Loftโ studio arts, painting, photo digitalization and arts & crafts, from the Centennial Park Library
โข โThe Ingenuity Labโ STEAM area, with KEVA planks & LEGOยฎ bricks, from the Hugh Embry Library
โข โStudio Hโ multimedia studio for record demos & podcasts and to practice instruments, from the Hudson Library
Part of the Pasco Library staff Art Showย
โข โThe Foundryโ complete wood shop, plus fabric arts & crafts center, from the Land OโLakes Library
โข โDiscovery Gardensโ community garden, butterfly garden & gardening demonstrations, from the New River Library
โข โRegency Freshโ full test kitchen with cooking demonstrations and the chance to try new recipes, from the Regency Park Library
โข โClayworksโ ceramics studio, from the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center
Shepherd also said that the large lawn outside of the library will be able to host a variety of cultural events, including concerts, movie nights and more. โAnd, we definitely will have a great relationship with the [Seven Oaks] elementary school next door,โ Shepherd said. โThe childrenโs reading area will be open anytime the library is and we will be able to host story times and even kidsโ performances in that room.โ
The Wesley Chapel Library at Seven Oaks is located at 27531 Mystic Oak Blvd. It is open Mon. & Wed. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Tues. & Thur. & 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. It is closed on Sun. For more info, visit PascoLibraries.org.
Whether you or someone you know is 16, 36 or 76 but has always loved to write โ and would like to get paid for those efforts โ I hope youโll read and respond to this editorial.
As I have periodically throughout my 32 years of owning and being the editor of the Neighborhood News, I am looking once again for additional freelance writers to help me continue to provide more news and information about the New Tampa and explosively-still-growing Wesley Chapel areas than any other local medium โ whether print, broadcast or online.
Even if youโve never had anything published before, send me your resumรฉ and something youโve written โ on any topic โ both of which you have checked carefully for spelling and grammatical errors, to my attention (see ad, above) at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com.ย
If you are sending a clip, please donโt send me three or four. All I need is ONE piece of 300 to no more than 1,000 words that indicates your ability to write in English (not text-speak), tell a story with full sentences and, if possible, one that uses a few quotes that shows that you know how to use them (and quotation marks) properly.
Please also note that if youโre going to send me a link to a web page or social media site, that the first thing I see needs to be your strongest work because I probably wonโt get to the second item on the site/page if the first thing I see doesnโt grab my attention.
So, whether you have a journalism or English background or not, or any professional writing experience or not, all I am looking for are people who are interested in being part of the Neighborhood News family who are willing to learn.
In other words, if you think you already know everything there is to know about writing, this probably isnโt the right freelance opportunity for you. Thatโs why Iโm fine working with young people โ as long as theyโre willing to work, follow directions and can submit stories on deadline. Just please be prepared for a lot of edits and comments about each piece from me.
If youโre interested in writing news stories, Iโm particularly interested in people who are willing to do actual research for those stories, not just regurgitate what they find on Chat GPT or any other Artificial Intelligence app.
All successful applicants also should be prepared to have to write the Business Feature stories that appear towards the center of each issue, even if you tell me youโre more interested in news, sports, features, human interest or online stories.
Youโll still get to write those, too, but our advertisers tell us that the Business Features provide them with the best response they receive from any local media, so I do still need them.
So, send me something and letโs go from there. Good luck โ and no phone calls, please!
Iโm so glad our photographer Charmaine George was able to be on hand for the โInside the Studioโ wine & cheese event at the Tampa City Ballet (TCB) studio at 15365 Amberly Dr., in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms. The event was hosted by TCB founder and artistic director Paula Nuรฑez (right in photo) and Board member Marguerite Pinard (left in same photo) and featured demonstration dances by TCBโs super-talented professional dancers, as well as a vocal performance by Coloratura Soprano Daniela Mass, (below left), plus wine, cheese and many TCB supporters and joyous attendees.
Up next for TCB isย โDance Now,โย Tampa Bayโs (FREE) Dance Festival, with hundreds of dancers from Bay-area dance troupes of all genres. It will be held at Tampaโs Water Works Park (next to Ulele Restaurant) onย Sunday, March 15, 4 p.m. For more info, see the ad below or visit TampaCityBallet.org.ย โ GN
Yard House Unconfirmed But Now Rumored To Be The Front Runner To Replace Bahama Breeze On S.R. 56ย
Above is an absolutely not-to-scale NN composite map showing the existing businesses on the south side of Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. between Old Pasco Rd. & Gateway Blvd., with the site plan for the now-under-construction Gateway Plaza Retail Center superimposed to show the approximate location of Olive Garden (believed to be โRestaurant #1โ on map) and Seasons 52 (believed to be โRestaurant #2โ). The project also will include a dental office that will have its entrance off Gateway Blvd. The map shows Centerline Dr., which starts behind Slim Chickens, intersecting with the new plaza, but does not properly show where WC Blvd. & Gateway Blvd. connect to it. (NN-created map sources: Google Maps & Pasco County)
The restaurant rumor mill in the Wesley Chapel area has been swirling even more recently, with the previously announced planned closure and rebranding of the Bahama Breeze Island Grill on the north side of S.R. 56.
At almost the same time, the previously announced Olive Garden restaurant, located at the intersection of Wesley Chapel Blvd. (aka S.R. 54), Gateway Blvd. and Centerline Dr. (see map), began clearing the land for the Gateway Plaza Retail Center with Olive Garden, a dental office and a second previously unnamed restaurant.
After reading on one of the local Facebook groups that the second restaurant was going to be Seasons 52, I then had my research guy and correspondent Joel Provenzano look into the development plan and Joel did find that Seasons 52 is indeed the second restaurant coming to that site โ even though Seasons 52 also was announced as one of the Darden Restaurant brands that could replace Bahama Breeze on S.R. 56.
We will keep you posted on the progress of Olive Garden and Seasons 52, but having those two Darden Brands now coming to Wesley Chapel Blvd. less than 5 miles from Bahama Breeze, seems to have narrowed even further the possible options to replace the island-themed eatery across from the Tampa Premium Outlets.
The Wesley Chapel areaโs existing Darden Brands already include Longhorn Steakhouse, Chuyโs, Cheddars Scratch Kitchen and now Olive Garden and Seasons 52.
That leaves only Dardenโs most upscale restaurants โ Eddie Vโs Prime Seafood, Ruthโs Chris Steak House and The Capital Grille, plus Yard House sports pub, with Yard House rumored (also in online chat weโve seen) to be the front runner. But, with Bahama Breeze still 12-18 months from being repurposed and no official announcement yet forthcoming from Darden, all we can say is weโll keep you posted.
