Football season has arrived which, for many people, also means grilling season. With cooler weather (finally) around the corner, it’s time to invite those fantasy football buddies over for some beer, beef and football. It also might be time to upgrade your grill game.

Gas N Grills, located on Livingston Ave. just north of E. Bearss Ave. and a 1.2-mile west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., likely has everything you need to make all of your friends envious.

Not only does the location offer grilling accessories, charcoal, wood chips and propane. The store’s selection of gas and other grills also can help transform your outdoor cooking space into a charming culinary oasis.

Gas N Grills owner Joe Baker says that while it is tough to compete against the bigger box stores and online shopping, those who prefer to spend their money with smaller, local businesses will be pleasantly surprised by the quality offered at his store, which has been located in the same plaza since 1989.

“We specialize in high-end grills,” Joe says. “You get a good product here, not the cheap stuff. Good quality products, with good warranties.”

What you won’t find at Gas N Grills are the same, basic $199 grills you see lined up outside the big box stores, especially during the spring and summer.

At his store, Joe offers everything from simple Broil Master grills to a number of high-priced stainless steel beauties from top name brands like Alfresco, Blaze and Tec.

Alfresco grills are made in the USA, Joe says Blaze is his best seller and boasts commercial-grade cast stainless steel burners, as well as a lifetime warranty, and Tec uses infrared heating, which puts a good char on your meat. All are ideal for any outdoor kitchen, according to Joe.

Joe also sells the Weber brand, arguably the most popular and highly-rated grill in the country. 

Naturally, any grill store would be incomplete these days without kamado grills, which are the popular kettle-shaped grills with a ceramic shell that offer both charcoal grilling and smoking versatility.

At Gas N Grills, Joe sells the Saffire Grills, which are similar to the more-well-known Big Green Egg grills but are even higher quality, he says.

The Saffire uses charcoal, and can be used to grill, smoke, bake, roast and BBQ. Not only can you cook steaks and burgers on it, you also can slow-cook some ribs, and even use it to make a true wood-fired pizza, if you so desire.

“It gives you better results than a regular grill,” Joe says. “The food stays so juicy that once you eat food cooked on it, you will never go back to just a ‘regular’ grill.”

The Saffire grills are definitely a little pricey — although they are available in multiple sizes, a medium-sized one will set you back about $1,000 — but they all come with a lifetime warranty and Joe says it will probably be the last grill you’ll ever buy.

In fact, that’s the case with many of the grills Joe sells at Gas N Grills, which are more for the dedicated and serious grilling enthusiasts who like to cook outdoors more than they do inside, moreso than the usual weekend chefs just looking to cook up a few burgers and hot dogs every once in a while.

“We target those customers who are looking for a better cooking experience,” Joe says. ”People who know the difference are very interested in what we have. Spending $1,000, though, may be overkill for some people. But, I have customers who cook on their grills five times a week.”

At Gas N Grills, the high-end grill choices feature large cooking areas and added perks like rotisserie kits, side burners, adjustable warming racks, shelves, cabinet storage and even blue LED lights for nighttime grilling.

Gas N Grills also sells camping stoves, turkey fryers, pizza ovens and grilling accessories, like a wide variety of different types of smoking wood with some flavors that Joe says you cannot find anywhere else.

Gas N Grills also specializes in various grill replacement parts, which can be ordered in-store or online and are a big part the store’s business. Even during Covid-19, when parts are hard to come by, Joe was able to help out customer Charles Sailor.

“I was looking for igniters for my (grill),” Sailor wrote in a review. “No one had it or it was back ordered 10 days. Also, this was all during the Covid-19 stay at home. I called Gas N Grills, (Joe) answered the phone and was very helpful…. ordered both parts on a Wednesday and (it came on Thursday). Efficient, quick and very helpful. If you have a hard time getting or finding parts, this is the place. I dealt with five other companies, but this was the only one that came through for me.”

Gas N Grills is located at 14615 Livingston Ave. For more information, visit GasNGrills.com or call (813) 972-4984.

There’s little doubt that, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the past two years have been especially tough to deal with for most of us.

For many people, whether or not to wear masks everywhere we go, whether or not to take a Covid-19 vaccine and not being able to go out to eat, to a movie, sporting event or concert has put more strain on us emotionally than perhaps any other situation in most of our lifetimes.

That’s where Brian Wilson, Ph.D., of Tampa Palms Psychology, comes in. Dr. Wilson (no relation to the co-founder of the Beach Boys rock group with the same name) says that although he doesn’t treat couples, adolescents or young children, he can help individual adults with a wide range of emotional problems — including depression, anxiety, work stress, aging, surviving abuse, dementia, compassion fatigue, insomnia, grief, relationship concerns and more — deal with their issues.

He also offers ongoing psychological treatment for people with chronic medical problems, including geriatric patients.

“These are challenging times,” he says, “so working with a skilled psychologist can help you navigate them with success. I am focused on helping you cope with the demands of the modern world through compassion, careful listening and comprehensive psychotherapy.”

Dr. Wilson graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville and earned both his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He also completed a psychology residency at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital, where he specialized in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as an adult generalist.

He has been practicing since 2003, and moved to Tampa in 2009 and to New Tampa in 2013. He says his private practice today is exclusively telehealth and, to that end, says that it was important to invest in good technology, with a nice computer and fast internet, even though he does also have a physical office location in Tampa Palms. He isn’t sure when he will begin seeing patients again in person, but says that transitioning to a telehealth-only practice hasn’t affected his ability to help his adult patients.

“The ripple effect of the Covid-19 pandemic is that everyone’s overall stress level is up,” Dr. Wilson says. “Even without Covid, however, many adults feel that there is often not enough time in the day to both accomplish our goals and care for ourselves. Responsibilities and commitments can be overwhelming. Raising children, pursuing career advancement, helping aging parents, retirement and coping with losses can leave us emotionally depleted. Such stressors and setbacks can feel even more difficult to manage with the state of affairs in the world.”

Because of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) rules, Dr. Wilson doesn’t offer online testimonials but he says he has had a lot of success treating veterans and others with PTSD, and says that many people’s fears and concerns about Covid-19 (especially for those who have lost loved ones or seen them hospitalized long-term, as well as medical professionals treating Covid patients) have caused many of the same issues.

“It helps to have a professional to talk to about these concerns,” he says. “A lot of my current patients have been referred to me by a friend or family member I’ve been able to help.”

And, while he says that word of mouth is still the best way to build a practice in his profession, he has had a lot of success with his ads in this publication, too. 

“Building a practice is very much a grassroots thing,” Dr. Wilson says. “But, I’ve found that the Neighborhood News is the best way to do that locally. My ads have generated a lot of calls.”

Dr. Wilson’s wife, Jessica, is a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs and they have a six-year-old son who attends Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms. And, even though he’s no Beach Boy, Wilson says that he enjoys not only playing, but also buying, selling and refurbishing guitars (“to fund my habit”) and working out.

For appointments with Dr. Brian Wilson and more info about Tampa Palms Psychology, call (813) 491-9343 or visit TampaPalmsPsychology.com.