The latest addition to the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. in Wesley Chapel is a street hockey rink, which New Tampa resident Joe Rao drove up to try out one day recently. The rink, part of a partnership between the Tampa Bay Lighting and Pasco County, will host leagues this spring, whenever Covid-19 allows. (Photos: Charmaine George)
The Wesley Chapel District Park (WCDP) on Boyette Rd. may not be as large as the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus a few miles to its south (see pgs. 8-10), but its own little mini-sports campus is rounding into shape nicely.
The latest addition is a new Tampa Bay Lightning-sponsored street, or ball, hockey rink, which officially opened a few days before Christmas. It was constructed just a few steps away from WCDP’s new 17,800-sq.-ft. indoor basketball facility, which broke ground in July and is expected to open by late summer 2021.
“It’s nice to see the park growing and offering more and more opportunities for kids to play different sports,” said District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who has coached a variety of youth teams at WCDP, but the only basketball and volleyball offered at the park has previously been only outdoors.
In a public-private partnership between the Stanley Cup champion Lighting and Pasco County, two street hockey rinks were built in Pasco — one in Holiday, at the J. Ben Harrill Recreation Center, and the other at WCDP.
The virtually-held ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rinks were held in Holiday and were attended by Tampa Bay Lightning CEO Steve Griggs, former Lightning general manager and 2004 Stanley Cup Champion Jay Feaster, former Lightning defenseman Jassen Cullimore and Stanley Cup captain Dave Andreychuk.
“We are very proud to open these two rinks today as part of our pledge to build 10 ball hockey rinks across the Tampa Bay area,” said Griggs. “These two rinks that we opened will give local youth the opportunity to get outside and play the great game of hockey. The Lightning would like to thank Pasco County for their enthusiasm and support in helping us make this a reality for everyone in Pasco County.”
The other rinks the Lightning have opened in the Tampa Bay area are in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Polk counties. They are of the Lightning’s Build The Thunder 2.0 and Connect the Thunder outreach programs. In 2015, through the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) Industry Growth Fund, the Lightning announced a $6 million grass roots hockey development initiative to be delivered to young people throughout the Bay area.
The NHL club finalized its agreement to build the two rinks in Pasco County last January.
Wesley Chapel already has the popular AdventHealth Center Ice — the largest indoor ice skating/hockey facility south of New York in the United States — so Pasco County was an ideal location, says Josh Dreith, the Lightning’s community manager.
“I love Pasco County,” he said. “There is a ton of Lightning fans in Pasco, and a ton of engaged kids as well.”
The county supplied the land and built the pads the rink is built on, and the Lightning built the actual rink, which is 120 feet long by 60 feet wide, has a full dasher-board system and a scoreboard. The Lightning also is providing the equipment, and will host a series of clinics to get the program going.
The county and Lightning will then coordinate actual league play, which could begin as early as March 2021, but will be dictated by Covid-19 conditions. The rink also will offer plenty of free play time to the public.
For more information, visit LightningMadeHockey.com.
Touch Nail Spa co-owner Timmy Pham invites New Tampa to check out the second location of Touch Nail Spa, which opened earlier this month in the Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., (next to Sprouts), where all of the nail and pedicure techs wear masks and gloves and all customers have to wear masks and wash their hands to enter the spa.
Long before Covid-19 changed how everyone does business, Touch Nail Spa in Wesley Chapel, which is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Timmy Pham and Tiffany Ha, specialized in cleanliness, excellent customer service and relaxing spaciousness. What started as a 3,200-sq.-ft. nail and beauty salon in 2017 expanded to nearly 5,000 square feet as the largest nail salon in Wesley Chapel.
Now, Timmy and Tiffany have their sights set on doing the same in New Tampa, where a second Touch Nail Spa officially opened Dec. 12 in The Village at Hunter’s Lake, in between The Coder School and Sprouts Farmer’s Market off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
To celebrate, Timmy and Tiffany are offering all customers 10 percent off any service through Jan. 12.
The new salon has all of Touch Nail Spa’s signature, well, touches — it is 3,500 square feet, boasts high ceilings for better ventilation, has rows of comfortable leather pedicure chairs lining the walls, and there are tables offering 32 manicure stations in between.
Like the popular Wesley Chapel location, Touch Nail Spa in New Tampa offers a relaxing and luxuriously-designed environment to enjoy a pedicure and manicure — appointments are encouraged for safety reasons — as well as some of the salon’s other offerings, including eyelash extensions, waxing, facials and even licensed massages.
“We try to make this an experience,” says Timmy. “We want people to come in and go, ‘Wow, that is beautiful.’ And then, our customer service completes the package.”
As for Touch Nail’s Covid-19 safety precautions, Timmy and Tiffany have continued what they already were doing in the first salon — Timmy called it “flawlessly clean, with all tools and surfaces constantly being sanitized” last year, before coronavirus — and takes it to another level.
When you walk in, you are greeted by a sign asking you to walk to the back on the salon, where two sinks are set up for hand washing, which all customers are required to do. Masks are available for those who may have forgotten theirs, and hand sanitizer also is readily available.
Once you are ready to go, Touch Nail Spa offers a complimentary beverage with every service, such as water, soda or even wine, which is served in a chilled glass (limit one per adult customer with proper I.D.). Timmy also is proud of the extra touch of keeping the drinking glasses for customers in a glass cooler, keeping them free of dust and germs.
Although there are 32 stations for manicures, only every other one or two is in use, to create proper social distancing. And, plexiglass partitions separate the technicians from their customers, with enough room on the bottom to comfortably slide your hands through.
The pedicure chairs look as expensive as they are — which Timmy says is $4,500 a pop. And, he is quick to show you that he can walk in between each one.
“We don’t pile customers on top of each other,” he says. “Lots of room here.”
There are 22 pedicure chairs in all, which can accommodate big groups or parties in non-pandemic times (or socially-distanced groups currently).
The chairs are a soft brown leather, and the foot baths are colored gold and have adjustable leg rests. As an extra layer of protection, the foot baths are covered by a disposable plastic liner held in place by elastic, preventing the spread of foot fungus and bacteria.
“Between each customer, we sanitize and clean the chair and the liner goes in the trash,” Timmy says. “It’s very clean.”
While the pandemic has been particularly hard on salons, Timmy says he still has roughly 45 employees in Wesley Chapel and, as business ramps up, New Tampa will probably have the same. For now, he has brought some of his best technicians, all of whom are State-licensed in cosmetology, over for the launch of the New Tampa Touch Nail Spa. “Our customer service is what sets us apart,” Timmy says. “They love what they do. They know how to make the customers happy. We listen to them, and they leave happy.”
A variety of spa manicures and pedicures are offered, and even the “Simple Touch” pedicure (just $27) includes a callus treatment, pineapple sugar scrub, hot towel wrap and lotion massage, along with nail trimming and shaping, buffing and cuticle grooming.
For an even more spa-like experience, a variety of “Hot Touch” and “Organic Touch” pedicures are offered ($47-$62). These include a hot stone massage for your legs and feet, plus additional treatments — such as specialized exfoliation for the bottom of the feet and a mask for legs and heels. Timmy says the Orange Burst and Milk & Honey pedicures are among his most popular.
Touch Nail Spa also offers discounted prices for children under the age of 11.
You can add additional services like French and gel polish, or dipping power, acrylic nails and nail design.
The new Touch Nail Spa has “every color” of nail polish, as well as state-of-the-art pedicure chairs. Your safety is always at the forefront at Touch Nail Spa, where all surfaces are sanitized regularly and nail techs wear masks and gloves and are separated from their manicure clients by plexiglass shields.(Photos by Charmaine George)
And, just like at the Wesley Chapel location, the color choices are seemingly limitless. Touch Nail Spa carries roughly 1,700 colors, available in both regular polish and gel, giving you access to 3,400 bottles of colors. For those who prefer dipping powders, which add a layer to your nails that is as strong as acrylic but healthier for your nails, there are 2,000 choices.
“We have every color,” Timmy says.
Touch Nail also offers deals for its customers. Timmy says if you come in on your birthday and purchase two services, you’ll receive 50-percent off the more expensive service. You must show ID that it is your actual birthdate, as the offer is not valid any other day.
The salon also offers a new customer reward program. Upon arrival, sign in on one of Touch Nail’s iPads, and register for your free membership. Rewards members receive 1 point for every dollar spent, and when you reach 500 points, you receive $25 off a pedicure service.
You also can now purchase e-gift cards for both locations online at the spa’s website, TouchNailAndSpa.com.
There are more than 50,000 nail salons in the country, and many are barely surviving due to the dangers presented by Covid-19.
Timmy says his two locations aren’t immune to the pandemic’s reach, but unlike other salons, Touch Nail’s many layers of safety protocols allow the spas to offer the level of social distancing that your typical strip center salon can’t.
The New Tampa Touch Nail Spa (8630 Hunter’s Village Rd.) is open Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., and 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sun. Walk-ins and appointments are welcome. The Wesley Chapel Touch Nail (27233 S.R. 56) has the same hours as New Tampa.
To make an appointment at either location or for more info or call (813) 973-4111 or see the ad on pg. 18.
Club volleyball has been keeping the January calendar full at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.
If tourism is going to bounce back from the Covid-19-ravaged 2020, a series of spikes, dunks, cheers and racquet sports will have a lot to do with it.
At least that’s how it looks to Pasco County tourism director Adam Thomas, who says that after a tough year for tourism around the world, events are returning to Pasco’s “sports tourism” sites, including the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, Advent Health Center Ice and the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis Center — all part of the county’s “Florida’s Sports Coast” branding.
Thomas says the three facilities have 14 events scheduled for the first two months of the year, with many more to come, as national governing bodies like USA Volleyball, USA Wrestling, USA Powerlifting and others look to take advantage of Florida’s open-for-business status and have eyed the Wesley Chapel-area to hold events.
“We are just now getting back to normalcy,” Thomas says, despite rising Covid numbers in Pasco, in Florida and around the nation. “We are looking at sports tourism in 2021 to really get us back to where we need to be.”
One event that won’t provide as much help as originally expected is Super Bowl LV, which is being played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 7. Generally, a huge event like the Super Bowl would have a major economic impact on nearby Wesley Chapel, with visitors staying in local hotels and eating and shopping at local restaurants and stores.
But, Covid-19 protocols will limit the crowd at Raymond James Stadium, which can hold 65,890 fans, to roughly 20,000 for the Big Game.
Thomas thinks Wesley Chapel will still enjoy some benefit from the Super Bowl, but in October, Pasco backed out of plans to spend $250,000 on a Super Bowl sponsorship and instead use that money for something more likely to bring a bigger return to the county.
So, while the Big Game won’t make as much of an impact, hundreds of little ones will — and that’s fine with Richard Blalock, the CEO of RADDSports, which runs the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, thanks to a public-private partnership between Pasco and RADD Sports.
The 98,000-sq.ft. AdventHealth Sports Arena will host a variety of club sporting events in 2021, bringing hundreds of teams and players and their parents’ wallets to Wesley Chapel.
The January calendar was filled with volleyball tournaments and gymnastics meets. Volleyball and gymnastics club seasons will roll into a basketball club season in the spring, and then the camp season over the summer. The Sports Campus is already proving to be responsible for a lot of hotel room nights and money spent at Wesley Chapel restaurants, malls and shopping centers, as nearly every weekend is booked through August and even Covid-plagued 2020 proved to be a success.
“We are not one-sport-specific, and that helps us,” Blalock says. “We made that decision by design. We can run a multitude of events here. As one season ends, another is starting.”
Blalock says in August and September of 2020, the first six weeks the Sports Campus was open, its events were responsible for 1,800 hotel room nights and just over $150,000 in sales, resulting in a $1.2-million indirect impact on the local economy.
He doesn’t have numbers yet for the rest of 2020, but Blalock says he expects to exceed those numbers in 2021. He says this while staring out his office window at construction workers laying masonry blocks on the fourth floor of the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, which is being built adjacent to the arena on the Spots Campus site and is expected to open around the first week in August.
But, 2021 also is planned to include an NFL-style combine for pro football hopefuls, organized by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Yo Murphy, as well as the possibility of European soccer teams camping here prior to their fall 2021 seasons.
Hockey Tourism, Too
Thomas says the Sports Campus isn’t the only local venue to have a slew of events booked to meet pent up demand. AHCI currently is hosting a six-week United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) camp — a college and pro showcase with hundreds of players staying at Saddlebrook Resort and playing games at AHCI — as well as in Ellenton and Brandon.
The USPHL’s Hub City concept is designed in part to make up for the loss of games and exposure events for players last year, especially from hockey areas hit particularly hard by Covid-19, like the northeastern U.S.
Because so many events were cancelled last year and so many seasons went unfinished, Thomas anticipates eager event organizers to be heading our way.
“Our event calendar looks pretty promising,” he says.
The SVB Tennis Center in Zephyrhills is attracting sports tourism with growing sports like padel (photo) and pickleball.
The county won’t recover in one year, Thomas adds. He believes the Covid-19 vaccine will help make people more comfortable when it comes to travel and attending larger events, but that change will take a while. While 2021 is expected to put the Florida Sports Coast back on track, Thomas says the tourism industry is looking at 2023 before a full recovery can probably be expected.
“It’s going to take some time,” he says. “We’re still licking our wounds.”
When the pandemic hit last year, the county was coming off a record-setting February. March began the nosedive, and when the state was shut down for much of April, the county saw its tourist tax revenue drop to below $100,000 for the month, down from $430,000 in tourist tax collected in April 2019.
There is some good news, even if it is anecdotal — Thomas says the last weekend of 2020 saw 6.2 -percent growth, with almost 40 percent hotel occupancy. “We had a really good week,” he says. “Hopefully we’ll continue to see that.”
In fact, Lisa Moore, the market director of sales for the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel on S.R. 56 says, “We’ve been at or near 100% occupancy every weekend since the Sports Campus opened. It (2020) was a tough year, but things are looking better now.”
The rendering above shows the planned flyover entrance to I-75 at the new Overpass Rd. interchange (Exit 282), which began construction in October and is expected to be completed by 2023. (Rendering: FDOT)
Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore says one of the most common complaints he receives from his constituents is about the traffic, especially here in Wesley Chapel. Before too long, however, he says many of those complaints will go away.
“There’s a lot going on, and a lot of (transportation) projects are kind of coming together at once and are going to make an enormous and immediate impact,” Moore says.
Three major local road projects, totalling nearly $150 million combined, are under way right now. The projects — the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at S.R. 56 and I-75, the widening of S.R. 54 to past Morris Bridge Rd., and a new I-75 interchange at Overpass Rd. — will provide a large measure of relief to our area.
The widening of S.R. 54 (pictured here is the intersection of SR 54 and Meadow Pointe Blvd., as of December 13, 2020) is one of three major road projects, along with Overpass Rd. and the DDI, currently under construction in Wesley Chapel. (Photo: FDOT)
The $33-million DDI (which we’ve updated for you quite a bit recently) and the $42.5-million widening project — which will widen S.R. 54 from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with medians, and include a sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot wide multi-use trail on the south side — are both well under way.
Meanwhile, the $70-million Overpass Rd. interchange will be located approximately halfway between the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits (which are six miles apart), and work began on the project in October, with local road and drainage work in the southwest corner of the planned interchange.
Instead of a traditional interchange, or even another DDI (which was considered), the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Pasco County have settled on a flyover ramp onto southbound I-75 from westbound Overpass Rd., similar to the one in New Tampa at the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. Exit 270 off I-75. The Overpass Rd. interchange will be Pasco County’s first flyover.
The existing Overpass Rd. bridge over I-75 is being torn down and will be replaced by two bridges, one each for eastbound and westbound traffic on Overpass Rd.
“You could say incorporating that particular design is the wave of the future,” Moore says. “We’re not going have to have to go back and fix something like what’s going on with S.R. 56 and I-75. With that interchange, it’s just going to be general maintenance.”
FDOT’s John McShaffrey says the flyover configuration was selected “primarily because this alternative provides the most capacity to handle anticipated future traffic demands for the westbound Overpass Rd. to southbound I-75 traffic movement.”
The project also will include the widening of Overpass Rd. from two lanes to four lanes between the interstate and Old Pasco Rd., and from two lanes to six lanes between the interstate and Boyette Rd.
The interchange is being constructed by the Middlesex Corporation, and is expected to have a major effect on the adjacent interchanges. It was the best choice to accommodate the traffic from future development coming to the east side of the county, primarily from the Epperson Ranch and Pasadena Hills communities.
Other benefits of the I-75/Overpass Rd.) interchange, according to FDOT:
* It will substantially reduce traffic at the adjacent interchanges (SR 54 & SR 52), thus improving the traffic flow at both of these interchanges (reducing delays and improving safety).
* It will provide a detour route for traffic on I-75, quicker access for first responders servicing this area of I-75, and another access point to I-75 for evacuees during emergency evacuations.
* It is an integral part of the transportation network being developed in this growing area of the county, and is identified as a needed improvement to accommodate the Villages of Pasadena Hills development and the Connected Cities development.
* Will improve access to I-75 for businesses that will be located at the approved Overpass Business Center, and will provide a direct route for businesses that are/will be located along the entire length of Overpass Rd., as it develops eastbound towards U.S. 301.
* FDOT and the county both acknowledge that the existing system, even with reasonable improvements, is incapable of satisfactorily accommodating future traffic demands. The location of this new Exit 282 Overpass Rd. interchange is ideal in terms of placement (approximately 3 miles from both Exit 285, or SR 52, and Exit 279, or SR 54).
The estimated completion time of the Overpass Rd./I-75 interchange is summer 2023. The DDI and widening of S.R. 54 could be completed by the end of this year.
“I’m excited as a resident and as someone who has a wife and daughter that drive,” Moore says. “We see the effects the traffic has. But, also as an economic impact, too. When companies are looking to grow or relocate, they are looking for areas that have a great transportation infrastructure.”
The All-New Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment Is Opening Soon & You Definitely Need To Check It Out!
When you’ve been in the local news business as long as I have, you hear a lot of people do a lot of talking, but very few back up their words with solid action.
Considering that developer Mark Gold of Mishorim Gold Properties has only owned The Grove shopping center development for about a year, you’d think there’d be no way he could back up everything he promised to do when he spent more than $64 million to buy The Grove in late 2019.
And you’d be wrong.
Since then, during the worst pandemic of our lifetimes, Gold has turned The Grove area he calls “The Village” from a mostly vacant mess into a vibrant new destination anchored by Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant and Double Branch Artisanal Ales, with much more to come.
Closer to the Outback Steak House, Gold already has begun delivering on another promise — to create a container park that will dwarf Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa by sometime this year.
But now, Gold has done something that certainly seemed impossible when he took over the former Cobb 16 Theater at The Grove towards the end of last summer — he’s not only ready to reopen it, he’s completely transformed it into The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment — and he promises the formerly failed movie theater he and his team have totally overhauled in less than six months will be a safe, family-friendly experience that will attract visitors from far beyond the borders of Wesley Chapel.
“South Tampa will come here to see this,” Gold promises. “There’s nothing else like this in the U.S.”
I’ll admit I was excited when Mark Gold and his team took us on an exclusive tour of all of the unique entertainment options that will be available right here in Wesley Chapel when The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment opens to the public sometime after this issue reaches your mailbox.
The Grove Theater will have 12 new-release movie theaters, including six VIP sections upstairs, with literally the most comfortable reclining theater seats you’ll find anywhere. But, that’s just the beginning.
In addition to a huge arcade stocked with 43 giant-sized video games near the entrance, The Grove also has one theater that will be solely for children in a safe, supervised environment.
“It’s going to be like a nanny room,” Mark says. “Parents can feel comfortable leaving their kids while they have dinner or watch their own movie.”
Another will be home to a “Spin Theater,” equipped with competition-style stationary bikes, both for top athletes to use for training and for those who want to exercise while watching a movie. There will be instructor-led classes, as well as open spin classes.
Still another theater will be available for rent for private parties and events. “For a birthday party, you can rent the theater for $300-$400, pick whatever movie you want and we’ll screen it just for you,” Mark says.
Plus, yet another theater will be offering Broadway and other professionally produced shows that Mark says will be brought in by a professional theatre company.
And finally, as we announced in our Sept. 29, 2020, issue, one theater will be the concert-style-seating home of SideSplitters Comedy Club. There’s even a SideSplitters reception area near the completely reconfigured movie concession stand. SideSplitters, of course, has a popular location on N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood, where top-level comics, as well as yours truly and members of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel have performed.
A True Dining Experience
But, best of all, Gold also has transformed the theater’s second-floor dining and bar area into a legitimate high-end bistro, complete with a sushi bar and Italian-trained Head Chef Wissam (“Sam”) Itani.
“It’s a chef-driven concept,” says Grove Theater manager Tom Peck. “We’ll have everything from Mediterranean items like chicken shawarma, steaks, salmon, you name it.”
Peck adds that the whole concept is to keep guests at the Grove Theater for longer than the average 2-1/2 hours spent at most theaters by the average moviegoer. “We’re not just a movie theater,,” Peck says. “We’re both a great restaurant and the greatest entertainment experience ever.”
Concerned about safety these days? Who isn’t? But, Gold and his team have that covered, too!
“I think we’re #1 in safety out of all the movie theaters in the country,” says VP of operations Matheus Gold. “We have fog machines sanitizing each theater after every movie, disinfecting UV lights, temperature and mask checks when you enter and hand sanitizing stations everywhere.”
In other words, if you live anywhere near Wesley Chapel, you should definitely check out the all-new Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment. There’s literally nothing else like it.
“This is a totally new concept that is the future of movie theaters in the U.S.,” Mark says. “Everyone really needs to come see this place.”
For more info about The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment, visit GroveShopping.com.
