Here & There, This & That

By Gary Nager

To update an item that appeared in our last issue, the new Ciccio’s Cali (17004 Palm Pointe Blvd.; 975-1222) has opened in the former World of Beer location in the Shopees at The Pointe plaza in Tampa Palms (behind Olive Garden). Our office sampled a few delicious items at the new Ciccio’s since it opened in December and I have to say that although there are some menu items I miss at the new Ciccio’s, the brick-oven pizzas are crisper and better, the Cali bowls and stir-fry entrées (photo below) and grilled wrap sandwiches are still awesome.

Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel (322-3441) has opened, although right now, the new dealership (which is owned by the same group that owns the Wesley Chapel Hyundai and Mazda dealerships next door) is operating out of a trailer. Sales consultant Bobby Page says that Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel’s building will open in about a year.

The Wesley Chapel Village Market (S.R. 54 at BBD) will soon be home to Stonemill Artisan Bakery & Desserts. The shop, which should be open next to Vallarta’s and Woody’s Pizza & Wings within a couple of weeks as you receive this issue, is where you can expect to find gelato, ice cream, frozen yogurt, French pastries, authentic artisan breads, great coffee and more. We’ll keep you posted.

A&A Boutique, which was owned by young sisters Amber & Allie Malott in the same plaza as The Hungry Greek and the new D’Alessio’s Ristorante on BBD in Wesley Chapel (across from the new Florida Hospital WC), has closed. The Malott twins are now only selling their original fashion designs online at TwinCollections.com.

And finally, congratulations to my fellow Wesley Chapel Rotary Club member Ben Alexander, whose company, Balloon Distractions, will appear on the smash hit ABC-TV show “Shark Tank” on Friday, January 17, 8 p.m. Ben can’t talk about how it all turned out until after the show airs, but we’ll have the complete story in an upcoming issue and on our website, NTNeighborhoodNews.com.

For info about Balloon Distractions, visit BalloonDistractions.com or call (800) 645-2114