I Am Proud To Announce The Taste Of North Tampa Bay On March 13!

Those of you who have met me are probably aware that I’m an excitable guy. I get all worked up whether I’m talking about my family, the Tampa Bay Lightning, new restaurants, new businesses, new developments and events happening in our area. 

One of the events that I am super-pumped to be able to announce in this space is the upcoming first-ever “Taste of North Tampa Bay.” 

North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy actually was the one who first made the announcement about the Taste (photo) — which is now scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2027, at Saddlebrook Resort — but it was to such a small group of people at a VIP Chamber event at Saddlebrook on Sept. 17 that I still feel like I’m getting to be the first to announce it to (potentially) a large group of locals. 

And, Hope, new Saddlebrook VP of business & partnerships Freddie Wyatt and Jannah and I are thrilled to be planning the Taste on the beautiful grounds of the recently revamped resort. 

As I did for more than two decades for the Taste of New Tampa, I will be handling the procurement of restaurants and ongoing promotion for what promises to be a huge event — with Freddie bringing in musical acts and possibly even some celebrity chefs, while also helping Jannah and Hope’s crack Chamber team with bringing in sponsors and vendors. 

Having the event at Saddlebrook will certainly make my job easier. Without even making any effort yet, we already can count on the resort’s delicious RARE 1981 steakhouse, The GOAT sports bar, BREW coffee shop and Palmhaus outdoor grill to be providing samples for the event. I also plan to hit not only every restaurant in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa but also many outside of our direct area — from Dade City to South Tampa and from Lutz/Land O’Lakes to Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and New Port Richey. 

“We’ve got 484 acres of land here,” Freddie said at our recent first organizational meeting for the Taste. “We can fit as many restaurants on these grounds as you can get, Gary.” 

And of course, Saddlebrook has its own on-site transportation, so we can even spread out the restaurants, sponsor and vendor booths. 

We haven’t yet finalized any of the pricing to attend the event, but we are definitely planning to have “General Admission” and “VIP” tickets that will be all-inclusive for food and even adult beverages. We may even try to include some packages with overnight stays at the resort. Can we include golf? Tennis? Pickleball? Spa services? Why not? It’s all there at Saddlebrook! 

We also have not yet settled on the cost to have a basic vendor table, nor have we fixed the pricing yet for the various levels of sponsorship, but trust me, we’re working on all of it and, as soon as we know, you all will be the next to know. 

Freddie asked me how many people we can expect to attend this shindig. I told him I had no idea — not only has there not been a Taste of New Tampa since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the crowd at the last Taste — in 2019 — was estimated at about 2,000 people. 

Even so, I know we had anywhere from 5,000-8,000 attendees at previous events and, with Saddlebrook as the venue and the number of restaurants in just our two distribution areas alone having more than doubled since then, I believe that anywhere from 50-80 restaurants (I think my record for food and beverage participants in years past was 57) and 5,000-10,000 people could easily be on hand for this first Taste — with a portion of all net proceeds being donated to local charities. 

As restaurants, sponsors and business vendors commit to be part of this one-day party (that Hope says she hopes to extend to both days of a weekend in the future), you will see ongoing updates in our Wesley Chapel and New Tampa print issues, as well as on our website (NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net) and our “Neighborhood News” Facebook and Instagram pages. 

In the meantime, if you are or know a restaurant or business owner who may be interested in participating in the first-ever Taste of North Tampa Bay, please email me at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. You also can call our office number at (813) 910-2575. Or, call the North Tampa Bay Chamber office at (813) 994- 8534 or email office@northtampabaychamber.com. But please, do NOT call or contact Saddlebrook about the Taste!