Wolf’s Den To Expand Hours, Menu & More!
Although we previously reported on WCNeighborhoodNews.com that the always-popular Wolf’s Den Restaurant, located on S.R. 56 (in the same plaza as Insight Family Eye Care), was taking over the spaces in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (opposite the new Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, or FHWC)) previously vacated by Baja Fresh and several other businesses (see below), Wolf’s Den owner Roger Wolf has decided instead to expand his menu (including adding BBQ specialties like real baby back ribs, brisket and more) and his hours and add beer and wine at his current location.
Look for an ad, with coupons, next issue because the new hours & BBQ menu items will debut at Wolf’s Den right after Labor Day. For more info, call 907-9124 or visit WolfsDenRestaurant.com.
Hibachi Japanese Express Is Open…& Yummy!
If you haven’t yet checked out the new Hibachi Japanese Express, located in the smaller outparcel building (next to China Wok) of the same Wesley Chapel Village Market that also is home to Vallarta’s & the new Famous Tate store, you should go…for lunch or dinner…today!
Hibachi Express features the same fresh sushi (I even special ordered a grilled red snapper and cucumber roll that was just too good), choice NY strip and fresh large shrimp and scallop hibachi dishes, complete with ginger salad, mushroom soup, grilled hibachi veggies and fried rice, all at prices much less than most “teppanyaki (hibachi) table” restaurants because the hibachi grill is located in the open kitchen just behind Hibachi Express’ much faster lunch counter, so you’re paying for the quality food and not the show. And, with the current special of a still-sizable lunch-sized portion of hibachi steak (photo), chicken or shrimp, with rice & veggies, for just $6.25, you can’t beat the value!
For info about Hibachi Japanese Express (5315 Village Market Dr.), call 991-9582, see the ad on page 34, or stop in & tell Chen, the owner, that the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News sent you!
Baja Fresh & Buddy’s Hot Dogs Vacated
As mentioned above and on our website, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, which had been located in the same Shoppes of Wesley Chapel plaza as The Hungry Greek & Dickey’s BBQ (at 2653 BBD) since last summer, closed its doors on June 23. Also closing was owner/partner Kush Vallabh’s most recent addition to the plaza, Buddy’s Hot Dogs. Vallabh and at least one other partner have now opened and closed four eateries in the plaza – Baja Fresh, Buddy’s, iCream and the Coffee Brewhouse.
Barry Jackson, the managing member of Momenta Real Estate Brokers for the plaza, which is located directly across BBD from the FHWC, says that Vallabh and his partners are “getting out of the retail business altogether and are now concentrating on their primary business – motels.” An unnamed source also told us that more than $100,000 in restaurant equipment was left behind when the owners vacated the premises. Jackson adds that, “The other restaurants in the center (Hungry Greek, Dickey’s and the Latin Twist Cafe) are all doing great and Latin Twist has talked about taking additional space. With that location (near not only the hospital, but also near the Shops at Wiregrass mall, the Wiregrass campus of Pasco-Hernando Community College (PHCC) and houses on the way soon in the Wiregrass Ranch DRI (Development of Regional Impact), we’re confident those spaces in the plaza won’t be vacant too long.” Jackson adds that a Grow Federal Credit Union branch also is getting ready to open later this month on a southern outparcel to the plaza.
For info about space in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel, call Barry Jackson at 574-1144 or visit Momenta Brokers.com.
Free Eyecare Professionals Grand Opening Aug. 17!
We congratulate Dr. David Scamard, O.D., on the Grand Opening of his new practice, Eyecare Professionals of Tampa Bay, LLC (located at 24412 S.R. 54, at Oak Grove Blvd., in the Eagle Plaza in Lutz). Although his new practice has been up and running for several weeks, the former owner of The Eyeglass Factory (less than a half-mile east of the new location) will hold his Ribbon Cutting & official Grand Opening at the spacious, new, full-service optical shop on Saturday, August 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
With multiple prizes to be raffled off (including one-year supplies of contact lenses, free frames and other awesome donated prizes, plus live music by Los Dos, great food from Wright’s Gourmet House & Raa International Market, the event promises to be a blast! And, all of the raffle proceeds benefit the Wounded Warriors Project & the USO.
For more info, call 949-7274 or see the ad on page 12 of this issue.
Pack, Ship & Tech Fix It Now Open In Pebble Creek
The Pebble Creek Collection, located on BBD at Pebble Creek Dr, has seen a lot of change the past few months (and we’ll have a complete update on all the new businesses in the plaza in our next issue), and most of the change is good news for New Tampa-area residents. One of the newcomers, only open a couple of weeks at our press time, is Pack It, Ship It & Tech Fix It, a name that may be a little tough to remember, but a store that has lots of products and services you need — and a “green” conscience.
Owner Sameer (Sam) Sharieff’s store offers boxes and moving supplies, environmentally safe packaging materials, stationery supplies, discount “green” batteries and ink and toner supplies (for all ink jet and laser printers). Services include U.S. Postal Service stamps and Priority Mail services, P.O. boxes, FedEx and DHL domestic and international shipping services and professional logo/business branding services (web design & development, custom printing, copies, faxing, scanning, laminating), as well as U.S. and international passport pictures. The “Tech Fix It” side of the business features diagnosis and repair of computers, laptops and cell phones, software installation troubleshooting, virus removal from Windows-based computers and Sam even special-orders parts and installs programs and apps for all laptops and cell phones and recycles old electronic gadgets, too.
Pack It, Ship It & tech Fix It is located at 19651 BBD, Suite B-1. For more info, call 994-3800. — GN
Gate & More Coming To S.R. 56
A cleared area on the north side of S.R. 56 at the Cypress Ridge Blvd. intersection is beginning to take shape. The property, known as the Shoppes of Cypress Creek, part of the 400-acre mixed-use development which currently has available parcels on both sides of S.R. 56, soon will be the site of the first Gate Petroleum location in the Tampa Bay region.
Gate, which is based out of Jacksonville, FL, has locations in six states across the southeastern U.S., including Georgia and the Carolinas, with the closest being in Lakeland. Gate representatives could not be reached for comment.
In addition to the Gate location, the 2.5-acre site also will feature 18,000 sq.-ft. of retail space, as well as space for a 1,750-sq.-ft. restaurant and a 0.89-acre retention pond. “All of the land is being cleared,” says Chet Skinner of Skinner Bros. Realty, which is selling and leasing property in the Cypress Creek development (but not the adjacent Cypress Creek Town Center DRI). “Some of the land from the pond is being used to fill some low-lying areas on the property.”
For info about the Shoppes of Cypress Creek, visit SkinnerRealty.com. — MW
