Business Notes: Nye Commons Fills Up Quickly & Still More To Come On S.R. 56

Local restaurant favorite OTB Delights Café, which currently is located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. across the street from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is moving a few miles up the road.

According to the county’s permitting records, OTB— which stands for Only The Best — is looking to move into the new Nye Commons Plaza on the west side of BBD, just south of S.R. 54, which is owned by Nye Commercial Developers.

Currently under a zoning review, OTB, which specializes in serving hand-crafted fresh and healthy sandwiches, wraps and salads, would take over a 1,345-sq.-ft. space in the 14,000-sq.-ft. plaza., which now has seven tenants, including Nye Commercial Developers.

“We are all filled up,” says Brent Nye, who says he still fields calls from prospective tenants.

Also potentially moving into the plaza is Board & Brush Creative Studios, which is looking to take over a 1,302-sq.-ft. space.

Board & Brush is a do-it-yourself studio, allowing customers to build “on-trend, farmhouse-classic, inspirational pieces of dĂ©cor for your home, office or cottage.” Although primarily for wood projects, the studio does have other project materials, like glass, slate, canvas and others. Board & Brush is a franchise that has more than 150 locations across the U.S., including eight currently in Florida, the closest of which is in Clearwater.

Also in permitting to set up shop at the Nye Commons is Keystone Title Agency, Inc., which currently has a location in Port Richey. Avalon Spa & Nails also is opening a second Wesley Chapel location in the plaza, and Nye says a veterinarian and an insurance company have leased space as well.

BUT, ‘CHIPOTLE IS MY LIFE!’: Permitting has been filed with the county for a 15,664-sq.-ft. shell building that is likely to be a commercial strip center right off S.R. 56, in front of the soon-to-open Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center.

The strip center could be home to a number of coming projects that have been previously reported, like Golf Galaxy, Total Wine & More and Blaze Pizza. One of the rumored new restaurants coming to that side of S.R. 56, Chipotle Mexican Grill, won’t be located in the new strip center, however. According to permitting records, it will be located closer to the Earth Fare health and wellness supermarket coming to the corner of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd.

Business Notes: Is Something On The Horizon In The Old Vuelo’s Spot?

The site of failed Mexican restaurant Vuelo’s — which was previously Señor T’s, which was previously Romano’s Macaroni Grill — and which has been vacant since May 8 of last year, may soon be showing some signs of life.

According to Curtis Rorebeck, the managing broker at Hybridge, the site, located right on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just north of the Home Depot, has drawn the interest of a handful of suitors since going dark.

While stopping short of calling a deal imminent to sell to a group that would open a new restaurant at the location, Rorebeck did say there is an offer under review. “We are going through the process,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of interest on that property.”

Rorebeck even said that on more than one occasion since Vuelo’s closed, the property was under contract, but those deals fell through. The current negotiations, however, are “promising,” he says.
While the location has been blamed in years past as not being ideal, it will be across the street from (and a little south of) the new Villages at Hunter’s Lake planned for 2019-20, which will feature the New Tampa Cultural Center, 241 apartments, a “green” grocer and other retail stores.

MORE FOOD, MON: A few steps south Chili’s (next to Oakley’s Grille), the space formerly occupied by Dairy Queen is being renovated and expected to open as a Jamaican restaurant.

NEW TAMPA PIANO & PEDAGOGY’S NEW HOME?: New Tampa Piano & Pedagogy Academy (NTPPA), which is currently operating adjacent to the New Tampa Dance Theatre on Cross Creek Blvd., is expecting to break ground on its own building near the end of the summer.
Just a few steps west of its current location, developer Abhishek Jain has filed for a permit to build a 4,000-sq.-ft. building, 2,810 sq. ft. of which will be the NTPPA’s new home.

Considering the new location is next to a dance studio, music academy and Creative World School, Jain would like to lease the remaining 1,200 sq. ft. to a youth-oriented business, or perhaps a pediatrician.
Jain’s wife Judith is the founder and executive director of the NTPPA.

S.R. 56 BUSY AGAIN: On the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets) in the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact (DRI) in Wesley Chapel, things are going to start heating up again, as a flurry of building permits are working their way through Pasco County.

Just this month, permitting requests have been made for the beginnings of a 20,000-sq.-ft. Home Goods store, a 40,565-sq.ft. Burlington Coat Factory, and a 24,254-sq.-ft. Earth Fare, the first green grocer to land in Wesley Chapel (as we reported last issue).

Permits for four shell buildings, ranging between 1,919-sq.-ft. and 3,000-sq.ft., are being processed as well, although no tenants had been publicly named at our press time.

Those buildings could be homes for some businesses that Dilip Kanji, the Impact Properties president and developer of the Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center, said previously were on their way. As previously reported by the Neighborhood News, those include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Total Wine & More, Walk-On Bistreaux and Golf Galaxy.

Racetrac close, Culver’s coming

Buying food from a gas station used to be unthinkable. But, the days of stopping in to your local convenience store for a shriveled up hot dog or to stick a frozen burrito in a microwave are over.

You can count Racetrac, including the new one getting ready to open on the southeast corner of BBD and Cypress Preserve Dr., among the convenience stores that have been evolving over the years and making food service, good coffee and even household items a staple of its business.

The new Racetrac, which is located directly across Cypress Preserve Dr. from the Chase bank and LA Fitness in Tampa Palms, is expected to be open by mid-June. It is among those gas stations putting an emphasis on making themselves into food destinations.

Wawa, located right up the road in Wesley Chapel on S.R. 56, has perfected this experience. Many mornings, there are more people sitting at red iron tables outside eating than filling their cars with gas, and the quality food has attained a cult-like status.

Racetrac, which also has a S.R. 56 location, is spending millions remodeling its stores to have extra seating and WiFi, so customers can order food and even stop in with the kids for frozen yogurt at one of the Swirl World stations — boasting 40 or so toppings for your dessert — without having to eat it on the go.

The 5,928-sq.-ft. Tampa Palms location will have 18 gas pumps and is one of 50 the Atlanta-based company is opening in Florida (and 10th overall in Tampa), as well as remodeling others.

MORE FOOD: According to paperwork filed with Pasco County, Culver’s Restaurant, which already has a location in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets (or TPO), as well as one on Bearss Ave. near I-275, is hoping to build another near the Shops at Wiregrass.

Culver’s, which is popular in the Midwest (it started in Wisconsin) with its frozen custard and Butterburgers, submitted a pre app form to build a 110-seat, 4,476-sq.ft. restaurant with 66 parking spots immediately east of the Shops at Wiregrass.

The new Culver’s will have direct access off S.R. 56 and the under-construction Wiregrass Ranch access road.

URGENT CARE: BayCare Urgent Care is coming to the New Tampa area, taking over the space formerly occupied by Pier 1 Imports (now at The Walk at Highwoods Preserve). We’ll provide more details in a future issue.