Wesley Chapel Nibbles — Rodizio Grill, Papichy’s, Cheesecake Factory & Swig 

Lots of new restaurants are beginning to build and/or are getting ready to open in and around the Wesley Chapel area and we have updates on many of them in this issue. On this page alone, we’ll tell you about the delayed (but finally happening) Grand Opening of the new Rodizio Grill, the first-ever brick-&-mortar location of Pastelitos Papichy’s, as well as the beginning of construction of both The Cheesecake Factory and Swig soda shop. 

Rodizio Grill 

Clearly, the opening of the Wesley Chapel area’s first-ever Brazilian steakhouse is big news for our community, as the announcement on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page that the opening of Rodizio Grill (2802 Grand Cypress Dr., Lutz, behind Costco and in front of Kohl’s by the Tampa Premium Outlets) was delayed from its originally announced opening date of May 28 to Tuesday, June 10, was viewed (at our press time) by a record-breaking (for us) 327,816 people, with more than 1,000 likes and 109 shares! We’ve had a couple of previous posts that reached more than 200,000 people, but this post — without being boosted — has far surpassed our previous record. In other words, you can expect big crowds at Rodizio Grill as this issue is reaching your mailbox. In the meantime, we have a sneak peek first look inside this beautiful, new restaurant (top photo) on this page. We wish franchisee Charlie Haney and his crew lots of luck. 

For reservations & more info, call (813) 996-3880, visit Rodizio.com or search “Rodizio Grill – Wesley Chapel” on Facebook. 

Pastelitos Papichy’s 

Although the Venezuelan food truck Pastelitos Papichy’s (above left) has been stationed near the LA Fitness and Five Guys Burgers & Fries (just south of County Line Rd.& west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa) a for some time, a sign recently went up at the Grand Oaks Plaza on the under-construction Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz (above right) announcing that Papichy’s will be opening its first-ever brick-&-mortar location in the space previously occupied by the also-Venezuelan Arepa Mia, which sadly closed at the end of 2024. 

We haven’t yet been able to speak to anyone who could tell us when the new Papichy’s is expected to open, but you can expect a similar selection of Venezuelan-style empanadas, pastelitos (similar to empanadas, but round wheat dough filled with sweet guava or savory meats and cheeses), tequeños (fried cheese) and more. 

For more info, call (813) 576-9970. 

The Cheesecake Factory 

If our post about Rodizio Grill is record-setting, there’s little doubt that if we’re able to break the story of when The Cheesecake Factory will finally open in the parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets, that post could double or even quadruple the traffic Rodizio Grill has generated. 

But, while some rumors had Cheesecake Factory opening before the end of this year, that seems pretty ambitious, considering that the area that will one day be home to the full-service restaurant chain and cheesecake bakery (which currently has more than 200 U.S. locations) has only recently been fenced off near the mall’s main entrance. There is some heavy equipment on the site, but the parking lot hasn’t yet been leveled so that the restaurant can actually go vertical. 

Swig

This rapidly-growing drive-through “dirty soda” chain featuring seasonal favorites and concoct-your-own sodas, revivers and refreshers, as well as frozen hot chocolate, sugar cookies and pretzel bites, is starting to go vertical just east of PopStroke and west of Academy Sports + Outdoors (photo above), across from the outlet mall. 

Wesley Chapel/Lutz will be only the third Florida location for Swig, a Utah-based company which currently has more than 100 locations in 14 states, with agreements for 500 franchise units and plans for more corporate-owned stores. For more info, visit SwigDrinks.com.

Cheesecake Factory Plans Move Forward At Tampa Premium Outlets 

Although we found other graphics submitted later by The Cheesecake Factory, this earlier map, which we only found on the Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page, has the most accurate representation of where the restaurant will be located in the current parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets. 

Just before the start of the New Year (on Dec. 31), preliminary site plans were submitted to Pasco County for the hotly anticipated The Cheesecake Factory restaurant, which is expected to be located in the current parking lot at the busy Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 56 (see map). 

We were able to talk with a source familiar with the project (but who asked not to be identified for the story) to get the inside scoop about a few more details with this plan. 

Probably the most important piece of information we’re sure everyone is wondering about is “When is The Cheesecake Factory anticipated to finish construction and open its doors?” 

Our source said that while the restaurant has not yet received the permits to begin building (so this is still mostly subjective), the restaurant’s ownership/development group is shooting to open during the third quarter of this year, which would likely put it opening just before the holidays — although that seems somewhat ambitious considering it hasn’t even begun building yet. 

Even so, when we asked, “Can you really get it done that fast?,” the response was a very confident “Yes!” Our source also said that the company expecting about a three-week turnaround to get comments back from Pasco County, which means that some site work could begin as soon as this issue arrives in your mailbox, if things go according to plan. 

In addition, while what was shown in the submittal on Dec. 31 was a building of a little more than 7,500 sq. ft., our source said that the plan has since been updated to be closer to about a 7,700 sq.-ft. building, which indicates that the company is still actively working on perfecting the layout even before getting comments back from the county. In addition to the indoor space, the restaurant’s outdoor seating area is shown to be about 1,500 sq. ft. 

What About The Parking? 

When asked about the parking situation, our source claimed that the net loss would only be about 20 spaces total for the mall — four of which are handicapped parking spaces that the source said would just be shifted over to the next parking aisle and not actually lost. 

But, our detailed review of the proposed construction plan indicates the net loss will be closer to 60 regular parking spaces, with the four handicapped spaces being shifted as explained. So, which parking space loss is correct — 20 spaces or 60? We’ll have to get back to you on that one. 

Meanwhile, the mall’s website states there are only about 40 handicapped-accessible parking spaces throughout the entire property, so any loss of handicapped parking would appear to be another problem. 

As for how The Cheesecake Factory will be situated in the current mall parking lot, the restaurant is still shown as being located near the “central” pedestrian front entrance of the mall, right off the northwest corner of that entrance’s roundabout, where the primary “Tampa Premium Outlets” sign is located. The main entrance of the restaurant and the outside seating area are both shown as facing that roundabout. 

Since the restaurant was first announced, many people have wondered about how a mega restaurant like this could be getting built at this already-packed location. 

According to public information on Pasco’ County’s permitting website, this restaurant development still falls within the mall’s total entitlements (the total amount of commercial space that is allowed to be built) that were approved by the county’s Board of County Commissioners in the latest rezoning for the Cypress Creek Town Center Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) in which the Outlet Mall is located). Those entitlements were approved back in February of 2019. 

The Cheesecake Factory Submits Plans To Open At The Tampa Premium Outlets!

Congratulations to the amazing Pasco County Development & Growth Updates (PCDGU) Facebook page for another scoop that has many people in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel excited — the announcement that plans for a new Cheesecake Factory restaurant have been submitted to Pasco County (below). 

According to the initial site plan, the nearly 8,000-sq.-ft. restaurant is expected to have 201 seats inside and room for an additional 78 seats outside at the Tampa Premium Outlets on the south side of S.R. 56. 

The excitement of the announcement that Cheesecake Factory could be coming to our area has been tempered somewhat by the fact that the new restaurant is planned to go on what has previously been part of the already-limited parking on the west side of the mall off Grand Cypress Dr. — basically where the often-stressed valet parking station has been located (see map, also provided by PCDGU, above). 

Some of the nearly 700 comments (at our press time) on the PCDGU post also lamented about yet another chain coming to the area around the outlet mall (and the Wesley Chapel area in general), while others said that if this popular chain, with nearly 350 locations in the U.S. and Canada (and 34 more licensed internationally), has to come to our area that the currently-vacant potential restaurant sites around the new Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall on the north side of S.R. 56 would be a better — and less overcrowded — fit. 

Of course, this is just a pre-application submission and definitely subject to many potential changes. In fact, Kelly Gilroy, the PCDGU admin, told the Neighborhood News that she assumes, “The county will allow the Outlets to alter the minimum parking standards first,” which would be necessary for the restaurant to be able to proceed in this location. 

Among the chain restaurants already on the south side of 56 near the mall are Chedddar’s, BJ’s Brewhouse, McDonald’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, Rock & Brews, Main Event, Culver’s, Starbucks, MOD Pizza, Panda Express, Zaxby’s, Shuckin’ Shack, Chick-fil-A, Miller’s Ale House and the under construction Raising Cane’s and Rodizio Grill.