Business Notes: Refillables In WC

Bar manager Ashley Simon waits for a 32-oz. growler to finish filling at the Bru Florida Growler Bar. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

The area’s craft beer options continue to grow.

Bru Florida Growler Bar held its Grand Opening last week.

Located in the space previously occupied by Buttermilk Provisions across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, Bru Florida Growler Bar had been open with limited hours for about six weeks.

Customers are welcome to come in and enjoy a pint or two of beer, cider, kombucha or even nitro beer and coffee. They also can get all those things to go in 32- and 64-oz. growlers, which owner Christian Brugal says is part of the reason he opened his first Bru Florida Growler Bar in Citrus Park a few years ago — offering the convenience of bringing craft beer home for those who don’t have time (or don’t want) to sit in a bar. 

Brugal says that many craft breweries don’t bottle or can their beer and only sell it from kegs.

While getting growlers filled is now available at most bars, it typically involves just filling the growler from the bar’s beer tap. But, Bru Florida Growler Bar is a rarity in that it has three counter-pressure growler stations, which helps extend the to-go beer’s freshness. Bar, manager Ashley Simon (photo on previous page) says a sealed growler can retain its freshness for a month; otherwise, once opened, it only lasts a day or two.

Meanwhile, Brugal says another unique aspect of the new bar is its emphasis on local beer. While other brewpubs and bars carry local and other craft beers, Bru Florida Growler Bar only carries Florida-brewed beers. “We’re the only ones who do that,” says Brugal.

On the day we strolled in, there were 15 beers on tap, from breweries located all over the state, like Jupiter, Royal Palm Beach, Dania Beach, Orlando, Miami and Tallahassee. Also represented were Dunedin, St. Petersburg, Brooksville, as well as Wesley Chapel’s Double Branch Artisanal Ales. New beers from new breweries in different Florida cities are rotated in and out. For more information, visit at BruFL.com or call (813) 328-4721.

FILL ME UP PART II: The Walmart Supercenter is filling its parking lot right off BBD with a new 16-pump fuel center and a 1,605-sq.-ft. convenience store. If stocked like previously built Walmart fuel centers, the convenience store will offer your typical fare of grab-and-go deli items, snacks, cold beverages, a walk-in beer cooler and coffee.

If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, visit the Lufka Wesley Chapel refillables store in the Cypress View Square plaza on S.R. 56.

LUFKA IS OPEN!: Speaking of bringing in your own container to get it filled with your favorite stuff, a new concept to Wesley Chapel is now open at the Cypress View Square plaza on S.R. 56 (home to the popular Capital Tacos).

Lufka Refillables Zero Waste Store has taken over the space in Cypress View Square formerly occupied by E’s Barber Shop at 27221 S.R. 56.

Lufka was originally created by Tampa’s Kelly Hawaii and her husband Parosh. They opened their first store in Seminole Heights in the summer of 2019, and their second store in South Tampa in November of 2020.

Wesley Chapel’s Danielle Howard, who also owns The Salt Room in Wesley Chapel (2718 Windguard Cir.) and at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills, co-owns the Wesley Chapel Lufka with her mother Gail Howard. “Danielle discovered it, and I just jumped in,” Gail says. “Now I get to work with my daughter.” 

Essentially, Lufka (Polish for “Barrel”) is where you can bring in your empty containers of household cleaning, bathroom and laundry products, to name a few, and have them refilled at the store, which bills itself as Tampa’s first “refillable, eco-friendly and sustainable bath, body, kitchen and D.I.Y. supplies company.”

The store has everything from laundry detergents to shampoos and conditioners, and from after-shave lotions to facial scrubs and from body lotions to a variety of soaps. Most of the products are organic, but all of them are healthier than the alternatives you usually buy in traditional stores, and come without a long list of chemical ingredients. 

Lufka encourages reducing your carbon footprint by reusing and refilling containers with eco-friendly products.

Although it is currently open, Lufka Wesley Chapel is hoping to schedule a Grand Opening later this month. 

For more info, call (813) 596-9376 or visit Lufka.com.

MORE BOWLS?: Also moving into Cypress View Square is Green Market Café, which is taking over the old Batter & Dough space at 27225 S.R. 56. Green Market Cafe offers a variety of healthy bowls, salads and wraps, as well as soups and frozen yogurt, all of which is locally sourced and affordable. It already has locations in Trinity, Clearwater, Seminole and Oldsmar. For more information, visit GreenMarketCafé.com. 

Wesley Chapel Craft Brewery deal finalized

Brew Bus Brewing, Inc., the company behind Florida Avenue Brewing Co. and Brew Bus Brewing, has officially announced that it has purchased the former Sports + Field location on S.R. 56. The new owners will convert Sports + Field into a brewery with a beer garden, full-service restaurant and event space.

The 34,000-sq.-ft., two-floor facility in Wesley Chapel was originally opened in 2005 as $10.5-million multi-purpose fitness center that trained professional athletes while also offering fitness programs for local residents. It closed in 2015.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Brew Bus Brewing Inc., Anthony Derby, told the Neighborhood News last month that his company was taking a close look at property, located at 2029 Arrowgrass Dr., and saw a craft brewery as a missing part of the local Wesley Chapel/New Tampa scene.

“We are excited to expand our operations into Pasco County to provide the community with a family-friendly brewery, event and restaurant destination,” Derby said in a statement. “By this time next year, Pasco County residents will not only be working in our expanded operation, but also enjoying our products a bit closer to home.”

The completed deal is expected to create 46 new local jobs and more than $8.7 million in new capital investment in Pasco County. 

“It’s great to reactivate a dormant property with high-paying manufacturing jobs in a unique industry,” Bill Cronin, the president/CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, said in a press release. “A company like Brew Bus Brewing, Inc., is a win for the whole community, as they embody the live, work, play notion so important to our community’s future economic growth.”

Brew Bus Brewing, Inc., created in 2011, currently operates both a brewery and buses that travel to breweries throughout the Tampa Bay area. In addition to brewing its own Brew Bus beer, the brand expanded in 2015, with the acquisition of Florida Avenue Brewing Co., in an effort to revive one of the area’s most historic breweries.  Both Brew Bus and Florida Avenue brands are distributed throughout the entire state of Florida.

“We are happy to welcome Brew Bus Brewing, Inc., to Pasco,” said District 2 Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore. “Not only are they creating jobs, but their new tasting room and restaurant will be a great destination for residents and tourists alike. Breweries are a huge part of the tourism market.”

Do Not Miss The First New Tampa Brew Fest On Nov. 10!

When I was at the University of Florida, I remember asking a friend after at least six hours at a dorm party, “So, how much beer is too much beer?”

His response was, “The question is, how much beer is enough beer?

Well, those who attend the first-ever New Tampa Brew Fest, presented by Kling Law of Tampa, on Saturday, November 10, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., at the Venetian Event Center in front of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church (9724 Cross Creek Blvd.), may actually be able to answer both of those questions. (kidding)

Hosted by the Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon (the club I belong to), which meets Wednesdays at noon at Mulligans Irish Pub inside the Pebble Creek Golf Club, this first-ever New Tampa Brew Fest is likely to become an instant classic.

Thanks to the efforts of club members Jeff Ulbrich, Lisa Hickey, Dr. Steve Dau and multiple others, the Brew Fest will feature at least 75 different craft and brand-name beers including (but not limited to; more may still be added):

*Big Storm Brewery — Oktoberfest, Oatmeal Stout & Lightning Lager
*Big Top Brewing Co. — Trapeze Monk, Hawaiian Lion & Conch Republic
*Blue Point Brewing Co. — Toasted Lager, Citrus Plunge & Prop Stopper
*Bold City Brewery — Duke’s Cold Nose, Mad Manatee & 1901
*Coppertail Brewing Co. — Free Dive, Unholy Trippel & Independent Pilsner
*Florida Avenue Brewing — Lager, IPA & Brown Ale
*Founders Brewing Co. — All Day IPA, Solid Gold & PC Pilsner
*Funky Buddha Brewery — Floridian, Pineapple Beach Blonde & Hop Gun IPA
*Goose Island Brewing Co. — 312 Urban & English Style IPA
*Highland Brewing Co. — Gaelic Ale, Mandarin & Daycation IPA
*Kona Brewing — Longboard Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale & Big Wave Golden Ale
*Mr. Dunderbak’s — Biergarten
*Swamp Head Brewery — Stump Knocker, Big Nose IPA & Cottonmouth
*3 Daughters Brewing — Beach Blonde, Rod Bender & Floating Dock
*Uinta Brewing Co. — Pale Ale, Baba Black Lager & Lime Pilsner
We don’t yet know exactly what brews the following will be bringing,
but there also will be samples at the event of:
*Brew Hub *Dunder Brau Brewing *Keel & Curley Cider
*Lagunitas Brewing Co. *Liquid Garage *Two Henry’s Brewing Co.
*White Claw Hard Seltzer *Wiregrass Brewing *Yuengling Brewery

Great! So, How & Where Do I Buy My Tickets?

Tickets to the New Tampa Brew Fest have been reduced to just $25 per person and that includes as many samples of all of the great beers that will be on hand as you desire.

The food trucks listed below will not be inside the event (the food will not be included with the cost of your Brew Fest admission) and each truck charges different prices for the different kinds of food they serve.

Kling Law will be providing FREE Uber rides home for any Brew Fest attendees who need them and designated driver attendance tickets cost just $20 apiece for those who want to check out the event without sampling the beers. And of course, you must be at least 18 to attend and at least age 21 to drink any of the brews at the event.

Best of all, the net proceeds from the New Tampa Brew Fest will benefit the New Tampa Noon Rotary Foundation, which supports and does service projects to benefit organizations that serve U.S. military active duty and veterans and other first responders, as well as schools, the elderly and service projects from Fire Station No. 20 on BBD to as far away as India, Nepal and Kenya. Rotary International, the world’s largest service organization, with thousands of clubs and more than 1 million members worldwide, is also the organization that is within just a few cases a year (in mainly war-torn, impoverished countries) of completely eradicating polio (which once crippled and killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide per year).

To pre-purchase New Tampa Brew Fest tickets, visit NewTampaBrewFest.com or search “New Tampa Brew Fest” on Facebook. Tickets also will be sold at the event that night.—GN

 

And, Outside The Brew Fest, These Food Trucks Are Scheduled To Be On-Site!

Wesley Chapel Brewers Now Pouring At Angry Chair Brewing In Seminole Heights

Angry Chair owners and Wesley Chapel residents Ryan Dowdle (left) and Shane Mozur are ready to pour you a cold one in Seminole Heights.
Angry Chair owners and Wesley Chapel residents Ryan Dowdle (left) and Shane Mozur are ready to pour you a cold one of their own in Seminole Heights.

By Matt Wiley

After more than a year of prepping the old clock store at 6401 N. Florida Ave. in Seminole Heights, Wesley Chapel residents Ryan Dowdle and Shane Mozur say that they are stoked to finally have the doors open and the beer pouring. Continue reading