Wesley Chapel’s Favorite Dessert Place!

Based on the results of our Reader Survey:

Nothing Bundt Cakes arrived in Wesley Chapel quietly in March of 2017.

It was that day that its unique offering of tiny, moist bundt cakes with mouth-watering cream cheese icing nearly stole the show at the Taste of New Tampa. Competing against more than 35 restaurants, Nothing Bundt Cakes finished third overall in attendee voting.

The next year, Nothing Bundt Cakes opened at the Shops of Wiregrass, and now, the shop is your choice for best dessert in Wesley Chapel.

“That is great,” says Tammy Mencia, who owns the Wesley Chapel and Carrollwood locations of the dessert franchise with her husband Ralph. “We have had a great reception from the community since we opened.”

The franchise was started 22 years ago in Las Vegas, with bundt cakes made with all fresh ingredients and the best butter and cream cheese available. 

The store, according to employees Amanda Burden and Anissa Rivera (pictured above), is always busy. The chocolate chocolate chip is the best seller, but no matter which of the 10 flavors you choose, or what size — bite-sized bundtinis, miniature bundtlets or full-sized or special order bundt cakes — you are guaranteed a moist, delicious treat that will leave you smiling.— JCC

2. Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt
Happy Cow continues to outpace other local frozen yogurt shops in our annual Reader Survey, and among the items that distinguish this make-your-own frozen yogurt shop from others are its delicious, house-made brownies and chocolate chip cookies and its varieties of flavors & toppings.

3. Culver’s
Culver’s started in Wisconsin, where they take their frozen custard seriously. The burgers and cheese curds are divine, but a shake, pint of frozen custard and the Concrete Mixers are worth the stop all by themselves. Wesley Chapel has two locations, so from one Cheesehead to the rest of you: you’re welcome! 

4. Dairy Queen
DQ doesn’t do anything special with its desserts, and maybe that’s the charm for locals — you know what you’re getting. The ice cream is good, the Blizzards are way better than McFlurries, and ice cream sundae, parfaits are easy choices and delicious ice cream cakes are always a treat.

5. Batter n Dough
BnD on S.R. 56 specializes in topping trendy liege and other waffles with everything from ice cream to eggs & bacon, all with delicious flair. The ice cream waffle sandwiches are equally delicious with sweet or savory waffles. And, in less than two years, Batter & Dough has made our readers’ top-5! 

6. Ice Dreammm Shop
7. 365 Caffe Italiano
8. Buttermilk Provisions
9. Jenny’s Mini Donuts
10. Le Macaron

Happy Cow Is So Much More Than Just Great Frozen Yogurt!

THERE is little doubt that there are a lot of ice cream and frozen yogurt shops in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel — and several others that have come and gone the last few years.

So, how does a single location (a second location has opened on Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills) of a (so far; see below) non-chain that opened next to Bonefish Grill in a crowded, Wesley Chapel shopping center in 2013 continue to distinguish itself from its competition?

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt co-owner Ray Perez says that, at his brightly colored dessert shop, “Our products and unique, Disney-like environment and customer-first attitude are only the beginning. We are still service-based, even though the product itself is self-serve.”

For example, he says, that every staff member is taught to bring high chairs for parents toting babies and toddlers and to bring napkins when they notice that a customer forgot to grab some.

Happy Cow offers up to 16 flavors at once (Ray says there are at least 100 being rotated), and not all of them are frozen yogurt.

“We’re a true dessert shop,” he says. “In addition to frozen yogurt, we have soft-serve ice cream, soft serve gelato, sorbet and we always have gluten-free, no-sugar-added and fat-free options. We also offer 60 different toppings, 7 sauces, freshly baked cookies and brownies, waffle cones and fresh fruit. We even recently added amazing milkshakes and even ‘epic shakes’ like Cookies & Cream Craze.”

And, despite being up against any number of chain frozen yogurt shops across the Tampa Bay area, Happy Cow was voted “Best in the Bay” by Creative Loafing readers for 2016. It also has been the Favorite Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Shop” of Neighborhood News readers entering our annual Reader Survey & Contest (see pg. 42 of this issue) the last three years in a row. “We’re proud that the people who read those publications love us,” Ray says.

Ray, whose wife Kristi helps out at the two current locations on weekends, also is partners with Connie and Bill Rogers in the Happy Cow corporate entity, which is now beginning to sell franchises — and not just for locations in strip shopping plazas. “We’re looking to put Happy Cow kiosks in malls and even schools.”

And, although he can’t yet announce anything in terms of franchises that already are sold, he says, “There is a lot of interest from the public in our brand. I should be able to make some announcements soon.”

He also says that catering is a popular part of the Happy Cow experience, especially in family-oriented, growing Wesley Chapel.

“We brought in one of our mobile machines to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel for an event and served 600 members of the hospital’s staff,” he says. “And, everyone went home happy.”

Personally, my favorite flavors are peanut butter and cake batter and I usually start with one of Happy Cow’s chewy, fudgy brownies as a base. I also always have to have the hot chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge and/or marshmallow cream topping. The good news is that if you don’t like what I enjoy, Happy Cow’s variety of toppings and sauces will surely include something you love, too.

Ray says that Happy Cow also is the only yogurt shop that delivers through Uber Eats to a limited area, including to Meadow Pointe, Seven Oaks and even Grand Hampton in New Tampa, “and it’s taken off more than I expected, without marketing it to our 17,000 Facebook and Instagram followers.”

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt also has a user-friendly “C’mon, Get Happy” Rewards Club with “no passwords, no cards, just fun.”

And, with the coupon from the ad on pg. 3 of this issue, you’ll get 15-percent-off any product at Happy Cow.

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt (1646 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.) is open at 11 a.m. every day and stays open until 10 p.m. every weeknight and until 11 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. For more information, visit HappyCowFroYo.com or call (813) 428-5929 and please tell Ray and the crew you read about them in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!