Tag: New Tampa

Tampa Bay Physical Therapy Can Rehab Any Injury

Rebecca Johnson is like many of the patients at Tampa Bay Physical Therapy.

She had a shoulder problem, tried other places with minimal success, wondered if she would ever find a solution, and then found Dr. Kelly Pearce Baez, PT, DPT.

“When I met with her the first time, it clicked,” Johnson says. “She went over everything with me — it was a very thorough first consultation, she used a skeleton, which she named ‘Fred,’ to point out areas where my injury was. Then, we went over a treatment plan.”

Johnson was suffering from frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, a condition where the shoulder bone is difficult to move, producing pain and swelling in the shoulder joint and inhibiting range of motion.

However, Dr. Kelly’s physical treatment, Johnson says, soon returned her to a pain-free life and a shoulder that she says is roughly 95% healed.

Dr. Kelly and her Tampa Bay Physical Therapy office in the Tampa Telecom Park off E. Fletcher Ave. have experienced the same kind of results for dozens of other patients since opening in October 2021 — for everything from shoulder, back and joint pain to injury and surgery rehabilitation to neurological-related issues.

In fact, Dr. Kelly says she can treat just about any type of ache or pain.

“I’m not your typical physical therapist who only focuses on one thing,” she says. “That’s the benefit of my practice. If you come to me, you have at least a 90% chance of me being able to resolve (your pain). Most often that is the case. It is extremely rare I need to tell a patient that they should go to see this other person, or a surgeon.”

At Tampa Bay Physical Therapy, new patients receive a consultation and a risk-free screening, where their mobility and strength are tested as Dr. Kelly searches for the root cause of any pain. She will then present a treatment plan to the patient, with the plan’s length depending upon the severity of the injury, as well as a home routine to help the process.

*Dr. Kelly offers personalized, one-on-one service to help bring relief to all of her patients.*

“We deal with everything from head to toe,” Dr. Kelly says.

She offers services for weekend warriors and athletes and those who have some kind of impaired joint movement and may be facing or are recovering from surgery. Dr. Kelly also takes on patients who are recovering from strokes, as well as those battling Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and other neuro-type disorders.

Dr. Kelly says that those suffering from neurological problems, including balance issues, concussion symptoms and vertigo, are at a high risk for dangerous falls.

The Tampa Bay Physical Therapy office has the latest exercise machines, as well as the Vectra Neo (electrotherapy) and Richmar HydraTherm (heat therapy) units to provide strength and relief. There also is a special room to treat those with neurological disorders involving issues like a stroke, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis and PD.

Dr. Kelly also offers the LSVR BIG program, an intensive 1-on-1 treatment created for PD and other neurological conditions.

PT Massage, Too

Tampa Bay Physical Therapy also currently offers a physical therapy massage package, where you can get single sessions or purchase a membership that allows you two massages a month and a stretching program designed specifically for you.

“It’s really, really good,” she says. “We’ve had a lot of people sign up for it who are very satisfied.”

If a stretching program isn’t for you, Dr. Kelly can do joint mobilization and alignments as well — which, she says, are options most other physical therapists can’t or don’t offer.

Tampa Bay Physical Therapy, which accepts most major health insurance plans including Medicare (but not Medicaid), also has a wellness program, or personal training. Dr. Kelly describes it as a weight loss and maintenance program — and includes a nutritionist offering dietary advice — designed for patients who want to stay with her after their physical therapy concludes.

“It continues to develop their skills, and some of them just feel like I’m the one that helps them remain compliant,” Dr. Kelly says.

Johnson doesn’t take part in that program, but she understands why others do. When she finally went to see an orthopaedic surgeon to discuss other options, he offered to direct her to another physical therapist. But, Johnson declined, saying she wanted to stay with Dr. Kelly.

“She just listens,” Johnson says. “You can do exercises every day, but if your doctor isn’t listening to you about what is still hurting, then they aren’t going to be able to help you.”

Even though she no longer visits the visit the office for her physical therapy, Johnson is diligent about following the at-home plan designed by Dr. Kelly, and says she continues to improve. And, when she has a question, she says Dr. Kelly is always there to pick up the phone and help with an answer.

Dr. Kelly originally went to school to be a teacher, but changed course and got her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in health science (with a concentration in biology) from USF and her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Nova Southeastern University: Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences in Tampa.

After working for a hospital, she decided to open her own practice.

Dr. Kelly’s husband Joel Baez runs the business and marketing side of the practice.

It is Dr. Kelly’s attention to detail that continues to draw in new patients. While most of the bigger physical therapy and orthopaedic businesses can make it feel like you are sharing your appointment with multiple patients, Dr. Kelly prides herself on 1-on-1 care, and she says she is a strong patient advocate, often going above and beyond to help.

Sometimes, that includes finding medical equipment or a wheelchair for a patient. “We don’t just stop when you leave the office,” she says.

That personal care is what attracted Johnson to Tampa Bay Physical Therapy in the first place. She had been to other physical therapists, but felt she was just being rotated between therapists.

“Here you get 1-on-1 attention,” Dr. Kelly says. “You start with me and you stay with me. You don’t get passed off.”

Dr. Kelly says fixing injuries is an important part of her craft, but she also is a firm believer in maintaining wellness. She is hosting the first Tampa Bay Physical Therapy 5K run on June 7, aka Global Running Day, at a site to be determined. She will provide free 15-minute massages and wellness testing for those who attend the event, which she says will be a family fun day with food trucks and other vendors on hand. More information will be posted soon at TampaBayPT.health.

“It’s just our way of giving back to and doing something for the community,” she says. “That’s something we like to do.”

Tampa Bay Physical Therapy is located at 13328 Telecom Dr., and is open Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sat. For more info, visit TampaBayPT.health, call (813) 771-0777.

Coffee Drinks & More Take Flight At The Bean Bar Co.!

Few people I know love a good cup of coffee more than I do, so the latest innovation at The Bean Bar Co., located just off the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. exit of I-75 (in the plaza next to Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms), is definitely right up my alley.

Owner Danielle Henry says that The Bean Bear’s new “coffee flights” definitely borrowed the flight concept from alcoholic beverages, from beer to bourbon and from tequila to wine.

The flights offer customers four 5.5-oz. samples, one each of The Bean Bar’s four customer-favorite “classic” coffee drinks — café mocha, Irish nutcase, café con leche and caramel macchiato. And, Danielle says that since being introduced in January, the flights have really (pun intended) taken off.

“It’s always fun to introduce something new and see how people react to it,” Danielle says. “We’ve sold a lot of coffee flights in just a few weeks.”

In fact, leading up to Valentine’s Day, The Bean Bar offered a flight of four V-Day favorites — raspberry white chocolate, cherry almond, chocolate-covered strawberry and red velvet lattés. “We probably will experiment with other flights,” she says. “Stay tuned.”

For me, it’s difficult to stay away from the Bean Bar, whether anything new is introduced or not. I have continually switched off between the very-authentic-tasting café con leche, made with real Cuban sugar, and the better-than-Starbucks caramel macchiato since the place first opened a little more than a year ago (in Nov. of 2021). But now, I may just have to put the café mocha and some of the other flavors (e.g., toasted marshmallow and peanut butter cup) in my rotation. There also are a number of flavor shots available.

Whatever flavor you choose — even if you just like regular hot or iced — the coffee is always outstanding. Danielle says that all of the coffee is from Naviera Coffee Mills, “an amazing Cuban roast. And, even though people have tried to get us to switch, I don’t believe I ever will.”

Danielle and her brother Kyle Trina each also operate a Bean Bar Co. food truck (and Danielle says both are new versions of their original food truck, and make regular appearances in Wesley Chapel), and she recently finished a 12-day run at the Florida State Fair. “We have the space (at the fair) right next to Peachey’s (Baking Co. of Sarasota), which sells amazing Amish donuts. It’s a perfect spot for us.”

But, as someone who can take or leave the fair, I’m just happy that The Bean Bar Co. has a brick-&-mortar location so close to where I live. In addition to the variety of hot and iced coffee drinks (including a nitro cold brew), there’s also a large menu of hot and iced tea favorites, from Earl Grey and Florida orange blossom to chai tea lattés.

But, What About Breakfast?

I’m glad you asked. I am huge fan of The Bean Bar’s breakfast sandwiches — including the croissant egg sandwiches with garlic aioli, to which you can add turkey bacon or real bacon (for just $1 more), and my favorite waffle chicken sandwich with bacon & egg, served with breakfast syrup. So good.

*The quiche Lorraine isn’t house-made, but it’s still fluffy & delicious.*

But, even though Danielle says it’s been on the menu for a long time, I only recently sampled The Bean Bar’s light-&-fluffy quiche Lorraine. It isn’t made on the premises, but it’s honestly better than the quiche at most places that do house-bake their own. There also are garlic-&-cheddar and everything-&-gouda bagels and Danielle says mini-sized Dutch-style pancakes (with strawberry jelly, Nutella and other toppings) are being added this month.

*If you like your avocado toast a little spicy, try it at The Bean Bar!*

And, while I don’t eat avocado toast, photographer Charmaine George says The Bean Bar’s spicy version of it, served on multi-grain bread, is worth a try, too. The sandwiches also are available for lunch, as are tasty beef and chicken empanadas.

Danielle also has brought in new baked goods. The current options include (all shown on the plate below) apple Danish, apple maple and creme brulée muffin tops (think “Seinfeld”), chocolate pastry twists and lemon raspberry and pink & red marble mini loafs. Other tasty treats float in and out (including cream-filled whoopie pies and strawberry-iced scones) — so stop in to check out the latest.

Danielle and her husband Mark recently welcomed their third child — son Hudson (the others are 5-year-old son Peyton and 2-1/2-year old daughter Layne).

The Bean Bar Co. is located at 17018 Palm Pointe Dr. and is open Mon.-Fri., 6 a.m.-5 p.m., & 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sat. & Sun. For more info, call (813) 442-7699, visit BeanBarCo.com or on Instagram (#beanbar_co) or Facebook (“The Bean Bar Co.”). Also, see the ad on pg. 37 to save 15% off your entire order.

dining New Tampa the bean bar

Legacy At Highwoods Preserve Celebrates Vets, Centenarians & More

Congratulations to The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve (18600 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.) — which was the first full-service assisted living and memory care residence to open in New Tampa when it made its debut more than a decade ago — for hosting a couple of great recent events.

On Presidents Day (Feb. 21), The Legacy hosted a unique celebration to honor its three residents who are all at least 100 years old — Grace Forsythe (age 101), Mary Carbonara (100) and Holocaust survivor Nat Ross (also 100). As part of the celebration, The Legacy executive director Mitchell Edelstein unveiled a unique wall mural adorned with the U.S. flag, an American bald eagle and photos of all ten Legacy residents who also are U.S. military veterans.

The next day, Edelstein and the entire staff at The Legacy hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event in honor of its Grand Reopening, with amazing food by Chef Josh. For more info about The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, call (813) 375-9858 or visit LegacyPreserveTampa.com.

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera celebrates the lives of the three 100-year-old residents at The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve (l.-r.) Grace Forsythe, Nat Ross & Mary Carbonara.

A new wall mural honoring all of the U.S. military vets at The Legacy also was unveiled on Presidents Day

legacy at highwoods preserve New Tampa

New & Old Made For An Eventful 2022 In New Tampa

The New Tampa Performing Arts Center took decades to negotiate and build, but the ribbon was finally cut on the new PAC, which is located right across the street from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green community.

Wesley Chapel has always kind of felt like New Tampa’s little brother, who just happened to have a growth spurt and spent a lot of time in the weight room. Wesley Chapel may be stronger and tower over New Tampa these days, but big brother still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

We think this analogy kind of makes sense, but let’s lay it for you.

In 2022, New Tampa celebrated a number of significant milestones, like the 25th anniversary of opening of the New Tampa Regional Library, the 20th anniversary of schools like Liberty Middle School and Freedom High and the 25th anniversary of the opening of both Benito Middle School and Wharton High.

New Tampa truly is all grown up, in many ways. There may not be room to build new malls and hundreds of new homes — unless the vacated Pebble Creek Golf Club golf course is paved over in the next few years to make way for new homes — but the area continues to move forward with some developments that should make locals happy.

Two notable ribbon cuttings were held — one for the long-awaited New Tampa Performing Arts Center (which will begin hosting performances in 2023) and another for a first-of-its-kind All Abilities Park for the City of Tampa in Tampa Palms.

Both were significant. The Performing Arts Center, championed by Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan for more than a decade, will be the cultural center of New Tampa, opening the way for musicians, dancers, actors and more to hone their skills and have a place to perform. And, for the community, the new center is expected to offer a host of performances and shows that will provide various types of entertainment otherwise unavailable in the area.

As for Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera’s pet project — the New Tampa All Abilities Park — those who suffer from a variety of disabilities now have a place to call their own, and a chance to be included in a number of fun and even educational playground activities that, until now, have been off limits for them.

That’s not all — Hagan also led the groundbreaking of a major renovation of Branchton Park at the corner of Morris Bridge Rd. and Cross Creek Blvd., and also announced that the county hopes to build New Tampa’s first indoor recreation center at Cross Creek Park near Pride Elementary.

And, the long-awaited replacement for the vacated Sweetbay Supermarket, the Asian superstore Lotte Plaza Market, began renovating the old building and expects to open sometime in 2023.

When it comes to other notable moments, New Tampa had its fair share.

Bruhat Soma, now a sixth grader at Turner Bartels K-8, School, qualified for the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., although he couldn’t attend due to Covid-19. He was only the second New Tampa student to ever qualify for the event, joining Benito’s Nupur Lala, who actually won the title in 1999.

Tommy Tonelli, pretty much the only basketball coach Wharton High has ever known, stepped down after leading the Wildcats to the State semifinals. Tonelli finished as Hillsborough County’s all-time- winningest boys basketball coach with a 528-137 record over 23 seasons.

Long-time Pebble Creek resident Marion Brodarick celebrated her 100th birthday, and is still going strong.

And, remember when gas prices were more than $4 a gallon? That prompted more than 100 cars to line up on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. for a promotional event, as the Marathon station neat I-75 was offering gas for just $2.38 per gallon.

As for New Tampa’s aforementioned little brother, it was another big year for new and cool things. In addition to the announcement of a new hospital (Wesley Chapel’s second), a few groundbreakings for town centers and an upscale Cooper’s Hawk restaurant on S.R. 56, Wesley Chapel’s 2022 highlights also included:

• The debut of the KRATE at the Grove Container Park in June, probably Wesley Chapel’s No. 1 success story of the year. The grand opening event of what is, at the very least, our area’s most unique and one-of-a-kind hangout, drew roughly 8,000 people, and its never-ending stream of special events — like ‘70s Night, ‘80s Night, movie nights and more — routinely draw more than a thousand patrons at a time to The Grove.

Comprised of converted shipping containers with an Instagrammable flair, KRATE has a little something for almost everyone. It boasts 29 restaurants with a variety of ethnic offerings, as well as 17 retail stores. The KRATE’s stage features some kind of live entertainment almost every week. Even during the recent winter chill, it’s been (and still is) the hot place to be these days.

• Saddlebrook Resort — which deserves maybe more credit than anything else for putting Wesley Chapel on the map as far back as the 1980s — was sold in 2022 for $15 million. And, long-time owner Tom Dempsey told us that it was just the first step in an expansion and renovation of the storied golf resort and residential development. Those plans include expanding Saddlebrook’s master-planned unit development (MPUD) by more than 400 acres and converting one of its two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses and the resort’s driving range into a site that would potentially include commercial/retail, restaurants, apartments, homes and other uses — serving as something of a Saddlebrook town center.

• If you regularly drive to Wesley Chapel for all the cool stuff, a lot of 2022 traffic improvements should make traveling in the area much more pleasant in 2023.

The diverging diamond interchange (DDI) is now fully open at the S.R. 56 and I-75 interchange and, except for some clean up and road markings. And, the Overpass Rd. interchange at I-75 — between the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits — will be open soon, and the widening of S.R. 54 from east of Curley Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd. should be completed late in 2023.

When you add in the new paving planned for Tampa Palms Blvd., it feels like this year was a win for area commuters.

• Looking Ahead…In 2023, New Tampa can expect the completion of the Branchton Park improvements and a schedule of events for the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. And, with the ongoing fight over what to do with Pebble Creek’s golf course picking up steam, potential replacements for the Best Buy and Oronzo Honest Italian restaurant in Highwoods Preserve, when Kobe Japanese Steakhouse will open in its new location (see pg. 36) and a surprise or two, New Tampa definitely can expect an eventful 2023.

Meanwhile, Wesley Chapel can look forward to stepped-up growth in Wiregrass Ranch, including the long-awaited town center, and another in downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and much more.

2022 New Tampa

Kiran Indian Grocery — Treating New Tampa Like Family For 20 Years

*Kiran’s son Satvik (left) is a clinical psychiatrist; her younger son Sahit is in medical school.*

Kiran Indian Grocery, located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza, has been a mainstay at this constantly-changing plaza since 2014. Before that, owner Kiran Vanthenapalli owned a store (from 2003-06; and an Indian restaurant, too) on E. Fowler Ave. and, from 2006-10, her store was in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

That means that some of her beloved customers have known and trusted Kiran and her family and staff to provide their (predominantly) Indian and Pakistani spices, coffees and teas, frozen foods, meats, snacks, sweets and even hair care and other cosmetic products (and so much more) for almost 20 years.

And of course, Kiran is perhaps best known for her amazing selection of fresh produce, with so many Indian specialty items I’ve never tasted (or even seen) before at prices that she says she knows, “no one can beat. I do my research — and no one beats my prices on produce.”

For example, she can describe the difference between coconuts used for Indian prayers and those that are meant for eating, and of course, stocks both in the store.

But actually, saying that Kiran is best known for her produce isn’t 100-percent accurate. Kiran Indian Grocery is actually best-known for Kiran herself, something that no other store of any kind can boast.

Not only can Kiran tell you where each and every one of her thousands of available items are located, she also can tell you the prices for each — all off the top of her head. That’s kind of amazing because she has so many different items and many different brands of the same types of products — e.g., she has as many different “masala” seasonings and brands as most grocery stores have beers — crammed into a store that somehow seems both much bigger and much smaller than it actually is because it offers such an amazing variety of products.

“I can’t do my own inventory on a computer,” Kiran says. “My computer is right here (pointing to her head).”

But, Kiran’s staffers also are knowledgeable. It’s just pretty much impossible for anyone else to have memorized the prices, sizes and exact location within the store of so many different items — many of which aren’t even marked with prices.

But, if Kiran tells you what the price is on any item, rest assured that when that item is rung up at the check-out counter, the exact price she quoted will pop up.

Also stored in Kiran’s computer brain are the favorite items of every one of her regular customers. She re-orders many items based on when she knows the customers who regularly purchase those items will be back in to buy them.

“I don’t like disappointing anyone,” she says with her usual sweet smile. “If I am running low on an item you always get, I’ll hold enough of that item for you,” so you can stay stocked until she gets her next shipment of it. And, “If I only have three left, and I don’t know how soon I’ll get more, I’ll tell you to buy two of them.”

And, if Kiran does somehow run out of one of your favorites, she’ll suggest an alternative that you can try that you might end up liking better.

A Love Of Animals

Kiran and her husband Sudeer have always also served not only their community, but people — and even animals — in need around the world.

She has been involved — at least since opening her store in Cross Creek — with the Tampa Bay chapter of the SPCA (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and she has donated fresh produce, rice and really anything the local chapter has needed because she is such a strong believer that people need pets and that so many of the pets in shelters can and do help individuals and families who need the kind of companionship and love that only a dog or cat can provide.

“I love the SPCA,” Kiran says. “It feels good to help them because they help so many people…and animals.”

When Covid-19 hit back in March 2020 and I started going through issues with my printer, Kiran was probably the first (but thankfully, not the only) advertiser to call me and say, “What do you need? How can I help?

She thought I said that I was going out of business. “I started crying,” she said. “I told (her husband) Sudeer, ‘We have to help our brother.’”

Even though I thankfully never got to that point and have no Indian heritage whatsoever, Kiran has been calling me her brother for years now. And, even though she seems to treat everyone who stops into the store like a member of her family, I refer to her as my sister, too. You just can’t fake her kind of genuine goodness and compassion for others.

“Gary, my brother, I’m so sorry that I’m out of your favorite chocolate bars right now,” she said to me on my most recent visit. “I also had to order (my wife) Jannah’s favorite tea. I’ll let you know when all of that comes in.”

But, it’s a big compliment to me because Kiran does also have an amazing family of which she is equally proud. Sudeer is a software engineer and their older son Satvik graduated from medical school at USF and is now a clinical psychiatrist, while younger son Sahit currently is in med school and plans to become a psychiatrist as well.

Another case in point about how Kiran treats everyone is that, when people check out at her store, she or her cashier will put coupons from other local businesses in the customers’ shopping bags. She has helped most of the Indian restaurants (as well as the new Gorkhali Kitchen Nepalese restaurant now located next to her store) and other businesses owned by people from India and Pakistan in our area this way and she says that she would be happy to do it for other businesses, too.

“We’re all in this together,” she says.

And of course, whether you like or want to cook Indian food or not, if you’re a fan of delicious chocolate cookies or other sweet and/or salty treats, or you want the best prices in town on a most unique selection of fresh produce items, you owe it to yourself to visit my sister Kiran.

Kiran Indian Grocery is located at 10042 Cross Creek Blvd. and is open Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information, call (813) 994-6202, search “Kiran Indian Grocery” on Facebook or see the ad on pg. 34.

Kiran Indian Grocery New Tampa