Business Briefs – Whole Foods & Aldi Updates, Joann’s Is Closing & Nothing Bundt Cakes Opens! 

The updated site plan submitted to Pasco County for a five-building commercial plaza in the Meadow Pointe area of Wesley Chapel that is expected to include a Whole Foods market. (Source: Pasco County)
Whole Foods Moving Forward? 

In mid-February, updated plans were submitted to Pasco County for a high-end retail center on the long-vacant land north of Aronwood Blvd. and east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel that previously was announced as having both a Whole Foods grocery store and a Life Time Fitness center. Those original plans, filed in March of 2024, were withdrawn two days later. 

The new plans — submitted by privately held commercial developer SJC Ventures — do not mention any of the proposed tenants, but they look similar enough to the former site plan that did include Whole Foods and Life Time for some local news media to assume that those major tenants are likely still part of the new five-building (totalling 160,468 sq. ft.) plans (see site plan, above). 

The new plan calls for “Major Tenant A,” believed to be Whole Foods, occupying a 35,518-sq.-ft. building, with “Major Tenant B,” believed to be Life Time Fitness, in the site’s easternmost 84,500-sq.-ft. building. Other buildings included in the new site plan are a 10,416-sq. ft. “Shops” building adjacent to Major Tenant A, and two additional “Shops” buildings of 16,017 and 14,017 sq. ft. at the southwest corner of the site. 

If ultimately approved by Pasco, which is expected, the new plaza likely won’t be ready to open until 2027. 

Tampa Palms Joann Fabrics Closing? 

Also in mid-February, a judge approved the second declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Joann Fabrics & Crafts that will allow the retailer to close 500 of its 800 U.S. stores. 

Among the locations already holding a “Going Out of Business” sale is the Joann’s located at 6234 Commerce Palms Blvd., in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza (photo left). 

“Right-sizing our store footprint is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the best path forward for Joann,” the company said in a prepared news release on Feb. 14. “We anticipate the store closures to occur over the next few months, although some stores may close within a shorter or longer time period.” We had not heard at our press time when the Tampa Palms Joann’s will actually close. 

For more information, call (813) 910-8996 or visit Joann.com. 

New Tampa Winn-Dixie Will Become An Aldi! 

We reported a couple of issues ago that the Winn-Dixie supermarket located at 6425 County Line Rd. had closed and was being converted to an Aldi market, since Aldi had purchased all of the remaining links in the Winn-Dixie chain. 

However, Aldi sold 170 of its Winn-Dixie stores to a private consortium of investors in Feb. However, we now have it on good authority from another tenant in the same plaza that Aldi has, in fact, signed a long-term lease for the former New Tampa Winn-Dixie. 

We did not know at our press time, however, when the conversion will be completed or when the third Aldi in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area is expected to open. 

Nothing Bundt Cakes Is Open! 

If your sweet tooth has been acting up, local residents can now get their fix of Nothing Bundt Cakes, which opened in mid-February in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center at 16047 Tampa Palms Blvd. W (right photo). 

The new store — the second in our distribution areas (the other is in the Shops at Wiregrass mall) — features the same delicious bundt cakes in a variety of sizes and flavors (with that delectable icing) as the chain’s 600+ other stores in the U.S. and Canada. 

Founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz, Nothing Bundt Cakes has been named the #1 Favorite Brand in America, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. 

I got to sample the new Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor on my first visit to the new bakery. I’ll definitely be visiting again soon! 

For more info, call (813) 344-5959 or visit NothingBundtCakes.com.— GN

TGI Friday’s Closes In Highwoods Preserve; Nothing Bundt Cakes & Cookie Plug Coming Soon? 

When I lived in Manhattan, New York, in the 1980s, my apartment was a couple of blocks from the original TGI Fridays on 1st Ave. Not only was it the location where Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown served drinks in the movie “Cocktail,” it also was a truly great non-chain restaurant. 

Then, when I moved to Tarrytown, NY, one of the first TGI Fridays franchises opened and I was disgusted by the “chain-ing” of this fabled eatery. My favorite potato skins on earth went from giant, crispy spuds filled with real cheddar cheese and topped with crumbled hunks of real bacon to mini-potatoes with low-quality American cheese and fake bacon bits. I swore to never visit a Fridays again. 

But, when the Fridays on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Highwoods Preserve opened nearly two decades ago, I still visited fairly frequently, as it often had live music, a hoppin’ bar and the food seemed better than it was in Tarrytown, even though the potato skins were still less than overwhelming. 

So, I wasn’t surprised to hear that the New Tampa Fridays was one of nearly 50 to close its doors on Oct. 24 (see notice, above), following a purge of 36 locations in January, leaving the chain with 164 remaining links and the parent company reportedly ready to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

Hopefully, something good will replace Fridays in this prime BBD location, but can a mom-&-pop even afford to move in there? 

The better news is that zip code 33647 is about to get its just desserts, as Nothing Bundt Cakes (NBC) will open a location about eight miles south of its popular location in The Shops at Wiregrass. Although NBC is limited to moist bundt cakes with amazing icing, it will still be a better choice in the former Subway location next to China City in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center. 

The most interesting news is that Cookie Plug, which also is getting ready to open in The Grove at Wesley Chapel (next to the Ice Dreammm Shop), also is getting ready to open in the former Weight Watchers location about 11 miles to the south in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza. 

We had no further information as to when NBC or Cookie Plug were expected to open, but we will keep you posted. — GN

NTBC Celebrates ‘Ribbon Cutting Day’ In Style! 

Among the seven businesses cutting ribbons with the NTBC on Mar. 20 were the Chamber itself (above) and Signature Workspace (below), where all of the businesses were located. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Congratulations to the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC), which celebrated the most ribbon-cutting events on a single day in its history on Mar. 20, when the NTBC itself cut a ribbon at its new office at the Signature Workspace at the Shops at Wiregrass. Among the six other businesses hosting ribbon cuttings that same day were the Signature Workspace itself, plus The Copeland Team, Wesley Chapel Fingerprinting Services, Cornelius Demps for Circuit Judge, Gulf Coast Accounting & Tax and the Injury Law Office of Lucas, Macyszyn & Dyer. 

In addition to all those ribbons being cut, the event also featured amazing free food provided by Vesh Catering, Azteca D’Oro, Chuck Lager America’s Tavern, Crazy Sushi, Grillsmith, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Pinchers Crab Shack and The Living Room. If you missed it, you missed something special! 

For more info about the NTBC, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com. 

Wesley Chapel Dining Survey Results: Your Favorite Dessert Place!

Joe Schembri scoops some cookie butter ice cream onto a waffle cone. Schembri spent a year developing his ice cream flavors before opening his first store, and the results have made his Ice Dreammm Shop our readers’ favorite dessert place in Wesley Chapel.

1. Ice Dreammm Shop
6013 Wesley Grove Blvd #101
(727) 495-6730
IceDreammmShop.com

Joe Schembri knows people love the ice cream he makes at his popular Ice Dreammm Shop at The Grove.

But sometimes, he can be surprised, overwhelmed and humbled at just how much the locals love it.

Last week, Schembri received an order from a long-time customer of his original store in Lutz. It was for the customer’s mother-in-law, who was going into hospice. One of her last requests was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a scoop of coffee ice cream. The next morning, at 10 a.m., the order was picked up.

Famous for its ice cream, but it has added other dessert favorites like brownies and pies.

It was a surreal moment, one that had Schembri catching his breath.

“I mean, you always want to see customers love what you sell,” he said. “But this, this was crazy. Crazy.”

Schembri’s Lutz location already was among the top choices for best dessert in or near Wesley Chapel, but adding to his legion of fans by opening a Wesley Chapel location has launched him to No. 1 — a runaway victory.

Made with the best, all-natural ingredients he can find, the flavors he spent a year perfecting in his garage before opening his first location continue to satisfy, and Schembri continues to concoct new delights. 

He says his Cookies & Dream flavor is the best seller, and the Cookie Butter is coming on fast. And, don’t miss out on the seasonal Santa’s Cookies and Milk, Sweet Potato Pie and even Coquito ice cream, as well as a dozen other creamy delights, with many new flavors swapped in weekly, and you can even have them made into amazing ice cream pies (below).

And, speaking of new flavors, Schembri has, as he promised when the Wesley Chapel shop opened, added a variety of new baked goods, including fudge brownies, triple-layer peanut butter brownies and more. — JCC

2. TWISTEE TREAT
5258 Village Market
(321) 445-9103
TwisteeTreat.com

Sometimes, you may be in the mood for something other than sitting inside and enjoying a rich, fancy exotically-flavored helping of ice cream. And, when you just want some soft-serve ice cream, Twistee Treat is a super-popular choice.

You can get your ice cream on a waffle taco, brownie boat, between two cookies or as part of a sundae or banana split. But, the most traditional way Twistee Treat serves up its 25 or so flavors might be its most popular — through a drive-thru window on the side of its unmistakable ice-cream-cone-shaped building, twirled on top of a cone of your choice.

And since your car will probably be full of kids, don’t forget to ask for extra napkins! — JCC

3. NOTHING BUNDT CAKES
28354 Willet Way
(813) 536-1447
NothingBundtCakes.com

Since opening at the Shops at Wiregrass in 2017, Nothing Bundt Cakes has been a consistent top choice for favorite dessert.

In 2018, it was voted as the area’s No. 1 Favorite Dessert, and the last three years, including 2021, it has finished in the Top 3 of Wesley Chapel faves.

And why not?

While it doesn’t offer a crazy variety of cakes, this national chain with more than 400 bakeries across the U.S. has mastered its products, which are, hands down, the moistest cakes you’ll find anywhere. You can choose between 10 flavors in different sizes — bite-sized bundtinis, mini bundtlets or special order full-sized bundt cakes — and they’re always a perfect treat to bring to any holiday party. — JCC

The rest of the 2021 Dessert top 10:
(4) Crumbl Cookies
(5) Culver’s
(6) Dairy Queen
(7) 365 Cafe Italiano
(8) Menchie’s
(9) Dunkin
(10) Starbucks

Nibbles & Bytes

Kate Spade Opens In TPO!

“We are now at 100-percent occupancy,” Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) general manager Stacey Nance told me at the July 20 ribbon cutting event for the new Kate Spade store (photo) in TPO. “How many malls can say that?”

In addition to Kate Spade (see below), Nance says the remaining three slots at the outlet mall also are all now taken — True Religion Designer Jeans & Clothing, Salt Life and the Man Cave Store, which has been a hit at other Simon malls with billiards tables, Harley Davidson gear, Mr. Beer and more.

But, there’s no doubt that a lot of people — dozens were on hand during or shortly after the store’s ribbon cutting to check out the deals — are excited about the high-end handbags, wallets, clothing and accessories at Kate Spade, the store chain that the late designer Kate Brosnahan and her husband Andy Spade (the brother of actor/comedian David Spade) created as Kate Spade New York in 1993, combining her first name and his surname. The couple had sold all of their interest in the brand to Nieman Marcus by 2006, which then sold it to Liz Claiborne that same year.

Of course, Kate was found dead in her apartment on June 5 of this year, by her own hand, leaving a note for her daughter Frances.

“We signed this lease in December,” Nance, an admitted fan of the brand, said. “And we’re really excited that Kate Spade is open.”

Get Ready For The Hyatt Place!
“We know there’s not enough hotel rooms in Wesley Chapel right now,” says Karen Martin, the director of sales for the new 132-room Hyatt Place hotel on the north side of S.R. 56, next to Bahama Breeze, which had its “soft” opening on July 31. “But, it’s about to get a lot more fun out here.”

Martin says that although the six-story hotel just opened, “My phone’s been ringing off the hook for weeks, especially with people booking rooms for tournaments at the hockey rink (Florida Hospital Center Ice, located just east of I-75 on S.R. 56, while the Hyatt Place is just west of the interstate).

Although Martin says the new Hyatt Place doesn’t have full Hyatt resort amenities, it does have a Gallery restaurant and bar, a separate breakfast area, an outdoor swimming pool, nice fitness and business centers and meeting spaces with built-in audio/visual features.

The adjacent Sierra Conference Center has a really nice ballroom that Martin says can seat about 350 people with tables in a banquet setup and can be subdivided into three smaller ballrooms, which can each seat at least 250 people each in a theatre-style seating set-up. Martin says she also loves the conference center’s adjacent break-out and outdoor seating areas.

“But, to really get a feel for whether or not we should be hosting your event,” she says, “you should come out and take a tour. We’re all really excited to be open.”

She adds that the hotel hopes to host an upcoming “Final Friday” networking event for the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and is planning “a big Grand Opening event sometime in November.”

The Hyatt Place Wesley Chapel is located at 26000 Sierra Center Blvd. For more information, call (813) 803-5600 or visit HyattPlace.com.

We’ll have updates about the Hilton Garden Inn & Residence Inn hotels coming soon to S.R. 56 in our next issue.

Here & There, This & That…

• I can’t even tell you how excited my taste buds are now that Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel favorite Nothing Bundt Cakes has opened across from Noble Crust in the Shops at Wiregrass mall. Whether you love red velvet or dark chocolate cake with extra creamy white icing, or the decadent white chocolate raspberry bundt cake, Nothing Bundt Cakes will have you salivating for more.

Check out a free sample when you visit and please tell the staff that you read all about them in the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

• I also was sad to hear, despite owner Ramses Garcia’s best efforts to negotiate a new lease with his landlord, that Las Palmas Spanish Café, the Latin/Cuban favorite located behind Kobe Steakhouse in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (a mile south of County Line Rd.), had closed.
Garcia had been talking to me for several months about how hard it had been for the businesses in the plaza to stay afloat, with the Bruce B. Downs widening construction still ongoing in front of the plaza, but he was still hoping to work things out less than two weeks before he announced the closing on Facebook. Will Garcia reopen in another location? We’ll keep you posted!

• Meanwhile, congratulations go out to my friends Travis and Fiona Monday, the owners of Fit 4 Life Personal Training & Physical Therapy Studio (17419 Bridge Hill Ct. in Tampa Palms), who celebrated the studio’s 22nd year in business with another great Martini Party, catered by the nearby Stonewood Grill & Tavern, on July 20.