Nibbles and Bites: Sweet Party closing.

Sweet Party owner Maher Alagal

Very soon, New Tampa will have no party stores, as the Sweet Party store located at 20310 Trout Creek Dr., west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (behind Burger 21) will close, most likely sometime immediately after Halloween (Sunday, October 31).

Owner Maher Alagal says that although Sweet Party is still making money, he is ready to retire and spend more time with his family. He also has been looking to sell the store, which became the only party store in New Tampa after the Party Scene store in the Pebble Creek Collection on BBD closed in 2017.

“People said I put Party Scene out of business when I opened, but I actually tried to buy that store from its owner before it closed,” Maher says. “I honestly believed that there was room for two party supply and costume stores in this area.”

But now, with Halloween less than six weeks away as this issue arrived in your mailbox, Maher says that everything in his store must go, including his huge selection of Halloween costumes for men, women and children. And yes, at our press time, the selection of available costumes at Sweet Party was still pretty sizable, but moving fast, especially with the entire inventory of costumes up to 70% to 80% off their regular prices.

Maher says similar savings are available on party supplies, balloons and other unique merchandise — but don’t blame me if anything mentioned here is gone before you get there!

For info, call Sweet Party at (813) 994-4900 or visit SweetPartyTampa.com. — GN

Jeremiah’s To Expand To Wesley Chapel

Congrats to partners Pete and Dru Patel, who opened their first Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise earlier this month at 7936 Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills.

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, which was opened at its original location in Winter Park, FL, in 1996 by founder and Philadelphia native Jeremy Litwack, now has 60 locations in Arizona and throughout Florida.

The good news for Wesley Chapel isn’t just because of Jeremiah’s unique gelati (Italian ice layered with soft-serve ice cream), but also because the partners also plan to open two Wesley Chapel locations. Visit JeremiahsIce.com or call (813) 438-5754 for more info. 

New Tampa’s Sweet Party Store Is Your Halloween Headquarters!

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Maher and Leslie Alagal opened the Sweet Party store in the Trout Creek area of New Tampa in May. The store is loaded with an array of party themes, supplies and accessories.

If you’re trying to judge party stores, you are probably going to start with, well, the party.

Holding a luau?

Sweet Party has you covered.

Mardi Gras? Bridal Shower? Gasparilla?

Check, check and check. And the list goes on and on.

“We are filling so many themes that you can’t find elsewhere,’’ says Maher Alagal, who owns the largest party store in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area with his wife, Leslie.

Sweet Party, located in the Trout Creek Commons plaza, just off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and right behind the Bay Breeze Castrol Lube Express and Burger 21, has been open since May, and seems to be finding its footing in the area as a one-stop shop for party planners. You can find most any theme (say, LEGOs, princesses or ninjas) that can include streamers, cups and napkins. Candy and prizes have their own aisles at Sweet Party, along with balloons, confetti and gift bags.

“We have been thinking about doing this for 3-4 years,’’ says Leslie, who has lived in Tampa since 1992. “There was no large party store to provide for the people of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, so we jumped in and did it.”

The 7,000-sq.-ft. party place seems to have everything, and if they don’t, Maher says they can find it for you. Case in point: one customer was looking for party cups and napkins in the hard-to-find color of robin’s egg blue. Now, right near a seemingly endless wall of colored cups, napkins and plates, sits a robin’s egg blue display of those items as well.

And, Maher and Leslie offer a 10-percent discount to military and first responders, as well as various other community members. Mention that you read this article, or visited his Facebook page, and he’ll give you 10-percent off, too.

“This place is incredible,” wrote Tampa’s Amanda Gill on Sweet Party’s Facebook page. “Just went to browse for my son’s upcoming party and this place has everything…. If you’re looking for anything party-related, or even just extras for a get together, this place has it! And I even heard him telling another customer if there is something they don’t have, let them know and they’ll try and get it! But I’m telling you, they have EVERYTHING!”

Making Halloween Costume Shopping Less Scary

The store is now prepped for Halloween as well, with dressing areas in the back. On the back wall are more than 400 pictures of the Halloween costumes the store has in stock, ranging from Ninja Turtles and The Avengers for kids, to a host of costumes for adults as well. There is a colorful aisle filled with feather boas of almost every color, plus other costume accessories, such as tights, wigs and masks.

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Looking for Halloween costumes & accessories? Sweet Party has you covered!

Thanks to Sweet Party, you can go to your Halloween party as a pirate, a nurse or a 1970s rock star. If you really want to be obscure, hurry in and snatch that Richard Simmons costume off the hook.

“We expect Halloween to be one of our biggest days,’’ Leslie says.

While themed birthday parties are the most common, another popular party theme these days are the “gender reveal” get-togethers, says Leslie.

Sweet Party has an entire display devoted to the big day, with a slew of different ways, including scratch-off cards, to unveil to your friends whether your family is expecting a boy or a girl.

One gender reveal party Leslie was planning for two weeks ago involved a 36-inch balloon (Sweet Party is the only place around where you can find latex balloons that large) that she was going to be filling with pink streamers and confetti before inflating. At the big reveal, the balloon would be popped and the secret would be out of the bag…or balloon, as it were.

“Gender reveal parties are a big thing today, much bigger than when (our generation) was having babies,’’ Leslie says. “We’ve had people bring in their containers with the unopened envelope in it, because they don’t want to know (until the reveal) either.”

sweetparty_5Behind the front counter of the store is a wall of inflated mylar balloons for every occasion. There are super heroes, “Star Wars” characters, Elsa from “Frozen,” Pikachu of “Pokemon” fame and dozens of others — with more than 100 inflated balloons covering the wall and another 100-plus packaged in their own aisle. Leslie says Mickey and Minnie Mouse continue to be the best sellers, but one can purchase a 46-inch Iron Man balloon, or even a 70-inch “Star Wars” Storm Trooper.

Sweet Party also carries 34-inch-tall inflatable letters — Leslie says no one else in the area stocks them — so you can spell out B-A-B-Y or the name of your party’s guest of honor.

Sweet Party will inflate your balloons for you, or you can rent a helium tank and do it yourself.

“Balloons and candy are our biggest sellers,’’ Leslie said. “But, it all depends. A week ago, the bachelorette party stuff was flying off the shelves. And, graduation was pretty good for us, too.”

sweetparty_2Leslie and Maher say the business is growing well, and they have made a lot of new friends in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities by helping out with  school parties as well. The word is getting out, as people putting on graduation parties from Zephyrhills drove all the way to Sweet Party for supplies.

The store also has a display for sports parties. On the Monday following Florida State’s recent 55-35 win over USF, the shelf with party supplies adorned with the logos of both teams was sparse. There is a section with party supplies for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Bucs and the most popular NFL teams, like the Green Bay Packers, and even more generic supplies if you’re putting on a party for the future All-Star in your home, like large soccer ball paper lanterns.

“The New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities have been great,’’ Leslie says. “It’s been fun to interact with customers. We have found out that people party every day of the week.”

Sweet Party is located at 20310 Trout Creek Dr. and is open Mon.-Thur., 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Fri.-Sat. and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sun. For more information, visit SweetPartyTampa.com or Facebook.com/SweetPartyTampa, or call 994-4900.