(l.-r.) Jordan Kornberg of Mast Capital, Pasco County Comm. Jack Mariano & Florida Sports Coast exec. director Adam Thomas were among those who took the first swings on the new driving range at Saddlebrook Resort on Dec. 11. (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)
Since Mast Capital purchased Saddlebrook Resort & Spa from the resortâs late founder and owner Tom Dempsey back in 2022, the Wesley Chapel community has been anxiously waiting to see what Mast was going to do to update and upgrade what was once the jewel of Wesley Chapel.
To that end, on Dec. 11, Saddlebrook and Mast unveiled the resortâs newly relocated golf driving range with a âfirst driveâ ceremony, a champagne toast and a great party that thunder, lightning and the possibility of heavy rain cut short.
With Saddlebrookâs former driving range along S.R. 54 being replaced with apartments, the range was relocated to a portion of the former Palmer Course, one of two Arnold Palmer-designed 18-hole courses at the resort. But, Mast decided to do away with nine of the Palmer Courseâs 18 holes and the new driving range takes up about six of the other nine holes.
When the renovations are complete, Saddlebrook will be left with 27 holes of championship golf.
(Above, l.-r.) Saddlebrook managing director Raj Mohan, Kornberg & Mariano all spoke at the event.Â
Mast Capital chief investment officer Jordan Kornberg promised that the new driving range âis just the beginning. We will be returning Saddlebrook to its former glory.â
Among those joining Kornberg for the ceremonial first drive (complete with exploding golf balls) were the resortâs managing director Raj Mohan, District 1 Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and Florida Sports Coast executive director Adam Thomas.
Mohan said he was looking forward to the community seeing the changes now in motion at Saddlebrook and Mariano also expressed excitement for the future of the resort.
Attendees were treated to a picnic-style lunch with fried chicken, beef brisket and curried pork with all the trimmings, as well as enough umbrellas for everyone in attendance, as heavy showers were a looming possibility.
For more information about Saddlebrook Resort, visit Saddlebrook.com or call (813) 973-1111.Â
 The Man Who Put Wesley Chapel On The Map Was 97 Years Old & Surrounded By His FamilyÂ
Saddlebrook Resort founder Tom Dempsey, with his granddaughter Alexis and her husband James Doyle, got to meet his great granddaughter Darla Eleanor Doyle while he was in home hospice care. (Photo copied from Alexis Doyleâs Facebook page)Â
Even though I knew he had been in home hospice care for several weeks, the news that Saddlebrook Resort founder and former owner Thomas L. (Tom) Dempsey â known affectionately to his family and friends as âT.D.â â had passed away the day before we went to press with this issue was still a shock to my system.
Mr. Dempsey, who literally put the previously unknown area known as Wesley Chapel on the map, when the Pittway Corp. purchased and began building Saddlebrook way back in 1979, was always so kind to me and said such sweet, complimentary things to me about my efforts with the Neighborhood News. The fact that he ran the huge Penton Publishing empire (a subsidiary of Pittway) in his native Cleveland, OH, for so many years gave his words to me so much more meaning. Even though we only met maybe 10-12 times in all of the years I have owned the Neighborhood News, I still looked upon him as something of a mentor â especially the few times he told me he felt I had gotten something wrong.
The ironic thing to me is that my first home in the Wesley Chapel area, which I moved my family into in 1993 (after leaving Westchester County, NY) was a condominium I rented in the community around Saddlebrook. My kids loved swimming in the resortâs Superpool and members of my family stayed at the resort when they visited us.
I was there when T.D. first opened his beloved Dempseyâs Steak House, Saddlebrookâs crown jewel, and when the original European-style spa opened. The Neighborhood News also followed closely the saga of the resortâs sale, which T.D. definitely resisted for years.
Alexis Dempsey (now Doyle) & her brother Masterson received their diplomas from T.D. when they both graduated from St. Leo University (Alexis with her M.B.A.) in 2016. (NN file photo)Â
I also became friends with not only Mr. Dempseyâs granddaughter Alexis, but also his former general manager at the resort, Pat Ciaccio, and long-time employee Erik Ravenna, both of whom partnered with T.D. in Johnny Câs Italian Eatery on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa.Â
Both Pat and Erik also called T.D. a âmentorâ and said that although his passing was tremendously sad, as Pat told me, âat least he is finally at peace, and with his beloved Ellie (his wife of 60 years, who passed away in 2017).â
Meanwhile, JD Porter, the Wiregrass Ranch developer whose family trust provided the land for Saddlebrook, said, âMr. Dempsey was both a visionary and a trailblazer for this community. Itâs a rarity for someone in an industry as cyclical and tumultuous as resorts to have such a track record of success and the grit to weather storms that most would run from. We had our successes and battles over the years on certain items with Tom but, at the end of the day, he was a man with fortitude who fought the good fight and was essential in helping to shape not only Wesley Chapel but the entire region through not only his vision but his actions. He will be sorely missed.â
Erik Ravenna (left) & Pat Ciaccio are the owners of Johnny Câs Italian Eatery on Cross Creek Blvd. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Even though there are other pretty great options for Italian food in New Tampa, if you like feeling like family as you enjoy traditional comfort food âItaliano,â you need to visit my friends Pat Ciaccio and Erik Ravenna at Johnny Câs Italian Eatery, located in the small plaza on Cross Creek Blvd. at Morris Bridge Rd.
Jannah and I â and photographer Charmaine George â have visited Johnny Câs often since it opened in May of this year and thereâs no doubt that the restaurant named for Patâs father Johnny (a long-time restaurateur himself) is more of a sit-down restaurant than Precinct Pizza, the previous eatery in the same space.
Pat and Erik, who also worked together at Saddlebrook Resort, are long-time friends who both were looking for a new challenge â at least, thatâs how Pat tells it.
âActually, the only reason Iâm here doing this is because of Pat,â Erik counters. âI wasnât really looking to run a kitchen, but Iâd be lying if I said I wasnât enjoying myself.â
Fried calamari
Former Saddlebrook owner Tom Dempsey and Erikâs brother Seth also helped open Johnny Câs, which has a large selection of seafood options, in addition to the usual calamari, linguine with clams, wings, NY-style pizzas, lasagna and other baked pastas, favorites like fettuccine Alfredo, chicken piccata and marsala and starters like bruschetta and fried mozzarella wedges.
âI saw that New Tampa didnât have places with a lot of seafood pasta options,â Ravenna says. âWe have a mussels posillipo appetizer, plus Frutti di Mare (which translates to âfruits of the seasâ) pasta, shrimp scampi, fra diavalo, parmigiana and marinara.â
Ya gotta try the âYea Babe!â pizza.
Erik also dusts Johnny Câs pizza crusts with garlic and named one of his favorites â the âYea, Babe!â â after his father-in-law, Grandpa Billâs favorite saying. The Yea Babe! features pink vodka sauce (instead of traditional red pizza sauce), Italian sausage and mozzarella. The other specialty pizzas on the menu are all named for the five boroughs of New York City, as well as SoHo, but you can get any of the 18 pizza toppings on the menu â from anchovies to sundried tomatoes â on any of the three sizes of pizza and in the calzones. You can even get your pizza made with a gluten-free cauliflower crust.
âWe have an open kitchen, and a dining room that might be a little louder than what youâre used to,â Erik says, âbecause we want you to enjoy our food the way Italian families do.â
You canât go wrong with a Johnny Câs Italian grinder. Momma’s lasagne
We honestly have only ever tried the house and Caesar salads (both very good), but thereâs also a blue cheese wedge, antipasto and caprese salads and you can add chicken or shrimp to the salads for $4 more.
Finish off your meal with delicious cannolis.
Save room for dessert, too. From delicious cannolis to the tartufo gelato bomb with hot fudge and whipped cream, thereâs no better way to top off a great meal, and Johnny Câs recently added beer and wine, too. And yes, thereâs also a kids menu, with all items just $6.95.
Johnny Câs Italian Eatery (10970 Cross Creek Blvd.) is open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. every day. For info, call (813) 278-8020, visit JohnnyCsItalianEatery.com. Catering also is a specialty and your Booster Club can hold its Spirit Days at the restaurant. Call during business hours for details.