Retired land use & zoning attorney Ron Weaver (with mic in above photo), formerly with the Tampa-based firm of Stearns Weaver Miller, was the featured speaker at the Aug. 5 North Tampa Bay Chamber Business Breakfast held at Pasco Hernando State Collegeās Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.Ā
Weaver, showed off his encyclopedic knowledge of how both Hillsborough and Pasco counties developed. He began his presentation with an attention-grabbing look at some of the famous Tampa Bay-area ānudists,ā because, he said, āSince 1941, we have been the nudist capital of the world.ā He mentioned actress Lauren Hutton, actor Channing Tatum and pro wrestler/ actor John Cena, all of whom have done nude scenes on film, as among our areaās nudists.
Weaver also talked about how both Hillsborough and Pasco counties were named for British citizens. Wills Hill, the 1st Earl of (or āLordā) Hillsborough, who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies prior to the American Revolution, which Weaver said Lord Hillsborough caused by ignoring the protests of the Colonists.
More than 100 years later, Samuel Pasco, who also was born in London but attended Harvard University across the pond, was recruited to help expand education opportunities in north Florida and ended up having a county spun off from Hernando County named for him after he served as Floridaās Speaker of the House. ā GN
A lot of local businesses offer āChristmas in Julyā events, but very few that Iāve been to can match the free āJingle Mingleā event hosted by the Hyatt Place Tampa-Wesley Chapel hotel (located at 26000 Sierra Center Blvd., just north and west of the S.R. 56 exit off I-75, Lutz) on July 31.
Sure, lots of places have had Santa Claus himself (bottom photo) on hand and available for free pictures at their events, and some may even have had some free food available, but the Hyatt Place management saw this as an opportunity to introduce the local community to the beautiful ballroom and delicious catering available at the hotel ā in case you or someone you know wants to host a holiday event there.
Among the tasty treats served at the Jingle Mingle were small, plated samples of holiday-inspired dishes ā like grilled orange salmon on a bed of tasty rice with fresh asparagus (top), oven-roasted chicken with house-made cranberry sauce and an addictive sweet potato mash and braised short ribs with red wine sauce, accompanied by a baby carrot medley and mashed potatoes. And, all of them were actually as appealing to the palette as they were to the eyes.
But of course, for yours truly, the highlight was the full-on sāmores station (above left), complete with graham crackers, Hersheyās chocolate bars and your choice of mini or huge marshmallows, plus skewers and āhot flamesā to toast those marshmallows. Absolutely decadent!Ā
Each adult attendee also received a ticket for a free holiday-themed cocktail (e.g., a āWhite Christmas Margarita,ā āTipsy Reindeerā and more), plus vendors like Florida Ave. Brewing Co. and Thirsty Buffalo gave away free beer samples. And, PopStroke, Main Event and Metro Lagoons were on hand, and there was a free photo booth, other desserts and more.
The event also helped remind attendees that the hotel also will again host a full-on Thanksgiving buffet and this year, a New Yearās Eve gala that hotel director of sales Lorna Petchey promises will not be cancelled this time.
For more information about the Hyatt Place, call (813) 803-5600, visit Hyatt.com or email Lorna.Petchey@Hyatt.com to book your own holiday party ASAP. ā GN
Based on the speed with which the construction is progressing, the opening of the Wesley Chapel Walmartās gas station should only be a few months away.Ā
Walmart Fuel Under ConstructionĀ
The massive banner on the construction fence couldnāt be any less subtle ā āCOMING SOON, YOUR NEW WALMART FUEL STATIONā (photo).
The underutilized northeast portion of the Wesley Chapel Walmartās parking lot (directly behind Chase Bank) on S.R. 54 (east of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) is being transformed into the next useful feature of the popular store.
Final site plan revisions for the gas station addition were submitted to the county back in January of 2024, but nothing transpired for almost a year and a half, so it was unclear when, or even if, the station would ever come to fruition.
That question has been answered, as the construction is now happening at breakneck speed. Walmart hadnāt even fenced the area off just a few months ago, but now, the massive fuel tanks are getting ready to be buried, the stationās canopy is about half done, and the convenience store is pretty much finished. At this pace, it appears that the new gas station, with 18 fueling positions (making it the largest such station in Wesley Chapel), will be done in a few months.
In addition to the gas pumps, the station will feature a very tiny and interesting 440-sq.-ft. convenience store. From what we can tell from the building plan and this photo, the tiny store will have two exterior restrooms to the rear of the building, with roll-up doors on the side of the building that will protect what appears to be display doors that will open outward which will likely contain drinks and snacks. Itās unclear, however, if you will even be able to go inside the store to make your purchases or if everything will be done from the outside. Weāve never seen anything quite like it before. Itās certainly nothing like the full convenience store at the New Tampa Walmart on BBD.
In addition to these features, the plan also proposes to add a new right turn lane into the Walmartās northern driveway on southbound Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which should hopefully reduce conflicts for motorists who only want to access the new gas station.
Samās Club Expansion Not Happening?
Considering that the two stores are run by the same company, is the Samās Club on S.R. 56 getting its desperately needed fuel expansion next? Unfortunately, it seems that itās not likely to be happening anytime soon, as the plans for that expansion were withdrawn from the county by the developer in January of this year.
We had previously reported ā back in the summer of 2023 ā that Samās Club representatives had met with the county to expand the storeās existing gas station from 12 fueling positions to 16, which would include adding two more fueling lanes and a redesign to make things run smoother, as the existing location and design of the station causes backups on the access roadway (which sometimes extend out onto S.R. 56) in front of the main Samās Club parking lot.
Engineering plans were submitted the following year, and the county gave comments, but it appears that the plan is off the table for now.
It had been a while since I had been to the twice-monthly Fresh Market at Wiregrass, but I decided to visit again when I saw the announcement that the not-yet-open OddFellows Ice Cream was going to be on hand at the July 19 Fresh Market, serving samples of ice cream that I had never heard of before. What do you expect from a true ice cream lover? Well, OddFellows ā which currently has four locations in New York City, where brand founder and co-owner Mohan Kumar lives, plus one in Pittsburgh, one in Woodlands, TX, four in South Korea and one in Tampaās Hyde Park Village ā definitely offers a unique and creamy twist on traditional ice cream.
There are nine āClassicā flavors (like cookies & cream and the option I canāt wait to try, peanut butter sāmores), plus āLimited Timeā flavors, like vanilla blackberry blondie, matcha strawberry, banoffee pie, miso peanut butter brownie and the Brooklyn blackout and mango sticky rice flavors Charmaine and I sampled that day ā and they both had delightfully different tastes. Thereās also vegan options for those of you who insist.
Keep checking our āNeighborhood Newsā Facebook page for updates.Ā When it opens in Wiregrass, OddFellows will be located at 2001 Piazza Ave., Suite 125, next to The Living Room. For more info, visit OddFellowsIceCream.com
Sgt. Christopher Lawrence & his daughter DeliaMarie (both in red) pose with several of the 100+ volunteers who helped landscape (bottom pics) their future home in Wesley Chapel.Ā
āWe donāt have a lot of family or friends here in Florida,ā said retired Marine Sgt. Christopher Lawrence during the super-hot āVolunteer Dayā (July 26) at his familyās future āHomes for our Troopsā (HFOT) home in Wesley Chapel, where about 10,000 sq. ft. (25 pallets) of sod was unloaded and dozens of plants were used to landscape the front and side yards at the home on Steeplechase Rd. āBut today, we feel like we have a lot of new family members.ā
You could see the appreciation and joy Sgt. Lawrence, his wife Michelle (Chelley) and daughters DeliaMarie and Cristiana felt as they helped more than 100 volunteers beautify the outside of the Kent Custom Home the family expects to move into by around the end of this month.
Sgt. Lawrence raised the HFOT flag during the volunteer event (above).Ā
Partner Nathan Pratt explained how to place the sod and plant the plants and said how proud he was to have two more Kent Custom Homes ā for Sgt. Lawrence and Army Sgt. Quincy Lopez, who, like Sgt. Lawrence, lost his right leg to an improvised explosive device blast in Iraq. (Note-Sgt. Lopezās Volunteer Day will be this Saturday, August 9, at 9 a.m.) ā in Wesley Chapel, bringing the total Kent has specially adapted and built for Post-911 recipients designated by Homes for our Troops here in Central Florida up to nine.Ā
Homes for our Troops is a national 501(c) (3) military nonprofit that continues to spend 90 cents of every dollar the organization raises to build more than 400 custom homes (and growing) across the country since its inception in 2004.
In addition to the landscaping on July 26, volunteers also sold HFOT hats and accepted cash donations to help HFOT continue to provide these homes at no cost to our severely injured military men and women.
To make a donation or for more information about HFOT, visit hfotusa.org or call (866) 787-6877. ā GN
The Lawrence family canāt wait to move into their new home.Ā Nathan Pratt of Kent Custom Homes thanks the volunteers & gives them instructions.Ā
