Even though I grew up in New York, I had no idea what to expect from the new Bang-Bang! Bowls (located in the space previously occupied by Coffee Speaks & Tea Talks in the Pebble Creek Collection), which bills itself as “NY-style Indian rice bowls.”
Well, following our first visit, Jannah and I really like Bang-Bang! Bowls, which has only one other location — in Nebraska. I ordered the “make-it-yourself” bowl (above photo), which I got with long-grain yellow rice, jerk chicken (with a semi-spicy jerk sauce) and fresh veggies. Jannah loved the spicy chicken taco (left photo), especially the mild white sauce and the clearly house-baked soft taco shells.
Bang-Bang! Bowls (19651 BBD Blvd.) is open every day, 4 p.m.-midnight, except Monday (when it is closed). For more information, visit Bang-Bang-Bowls.com or call (813) 406-4366. — GN
John Driskell Hopkins, the co-founder of the Zac Brown Band, was in our area with the band last weekend for two shows (Nov 3-4) at the MidFlorida Amphitheater.
Between those two concerts, Hopkins (who is suffering from a slow-progressing form of ALS), and his own four-piece band made a stop at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar in The Grove for a show to benefit his “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit foundation.
The show — which included some of Hop’s original compositions, as well as the Zac Brown hit “Toes” (Hopkins has a writing credit on that song), plus popular songs by Billy Joel and Tom Petty — raised just shy of $20,000 for Hop On A Cure.
In addition to the music, the highlights of the afternoon were the buffet meal included with each show ticket donated by TrebleMakers owners Jamie & Joe Hess and Lee Bevan, and the live auctioning off of two Taylor guitars signed by the entire Zac Brown band.
The current construction at The Shoppes at Cypress Creek.
Although it’s not going to be located in Wesley Chapel, a new 8,000-sq.-ft. building now under construction on S.R. 54 in Lutz, less than a mile west of the Tampa Premium Outlets (and just west of the Mobil gas station), will finally soon be home to two new restaurants — Fazoli’s and Barberitos.
People have been asking for a while about these two fast casual eateries, as the signs for both had been located at the site for more than a year before the plaza, which is being called The Shoppes at Cypress Creek, began construction.
The Take 5 Oil Change facility has been open for several weeks now in what is being called The Shoppes at Cypress Creek.
Well, even though only the Fazoli’s sign is currently still standing, it appears that both restaurants are going to be included in the same under-construction building between the Mobil station and the new Take 5 Oil Change (see bottom photo), which is the first of what ultimately will be four buildings to be located on the 3.52-acre site.
The site plan submitted with Pasco County by St. Petersburg-based retail developer Paradise Ventures, Inc., calls for three retail tenants in the under-construction building (photo below), the nearly 2,700-sq.ft. westernmost one (closest to the already-built Woodie’s Wash Shack) with a drive-through lane, which we’re assuming will be Fazoli’s, since all of the chain’s current locations (including the nearest one on E. Busch Bvd.) have a drive-through.
The development’s site plan.
Based on the development’s site plan, it appears that Barberitos will be located in the 1,800-sq.-ft. easternmost space (closest to Take 5) and an as-yet unnamed retailer in the 2,675-sq.-ft. middle space.
The third building at the site, which is not yet under construction, is a future restaurant pad that the site plan says will be a maximum of 5,500 sq. ft.
For leasing and other information about the Shoppes at Cypress Creek, call John Mott at (727) 812-1555 or visit ParadiseVenturesInc.com.
More About Fazoli’s
According to Fazolis.com, the Kentucky-based chain founded in 1988 has more than 200 locations, the majority of which are franchises in more than half of the 50 U.S. states, including six in Florida.
The Ultimate Sampler (fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti & meatballs, penne w/meat sauce and lasagne w/ meat sauce.
The 35-year-old company’s slogan is “Fast. Fresh. Italian.” and fans of the brand say the breadsticks are “even better than Olive Garden’s.”
Well, I’ve never been a fan of Olive Garden’s breadsticks, but I do love Italian food, so I am hopeful, since Jannah and I live so close to the coming-soon location, that it will be worth the long wait. I likely will visit the Busch Blvd. location sometime after this issue hits mailboxes to try it out.
In addition to those breadsticks, Fazoli’s features pizzas, pastas (including baked pastas like lasagne and chicken parmigiana), “Snacks & Shareables” (like baked meatballs and fried mozzarella bites), hot and cold subs, salads and a variety of pasta samplers, such as the four-item combo shown above.
More About Barberitos
The burrito bowl at Barberitos.
According to Barberitos.com, the Athens, GA-based fast-casual Southwestern cuisine eatery was founded in 2000 by Downing Barber. The restaurant’s slogan is “Food • Community • People.”
The “Coming Soon” notification I found says that Barberitos features, “farm-fresh burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads and more in a casual, family-friendly atmosphere. Choose one of our popular specialty items or create your own favorite from one of more than 30 toppings…and our made-in-house salsas.”
The nearest to us of the 50+ Barberitos throughout the southeastern U.S. is in Panama City, FL, so I guess I won’t be able to visit one anytime soon.
The buzz words are “downtown,” “neo-traditional” and even Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman’s own term, “Eatertainment,” but more and more large developments in the Wesley Chapel area are offering residents the opportunity to live, work, play and eat in or adjacent to their home communities.
We currently have The Grove at Wesley Chapel and its KRATE Container Park being surrounded by new apartment units, the Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel area will begin opening its first building — with locally owned restaurants and businesses on the ground floor and rental apartment units on the upper floors — by the early part of 2024 and the Wiregrass Ranch development will likely begin developing its long-planned Town Center area sometime sooner than later.
But, the concept of being able to eat and be entertained in your own backyard will soon not be limited to those new large-scale developments, as The Hub At Lexington will bring 40,000 square feet of “Experiential Dining & Entertainment,” including restaurants, retail shops and at what appears to be Shanks Indoor Golf & Bar (see pg. 18), to the northwest corner of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and Lexington Oaks Blvd. (see sign below), in front of the Sentosa apartments and is expected to begin building by a day or so after this issue reached your mailbox.
According to leasing agent Courtney Bissett- Hayes of Bissett McGrath Properties, The Hub at Lexington will include 15-20 local and regional restaurants in six buildings and an as-yet unknown entertainment venue, all with access to covered outdoor seating with 12 large artificial trees providing shade. It’s being developed by Center Connect Development, which already has opened its The Hub at Bexley (but not yet with all of its businesses open) on S.R. 54 at Bexley Village Dr./Northpointe Pkwy., in front of the Bexley community near the Suncoast Pkwy. As shown on the sign below, the developer prides itself on providing “Live, Work & Play” opportunities.
Jannah and I visited The Hub at Bexley (top photos) during its weekly Friday evening street fair and while it’s reminiscent of The Village at The Grove, the covered area provides great relief from our Florida heat and includes the now-open Grain & Berry and Thirsty Buffalo brewery, plus The Poke Company, The Blend Coffee & Cocktails, Taco Bus and downtown St. Pete favorite Bella Brava, as well as Duckweed Liquors, a fitness location and more coming soon.
Bissett-Hayes says that The Hub at Lexington is larger and will have twice as many artificial shade trees (12 vs. 6) as The Hub at Bexley.
For leasing information at The Hub at Lexington, call Courtney Bissett-Hayes at (813) 340-7936.
John Driskell Hopkins, who has earned fame as a guitarist and vocalist with the Zac Brown Band, was diagnosed with ALS in Dec. 2021. Since Mar. 2022, he has been raising money for his own “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit to help find a cure for the dreaded disease. Hopkins and his trio will play a fund raising show at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant on Nov. 4. (Photo: Dave Kotinski, Getty)
Now that Halloween is ending, if you’re looking for something fun to do that also will help support a great cause, you should get your tickets now to the “Hop On A Cure” fund raiser to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” that will be held this Saturday, November 4, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Restaurant & Bar at The Grove.
John Driskell Hopkins, affectionately know as “Hop” by his bandmates in the Zac Brown Band and his other friends (including Treble Makers owner Jamie Hess), was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2021 and started his “Hop On A Cure” 501(c)(3) nonprofit in March of 2022 to raise money to help find a cure for this dreaded nervous system disease, which currently has no cure.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie and Hop and although he admits that his guitar playing, speech and ability to walk have definitely slowed since being diagnosed, he feels fortunate that his ALS is a slow-moving version of the illness.
“I have a friend who was diagnosed in his 20s who lived almost 30 years with it, but other people die within just a couple of years,” says Hopkins. “It affects everyone a little differently.”
Although his Wikipedia.com profile calls Hopkins the bass player in the Zac Brown Band, he says he only played bass on the first three albums. He was the band’s co-founder with Brown and its deep harmony voice for the last 18 years. He also has writing credits on some of the band’s top hits.
Hopkins will be bringing his John Driskell Hopkins Trio — which includes drummer Mike Rizzi, who also is a close friend of Jamie’s from high school — to play some of the band’s original compositions, rock and country covers and some Zac Brown favorites, like (maybe) “Toes,” on which he earned a writing credit.
“Hop On A Cure raised over $1 million our first year,” Hopkins says. “Our goal is to raise $2 million in our second full year.”
Hopkins, who got his start in Tallahassee in the early ‘90s, still plays guitar, sings and tours with the Zac Brown Band (which is famous for hits like “Chicken Fried” and its four platinum albums), as well as with his trio, and says he plans to keep playing and touring for as long as he can. “My strength and agility aren’t what they once were,” Hop told me. “But I plan to keep working at this until we find a cure for ALS.”
Hopkins was one of more than 20,000 people in the U.S. living with ALS, which usually afflicts people ages 40-70.
Tickets for the fund-raising event at Treble Makers on Nov. 4 cost $40 per person and include a buffet meal, Angels & Outlaws Live (2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.), and Hop and his trio (4 p.m.-5 p.m.).
“We’re only going to sell 300 tickets and every dollar raised will be donated to Hop On A Cure,” Hess says. “Hop is a great guy and I just want to help him find a cure.”
