The Search For Wesley Chapel’s Favorite Fried Chicken Is Over! Well, Sort Of!

So, which is our readers’ favorite fried chick- lace in the Wesley Chapel area?

The answer I have for you is certainly not definitive, although the nine judges yours truly picked from amongst nearly 50 of our readers in both of our distribution areas definitely were in agreement on their favorites…well, mostly anyway.

Picking those nine judges was not an easy task. Of the 50 people who volunteered, I originally planned to only have five judges. But then, I thought, what would happen if more than one of the people we picked ended up not being able to be there for all three rounds? I decided that having at least a couple more couldn’t hurt — it would even allow us to employ Olympic-style scoring, if necessary (it wasn’t), where we could throw out the high and the low and just use the other seven scores for each restaurant.

At any rate, the nine people selected, from left to right in the top left photo, were: Bill Johnston (aka Colonel Sanders himself!) and his wife Suzanne Reno of Quail Hollow, Aaron “Dion” Rocha of New River Township, Cindy Cooley of Tampa Palms, Dion’s wife Suzanne Rocha, the father-daughter duo of Joshua & Zoe Paine of Heritage Isles and the son-&-father team of Karson (the self-proclaimed & costumed “King Chicken Wing” and Jason Centeno of Live Oak Preserve (and yes, a certain editor is in there, too).

All three rounds of judging were a blast for yours truly, the judges and even for Jannah, whose unenviable job it was to go and pick up the chicken from each of the restaurants, cut each tender into bite-sized pieces and plate them for me to bring to the judges.

I originally thought we were going to split the number of places into one group of 5 for Round 1 and one group of 6 for Round 2, but after Round 1, I realized that one Wesley Chapel chicken place (Wing Stop) had recently added tenders to its menu, so Round 2 ended up having the Mild and Spicy chicken tenders from seven places.

A few other things I have to mention:

  1. Because we bought and had to bring the chicken from multiple places to one central location, the judges knew beforehand that none of the chicken would ever be as hot or as moist as it would be at each of the actual restaurants.
  2. None of the chicken was served with sauces for fear that the judges would figure out whose chicken was whose too easily. But again, it also kept each place’s chicken from tasting its best.
  3. I have to thank president & CEO Hope Kennedy and office administrator Darlene Hill of the North Tampa Bay Chamber for allowing us to use the board room in the Chamber’s beautiful, new office in The Shops at Wiregrass for all three rounds of the contest.
  4. I also have to thank our photographer/ videographer Charmaine George for not only shooting still pictures, but also videotaping all of the proceedings. Although we are announcing the winners in this issue, we also will show video highlights from all three rounds as the premiere episode of our “Neighborhood Newsmakers” podcast. Look for updates about that first podcast on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page.
  5. Yours truly didn’t sample all of the chicken nor did I try to influence the judges in any way.

Here’s how the judging went for the first two nds of the contest, as each chicken tender was judged based on its Crispness, Moistness, Seasoning (for Mild) and Heat (for Spicy), but only the Overall score given for each restaurant counted:

Round 1 (July 23) —There were five Mild but only four spicy chicken tenders in this round, because Raising Cane’s is the only one of the 12 total restaurants that doesn’t sell spicy tenders.

The Mild tenders were from PDQ, Chicken Guy, Zaxby’s, Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken. The favorite of these five was Chicken Guy, with PDQ second (both of which advanced to the Finals) and Raising Cane’s third, with Zaxby’s fourth and Dave’s fifth.

On the Spicy side this round, Zaxby’s was the clear-cut winner by average score, but Chicken Guy was the #1 choice of more of the judges, so both advanced to the Finals, with PDQ and Dave’s not advancing.

Round 2 (July 30) — Chick-fil-A and Slim Chickens finished solidly as #s 1 and 2 (in that order) to advance to the Mild Finals, and they were followed by Popeye’s,Wing Stop,Chick’n Fun, Hangry Joe’s and Sweet Krunch, in that order.

The same seven restaurants competed for Favorite Spicy, with Chick-fil-A and Slim Chickens again finishing in the top two spots, followed (in order) by Chick’n Fun, Popeye’s,Wing Stop, Hangry Joe’s & Sweet Krunch.

Finals (Aug. 4) — The judges were never told which four Mild and which four Spicy tenders advanced to the Finals, but several recognized PDQ & Chick-fil-A from the first two rounds and one judge identified Chicken Guy from Round 1.

For the Finals, each judge was asked to put the four Finalists in each category from their overall #1 Favorite down to #4.

For Favorite Mild Tenders, PDQand Chick-fil-A finished in a flat-footed tie for first place, with each receiving 3 first-place, 3 second-place and 3 third-place votes. But, since five of the judges had PDQ finishing higher than Chick-fil-A, PDQ won for Favorite Mild Tenders. Chick-fil-A was second and Chicken Guy finished third (with 2 first-place votes), and Slim Chickens was fourth, with only 1 first-place vote.

The judges agreed that the four Mild Finalists were their four favorites from the first two rounds.

For Favorite Spicy Tenders, Chick-fil-A and Slim Chickens each had 3 first-place votes, but Chick-fil-A also had 4 second-place votes to Slim Chickens’ 1, so Chick-fil-A was named the Favorite Spicy Tenders winner, followed by Slim Chickens. Zaxby’s just beat out Chicken Guy to finish third.

Looking Back

The contest was certainly not scientific and I know it really doesn’t “prove” anything. I’m also quite certain that many, if not most, of our readers will disagree with the results.

But, what it did accomplish was to bring together a diverse group of our readers for a fun and interesting cause and there’s no doubt that these nine previous strangers — two couples, two father-&-child combos and one not-partnered judge — all became friends and took their “jobs” very seriously, but not too seriously.

There were comments like, “I can’t taste the chicken,” “Dill pickle undertones,” “Only one I didn’t finish,” “Needs sauce,” “Tastes like Publix” and “Heavy vinegar flavor” — and a lot of laughs.

All nine judges also want to try judging the Best Steaks, Best Fries, Best Burgers and a couple that I might actually try to put together — Best Pizza and Best Tacos, but I probably will have to select a whole new crew of judges next time.

Look for the podcast on our Facebook page!

Openings Won’t Be Quite As Grand For New Businesses

Wesley Chapel’s Jamie Hess envisioned a Grand Opening for his new dueling piano bar and restaurant TrebleMakers when that day came, which was supposed to have been in early June. He pictured hundreds of people lined up outside, loud singing and tons of laughter inside and an event to remember forever.

Covid-19 has thrown a wrench into those plans.

Hess still plans to open his doors in June as part of The Grove’s revival, but he’ll have to live with a more subdued opening, more of a ripple than a splash, with the big crowds replaced by scattered customers maintaining social distancing. 

“It’s a shame,” Hess says. “Coronavirus has definitely changed it. We’ll open and be safe and smart, but we’ll have to hold off on the official grand opening until we’re fully released.”

While bars have to remain closed, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order that took effect May 4 for Phase I of reopening the state, Hess is classified as a restaurant.

A number of local businesses are nearing the finish line for being completed and open, like Double Branch Artisanal Ales brewery (above), but that will all depend upon the state’s new rules governing business openings and reopenings. (Photo: Charmaine George)

However, the Double Branch Artisanal Ales brewery, located right across from TrebleMakers in The Grove, also was planning to open around June 11. Unless there’s another executive order or phase easing the restrictions, Double Branch will be unable to make its debut that soon.

The same goes for F45 Training, the new fitness center in The Grove that is ready to open; DeSantis’ current order also is keeping gyms closed.

While area businesses that are up and running are feeling the sting from the current pandemic, there are many that, like Hess, were planning to open over the next few months but are now in limbo. Any new businesses may not see the benefit of opening in this environment, which limits the numbers of people that can be inside any location at one time, combined with mandatory social distancing.

Aldi, the popular discount grocer located on the corner of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd., was expecting a spring opening and would already be open now if not for the virus. 

Also on S.R. 56, Rock & Brews, the family restaurant founded by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS, looks ready to go, as does Main Event, the bowling and entertainment center that relies on large crowds interacting.

On the north side of S.R. 56, Aussie Grill by Outback is nearly complete (with Bonefish Grill also close to being ready and Carrabba’s Italian Grill also on the way).

“All of that stuff is pretty much ready to roll,” says Hope Kennedy, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. “It’s just going to be a matter of how they open up.” 

Kennedy says that while the actual buildings may be finished, another problem for the new businesses is being able to train their new employees. 

“Everyone is going to have to figure out what they can and can’t do,” she says. “It’s a difficult situation for everyone.”

ZAXBY’S IS COMING: While businesses that are open or close to opening try to figure out the best course of action, a number of new projects are under way across Wesley Chapel, including some neighbors for the new Aldi store.

The strip of land between the western side of Costco and Wesley Chapel Blvd. —part of the Cypress Creek Town Center development on the south side of S.R. 56 — has a sign posted announcing that Tidal Wave Car Wash is coming soon, next to Aldi.

Immediately south of the 3,120-sq.-ft. car wash, plans for a Zaxby’s, a fast casual restaurant that specializes in chicken wings and fingers, as well as sandwiches and salads, were filed with the county in late February.

Founded in 1990 in Statesboro, GA, Zaxby’s has more than 900 locations in 17 states, mostly in the south. The Wesley Chapel location will have seating for 70 inside its 3,652-sq.ft. space.

And, just south of that, plans were filed April 9 for an 8,700-sq.-ft. commercial retail/office plaza, though none of the five potential tenants has been named.

On the north side of S.R. 56, work continues on a number of businesses located on the land between Bahama Breeze and the Hyatt Place Hotel. There are permitting requests by Zukku Sushi, Crumble Cookie, Charles Schwab and IVX Health, all filed in March and April. Eurowax Center and Woofgang Bakery & Grooming are also in the currently unnamed plaza.

We’re not sure if Crumble Cookie, which is opening in a 1,200-sq.ft. space, was misspelled in permitting or if it may actually be Crumbl Cookie, a popular cookie joint out west. They told us on Facebook they didn’t have any current plans for Florida but hope to soon, and to stay tuned. Hmmmm.

COMPLEX SITUATIONS: While retail and restaurants are all the rage in the Cypress Creek Town Center, two apartment projects also are in the works on the northern end of the development.

At the northeast corner of Sierra Center Blvd. and Garden Village Way (north of the Hyatt Place, alongside I-75), plans were submitted in March and April to build a 300-unit, three- and four-story multi-family community on 12.7 acres.

Named the Silverslaw Apartments, the site plan indicates the complex will have a dog park, yoga lawn and large areas of green space between the buildings, including a neighborhood park.

The Garrett Apartments are another project in Cypress Creek Town Center North with plans filed with the county.

The 11.84-acre project site is located east of CR 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd., a half-mile north of SR 54/SR 56. It will include 260 luxury apartment units.

Garrett has developed more than 50 apartment home projects in 14 states, for a total of more than 11,000 rental units, according to the project’s narrative. This will be Garrett’s third venture in Florida, as the developer also has projects in Davenport and Fort Myers.