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JUNE 29, 2016
Tampa Bay Express wins a crucial vote By Kathy Steele
Vehicles stack up near ramps onto and off Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The interchange is near Tampa Premium Outlets and an active development area for new shops and restaurants. Supporters of Tampa Bay Express hope the transportation project will ease conFILE PHOTO gestion.
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A hard-fought, often passionate battle over Tampa Bay’s transportation future ended with a vote in favor of building the Tampa Bay Express. The project calls for 90 miles of new toll lanes on Interstate 275 from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, along Interstate 4 to Plant City, and south on Interstate 75 to Manatee County. The project is seen by many in Pasco See EXPRESS, page 11A
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COURTESY OF UNCLE MADDIO’S
Mike Mateo and his wife, Ada, are the owners of the Uncle Maddio’s, 3949 Van Dyke Road in Lutz. They signed a five-unit agreement with the franchise last year, and have plans of opening the other restaurants throughout North Tampa and Pasco County.
New style of pizza coming to Lutz By Kevin Weiss
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A new pizza joint is set to open this summer at Northgate Square in Lutz. Uncle Maddio’s, located at 3949 Van Dyke Road in Lutz, plans to open its doors in late August; it replaces the now-vacant Johnston’s Hallmark store next to the Publix Super Market. It will be the first of five Tampa area locations for the create-your-own, fast-casual pizza franchise. The 3,500-square-foot dine-in restaurant will also feature a 300-square-foot built-in recessed patio. Franchisee Mike Mateo, a first-time restaurant owner, said construction on the leasing area will begin within the next week. “We’re waiting for some permits, but it’s a process,” Mateo said.“We’re turning what used to be a ‘dry’ retail location into a ‘wet’ retail location with it being restaurant space.” The restaurant will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., but Mateo said he may alter the hours depending on customer feedback. Uncle Maddio’s is labeled as a “next generation” pizza restaurant, allowing customers to build their own pizza exactly to their liking. Individual-sized pizzas are cooked in fast-baked ovens and typically served in about six minutes. Patrons can choose from one of three crusts, 48 different toppings and six different sauces. Create-your-own salads and toasted “Foldwich” sandwiches are available, too. Mateo said he “fell in love with the concept” after visiting a Tallahassee location, and believed the pizza chain would find success
KEVIN WEISS/STAFF PHOTO
Uncle Maddio’s will be opening in Lutz this August. It will be the first of five stores that will eventually open in Tampa.
ith today’s edition, we’re realigning the distribution of our papers to better match up with the community where you live. The changes primarily affect two areas: • If you have a Lutz address and live in Pasco County, beginning today you will receive The Lutz News instead of The Land O’ Lakes edition of The Laker. These families live north of County Line Road and south of State Road 54.At the same time, our 45 business locations and boxes on the south side of State Road 54 in Pasco County now will be stocked with The Lutz News. • If you have a Land O’ Lakes address and have been receiving the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa edition of The Laker, beginning today you will receive the Land O’ Lakes edition of The Laker. These families live north of State Road 54 along Wesley Chapel Boulevard in the subdivisions of Stagecoach Village,The Enclave and Cypress Estates. People who live in Grand Oaks, who also have a Land O’ Lakes address, will continue to receive our Wesley Chapel edition because of their close proximity to the Interstate 75/Wesley Chapel community. We view these changes as course corrections to our distribution, which will allow us to publish, more precisely, news stories pertinent to where you live.This means readers living south of State Road 54 now will receive more news about their hometown of Lutz, and readers living north of State Road 54 will receive more news about their hometown of Land O’ Lakes.
in the Tampa area. “They have a great product, and they’re very consistent on the product and the service,” said Mateo, a retired division vice president for ATM technology company Diebold.“What drew me to the concept was that we were wowed from beginning to end. “We love the freshness of the ingredients; the fact that you can create your own (pizza), the ambiance and the energy of the Uncle Maddio’s restaurants is just unique.” Mateo already has named Rich Richeson as the Lutz restaurant’s general manager, and Anna Stevenson as the assistant general manager. “Those are the two key employees, and once they get trained...we should start recruiting the staff,” he said, adding he plans to have a total of 30 to 40 mostly part-time employees. Unlike other well-known pizza chains, Uncle Maddio’s has no drive-thru or deliv-
In addition to adjusting these boundaries, this week we’re also welcoming several new areas to our home delivery. In Wesley Chapel, we now deliver to families living in Estancia and and in the Silver Leaf area of Seven Oaks. In Lutz, we are welcoming families in Long Lake Ranch. In Land O’ Lakes, we have increased home delivery in Ballantrae, have added The Woodlands and also have added two subdivisions in Connerton — Taylor Morrison’s Gardenia Glenn and Homes by WestBay. Our new home delivery totals 1,000 households — an astounding, one-week increase in circulation, especially when contrasted to daily newspapers that regularly report double-digit circulation losses. Adding in our East Pasco circulation,The Laker/Lutz News is now delivered to 44,800 homes and businesses. Surprising to many,
See PIZZA, page 11A
See EDITION, page 11A
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Lutz pharmacy rewarded for its job growth By Kathy Steele
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Pasco County commissioners rewarded a Lutz startup pharmacy service for adding at least 26 full-time jobs to the local economy. Crestmark Pharmacy Services LLC received an incentive payout of $104,000 through a jobs agreement approved by commissioners at their June 21 meeting in New Port Richey. Since opening in 2015, the company has hired 24 employees. That number could rise to 30 or more, according to Randall McElheney, company manager.
“We’re happy to be in Pasco County,” said McElheney. Crestmark Pharmacy is located at 1860 Highland Oaks Blvd., in Lutz.The company provides prescription medications to longterm care patients at nursing homes. Services also include information technology solutions for caregivers, consultations, and infusion therapy. The Pasco Economic Development Council reviewed the company’s application and found that it qualified for the incentive program. Under county ordinance, companies must create a minimum of 10 jobs within a year. Salaries must be greater than the aver-
age wage in Pasco County, and at least 51 percent of products and services must be sold outside of the county. County officials see the economic impact from jobs at Crestmark Pharmacy as a generator of additional jobs, indirectly. Estimates are for 17 more jobs locally at other businesses and 13 more jobs in other counties, for a total of 56 jobs. Crestmark Pharmacy also is adding good paying jobs at an average annual salary of about $60,000 per employee.At 26 employees, total annual wages paid by the company would be about $1.3 million. See PHARMACY, page 11A