Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 30, Issue 20, October 4, 2022

Why This Is A Great Time Of Year For Local Sports Fans

By GARY NAGER

Editorial

For those of us who love sports, October really is one of the best times of the year.

The Major League Baseball regular season ends and the march towards the World Series begins. At our press time, the Tampa Bay Rays stood third in the American League’s East Division, and were solidly holding onto the second of three A-L Wild Card spots, 1/2-game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the third spot and 4-1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles with only nine games remaining. If they do hold on to a Wild Card spot, it would be the fourth year in a row the Rays would be in the playoffs and the eighth time in their 25 years as a MLB franchise.

The NFL and NCAA football seasons, both of which started in September, are in full swing. In college football, only the Florida State Seminoles (4-0) were ranked in the NCAA’s top-25 (23rd) and were one of only two major football programs in the state with an above-.500 record (the University of Cen tral Florida was the other, at 3-1).

Even so, all of the teams have had their share of excitement, as my alma mater, the University of Florida Gators (2-2), upset 7th-ranked (at the time) Utah 29-26 in week 1, and their two losses — to the ranked Uni versity of Kentucky (by 10) and University of Tennessee (by 5) were both close enough to offer Florida fans hope for a decent season.

The UCF Knights lost by only 6 pts to 2-2 Louisville, which also stomped USF and lost by 4 to FSU. And, while the Bulls were only 1-3 on the young season, they could and probably should have beaten the Gators at Florida Field, before losing by only 3 points.

In the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 2-1 on the young season, after losing to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers when QB Tom Brady (photo) couldn’t get the snap off in time to try a 2-pt conversion (which meant the Bucs had to convert from the 7 yard line, instead of the 2) that would have tied the game with just 14 seconds left.

Considering that Brady’s top receivers — Mike Evans (suspended a game for his sneak attack on Marshon Lattimore of New Orleans in the Bucs’ win over the Saints in Week 2), Chris Godwin (hamstring) and newly signed Julio Jones (knee) — all missed the Green Bay game. The Bucs had to sign and quickly activate former Buffalo Bills WR Cole Beasley (who caught three Brady passes for 12 yards in his Bucs debut against the Pack) to help.

Thankfully, the Bucs’ defense has been pretty solid, as Brady and the offense have been sputtering, with only three Brady TD passes in those first three games and no rush ing TDs. Even so, the Bucs are still expected to provide plenty of excitement this year and, if Brady gets most or all of his receivers back before the end of the regular season, another solid playoff run is a definite possibility.

But, for hockey-crazed fans like me, the best thing about October is the start of another National Hockey League season, especially with

the Tampa Bay Lightning coming off a surpris ingly successful 2021-22 season that ended with a 4 (games)-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup finals — after Tampa Bay had won the previous two Cups.

Surprising? Yes! The Bolts were under dogs in all four of last year’s playoff series and finally ran out of gas against Colorado. Al though not an excuse, part of the Lightning’s problems stemmed from the lower-body injury (later reported as a torn quadriceps muscle) that star center Brayden Point suf fered in Game 7 of the opening round series against Toronto. Point then missed all of the games against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 and the Eastern Conference Finals against

the New York Rangers and was never at full strength against Colorado in the Finals.

If Tampa Bay’s top players — Point, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, forwards Nikita Kucherov and (captain) Steven Stamkos and defenseman Viktor Hedman — can make it through the always-rough NHL regular season relatively healthy, and last year’s top lineup additions Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul, and rising young stars like Mikhail Sergachev and Anthony Cirelli can continue to develop, we could well see the Bolts hoist yet another Cup at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Oh, stay tuned for an opportunity to win some free tickets to an upcoming Bolts game from your community newspaper!

Tom Brady (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News

Gary Nager

/

John C. Cotey

Correspondent Celeste McLaughlin

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Happy 10th Anniversary, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel!

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

When the plans were unveiled for AdventHealth (then Florida Hospital) Wesley Chapel a decade ago, there was no question that Wesley Chapel’s first hospital was much needed in the grow ing community.

But, Dr. Robert Rosequist, the Chief Medical Officer at AHWC, said he didn’t expect the response the hos pital received when it opened its door for tours a week ahead of its Oct. 1, 2012, official opening.

“We thought maybe 1,000 people might come, but 8,000 showed up,” says Dr. Rosequist. To accommodate everyone, partly due to an elevator that could only take up 20 people at a time, the tours lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Some people waited in line for more than an hour.

Dr. Rosequist thought he’d be home in time for the Tampa Bay Bucs Monday Night Football game against the St, Louis Rams that night. But, when his wife called asking where he was, he told her he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to make it.

Ten years later, Dr. Rosequist, who is still the hospital’s chief medical of ficer, says that day was just the begin ning of something special.

“It has been a wonderful experi ence,” Dr. Rosequist says. “The 10 years have just flown by.”

AHWC may not have been the first large business in Wesley Chapel, but you could argue that, to date, it has made the most impact.

Although the Porter family also has developed a college, a major indoor athletic complex and a mall in its Wire grass Ranch Development of Regional Impact, developer JD Porter always points to the hospital when asked what his family’s greatest contribution to the area has been. Built on the very land Porter grew up on, with contributions from Tom Dempsey at Saddlebrook Resort and many others, AHWC gave the local community a place to go for medical (including emergency medical) services and has proven to be an anchor for the community.

“I think we were really the catalyst for the growth here in Wesley Chapel,” says Connie Bladon, the director of community outreach for AHWC. “When you think back to when we built the hospital, there wasn’t much around us. When the hospital went in, everyone felt more comfortable moving into the area. You always want a good hospital, (as well as) good schools, safety and security, things like that. Having the hospital here cata

pulted the growth of Wesley Chapel. Everything (else has) sprung up around us.”

Dr. Rosequist feels that the hospital has achieved many of its goals, especially those established when it changed over from Florida Hospital to AdventHealth Wesley Chapel on Jan. 2, 2019. He says that when the change was made, AHWC’s management came up with four main things that people wanted in their medical care: to feel safe, to feel loved, that doctors were accountable for their care and for it to be as easy as possible to get that care.

“If you can do those four things,” Rosequist says, “everybody is going to love you.”

In 10 years, the hospital defi nitely has made its mark, not just by marketing its name on facilities like the Center Ice skating rink complex and the indoor basketball arena at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County (both off of S.R. 56), but with medical services that have been lauded nationwide.

Since opening, the hospital has invested more than a total of $400 million in expansion and additional services to provide its award-winning care to more than 800,000 patients. To name a few, AHWC doctors have performed more than 56,000 surgeries and delivered more than 5,000 babies.

A few months after opening, the doors swung open in early 2013 to the hospital’s popular 100,000-sq.-ft. health & wellness center, which is now called the AdventHealth Wellness Plaza Wesley Chapel.

There’s more to come, too.

AHWC was designed for growth to accompany the incoming (and still on going) Wesley Chapel housing boom. Rosenquist, who was on the planning board, said its familiar U-shape was designed to look like the open arms of Jesus, with the intention of having six stories on each of the three wings — north, central and south.

Originally, it opened with just three stories and 83 total beds, because AdventHealth management wasn’t sure how fast the hospital would grow. It turned out to be very fast, indeed.

Including a major expansion in 2016, AHWC has grown from 83 beds to 169, from four operating rooms to 12, and from 20 emergency room beds to 35. There is still room for the hospi tal to expand to 300 total beds.

AdventHealth also has added the Central Pasco Free Standing Emergency Department into the Lutz community and two medical office buildings adja cent to the hospital, the Wellness Plaza and, in 2021, when AHWC teamed up with the Moffitt Cancer Center on a new three-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. outpa tient cancer and research center.

AHWC was named as one of Newsweek ’s Best Maternity Hospitals and the team delivered more than 100 babies in August 2022 alone, a new record for the facility.

The hospital has also achieved 14 consecutive Leapfrog ‘A’ grades, the only rating system focused exclusively on hospital safety.

And, when it comes to communi ty partnerships, AHWC is all in, having provided more than $307 million in community benefit services.

The hospital helped usher the community through the Covid-19 pan demic, and the community responded by providing meals for overworked doctors and nurses during the most desperate months of the pandemic.

“Being the first hospital out here was just gratifying, being a part of that,” Dr. Rosequist says. “I’m just so glad the community dug in with us and helped and watched us grow.”

For more information about AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (2600 BBD Blvd.), call (813) 929-5000, visit AdventHealth.com or see the ad on pg. 7 of this issue.

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (above left) has offered state-of-the-art technology (above right) and a caring staff since the hospital first opened (below) as Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel at a packed opening day in Oct. 2011.

Project To Fix Dangerous Median Opening Under Way

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Sonny’s BBQ owner Jim Hoff has seen his fair share of accidents on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in front of his restaurant, mostly from cars trying to cut across the busy road to get through an opening in the BBD median (see map) so they can head south.

That opening, however, is in the process of being closed, and Hoff says he is happy to see it.

“It’s going to be better,” Hoff says. “Without that traffic trying to go back and forth across that median, it’s got to be better.”

The Florida Department of Trans portation (FDOT) has finally started work near arguably Wesley Chapel’s most dan gerous intersection at S.R. 54 and BBD.

The project centers around the northbound and southbound median just south of the actual BBD/54 intersection. Work on the project, which will cost just over $2 million, was scheduled to begin prep work on Sept. 22.

The median currently has an opening allowing motorists to cross from exits between the Sonny’s BBQ and Truist Bank (on what is called Paradise Tree Dr.) adjacent to the Publix-anchored Hollybrook Plaza to southbound BBD or straight across to the west, to Advance Auto Parts, Twistee Treat and the Wesley Chapel Village Market shopping center.

Drivers also frequently drive through the median leaving the Village Market to northbound BBD or straight across both directions on BBD to the Hollybrook Plaza.

The median should be blocked soon (if it’s not already as you’re reading this).

“The median will be closed…with traffic control devices — such as drums and closure signs — to allow the perma nent traffic separator to be constructed,” said FDOT spokesperson John McShaf frey in an email to the Neighborhood News.

According to FDOT, the median

project was initiated by an intersection study that showed 233 “crashes” had been reported in that area from 2011-15.

In a 2015-19 District 7 crash sum mary report, there were 90 total crashes reported at the intersection of BBD and S.R. 54, eight with serious injuries and one fatality. At the Village Market and BBD intersection, 15 crashes were report ed, three of them with serious injuries.

It is not an uncommon sight to see an accident at the northbound side in front of the Sonny’s BBQ or Taco Bell, where traffic is much heavier than on the Village Market side.

A Neighborhood News Reader Survey in 2017 voted the BBD/54 intersection as the second-worst in Wesley Chapel, behind the I-75 and S.R. 56 intersec tion (which now has a much safer and smoothly running Diverging Diamond Interchange).

The plan to make the location safer centers around closing the split median and constructing one long median from Eagleston Blvd. to the south all the way north to S.R. 54.

Under the current set up, the northbound far left turn lane, when

filled during busy traffic hours, extends beyond the median opening and blocks those trying to cross BBD. That makes getting across from the Hollybrook Plaza exit to southbound BBD akin to a game of Frogger for area commuters.

The median closure will mean that drivers leaving the Sonny’s/Truist exit will only be able to turn right, and driv ers leaving the Village Market will only be able to head south.

There will be a number of ways those who need to go south after leav ing Sonny’s can do so, but it will take planning by drivers, Hoff says.

“You’re going to have to reedu cate your guests on how to access (and leave) the complex (Hollybrook Plaza),” Hoff says.

The single, longer median also will create an extended left turn lane onto S.R. 54, which will accommodate more vehicles, which also is expected to re duce congestion.

There also will be a new traffic signal installed at Eagleston Blvd., and new roadway lighting added to the north bound lanes, as well as some resurfacing.

At the southbound end of the

new median, where a new traffic signal will be installed at Eagleston Blvd., a dedicated U-turn lane will be built for motorists wanting to go north out of Village Market.

Hoff still has questions about northbound drivers doing U-turns at S.R. 54 and BBD. No additional work, like adding a “No U-Turn” sign, is scheduled for BBD and S.R. 54.

“The project plans do not include any changes to the existing signs or sig nals at the intersection of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and SR 54,” said McShaffrey in his email to the Neighborhood News. “North bound U-Turns at the S.R. 54 signal will still be permitted. There is no intent to restrict that movement, as U-Turns at traffic signals are generally part of the ac cess management plans.”

Hoff is hoping most drivers will just take the longer way, turning right onto 54 and then U-turning at Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and turning left at BBD.

“People who drive are going to have to figure this out,” Hoff says. “Talk to me once they get that median blocked. You’ll be able to tell how this is going to work then.”

Improvements coming to Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (red line) between S.R. 54 & Eagleston Blvd. will close off the dangerous median opening between Sonny’s BBQ & Truist Bank on the east side of BBD and the new Advance Auto Parts & Twistee Treat on the west side of BBD. (NN map by Charmaine George)

Eagleston Blvd.

El Dorado Furniture Hosts A Spectacular Grand Opening!

El Dorado Furniture store, which opened the weekend of Sept. 24, has taken the furniture store concept and glamorized it.

At a VIP event on Sept. 22, flutes of champagne and strawberries were handed to guests entering the massive 70,000-sq.-ft. store, which was alive with bright lights, a live band and a number of spreads of food. Even so, it was impossible to miss the sprawling rooms of elegant furniture through out Wesley Chapel’s newest business, located at 25171 S.R. 54 (technically in Land O’Lakes), across from Miller’s Ale House.

The weekend of its opening, the first 200 families that arrived received $200 gift cards; the first 100 on Sun day received a free comforter set.

Weekend visitors to the two-story showroom were treated to an experi ence, something that is not offered by other furniture stores. Instead of walk ing aimlessly between living and dining room set-ups, you are taken down El Dorado Blvd., a strip resembling an old-fashioned city street, right down to the benches and street lamps. Stained glass and Egyptian hieroglyphics dot

At the Sept. 22 VIP pre-opening event of the new El Dorado furniture store on S.R. 54 at Wesley Chapel Blvd., (above left) the ribbon-cutting was celebrated with a shower of streamers, and (below left) Hope Children’s Home program director Isaac Foster accepted a $5,500 check from El Dorado COO Pedro Capó . We wish we had more space to show more of the showrooms (above & below right)!

the facades. The “boulevard” winds around the showroom, opening up to what feels like individually themed furniture shops, more than 20 in all, offering a stunning array of high-end offerings.

El Dorado, which offers same-day delivery service to a fairly wide area, carries its signature Carlo Perazzi col lection, its top seller, as well as others. It is truly a showroom that you need to see to believe.

And, every business needs a good story, and here’s El Do rado’s:

In 1966, Manuel Capó, the son of Si mon Capó, who started Casa Capó in Cuba in the 1920s, fled Cuba after the Castro

regime rose to power. He and two of his sons, Luis and Carlos, escaped on a small sailboat named “El Dorado.”

Just seven months after arriving in the U.S., Manuel and his sons opened their first furniture in the heart of the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami and named it after the boat on which they sailed to freedom — El Dorado.

El Dorado Furniture has grown

into the largest Hispanic-owned fur niture retail enterprise in the U.S. The Wesley Chapel location is the second in the Tampa Bay area, and El Dorado has 18 showrooms across Florida.

The store’s hours are Mon.-Sun., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. For more informa tion, visit ElDoradoFurniture.com or call (813) 440-6999. John C. Cotey; photos by Charmaine George

HomeSense Headed To Wesley Chapel!

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

According to Pasco County per mitting records, a HomeSense dis count home furnishings store is com ing to the Publix (and Ross)-anchored Shoppes at New Tampa shopping center on the southeast corner of S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

Permits filed with the county indi cate a 26,277-sq.-ft. store will be built next to the Ross Dress for Less store in the same plaza.

If you haven’t previously heard of HomeSense, don’t be surprised — ac cording to its website, this will be the first location in Florida, although there

are more than 40 locations in a 10 other states, mostly in the Northeast.

HomeSense is a Canadian chain owned by TJX Companies, which also owns HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

That makes HomeSense some thing of a sister store to HomeGoods, but with a larger selection of furniture, art and lighting. HomeSense stores also sell rugs, kitchen items and a wide variety of home décor items.

Work hasn’t begun yet, but expect to see the new HomeSense store open sometime in 2023.

For additional information, visit US.HomeSense.com.

Florida Cancer Specialists Breaks Ground

Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) has big plans to expand its cancer services, breaking ground on Sept. 20 on a new facility at the southwest corner of Hueland Pond Blvd. and S.R. 56, just east of Beach House Assisted Living.

Currently located in a 5,000-sq.ft. building on Tanic Dr. (off Cypress Ridge Blvd.), FCS’s new center will be two stories and 45,000 square feet. That is even larger than the 28,000-sq.-ft. Moffitt Cancer Center at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, which opened in May 2021.

The new FCS building will offer ex panded cancer care patient access of the

first floor, plus 27 exam rooms and more than 65 treatment chairs, with both semi-private and private infusion suites for those receiving chemo treatments.

The latest clinical trials also will be available at the new FCS center once it is established.

“We have a rich history in Florida, with almost 38 years of caring for can cer patients, and we are really proud of our mission of world class care close to home,” said chief operating officer Jason Coe (far left in photo). “This is what we do — we bring care close to home so patients don’t have to travel.”

The FCS building is expected to be completed by early 2024. — JCC

Life Essentials Hosts Storytime & Wins EDC Award!

Fresh off winning the Pasco Eco nomic Developmental Council (EDC)’s SmartStart Entrepreneur of the Year award at the EDC’s annual awards banquet on Sept. 8, Life Essentials (Re) Fillery owner Sheila Haque (at right in the top left photo) hosted a hugely successful Toddler Story time event, where dozens of toddlers and their parents got a special visit from some furry friends on Sept. 22.

Toddler Storytime, held Thursdays from 10 a.m.-11 a.m., in front of Life Essentials at the KRATE container park at The Grove, featured a visit from Mercy Full Project, a local animal rescue, at its Sept. 22 event.

Heydi Acuna, founder of Mercy Full Project, read Tails Are Not for Pulling with an 8-week-old rescue puppy in her lap, the puppy’s

sibling in a nearby crate, and two 8-week old kittens in a carrier.

The kids (and parents) who attended got to pet the animals, sing songs, and do a special puppy craft.

Toddler Storytime is free and sponsored each week by Life Essentials (Re)Fillery, lo cated at 5804 Grand Oro Dr. (Suite 104).

“I’m grateful that we are able to give back to our community by providing fun, engaging, no-cost activities to our local families,” Haque said.

For more info about the snacks, household products and more at Life Essentials, call (813) 642-6402 or visit LifeEssentialsRefillery.com. — JCC

AdventHealth Care Pavilion In Hunter’s Green Celebrates One Year

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Correspondent

In the year since it opened on Sept. 14 of last year, the AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunter’s Green has served many people looking for a modern, con venient way to meet their primary health care needs.

Located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. just south of Cross Creek Blvd. in front of Hunter’s Green, the Care Pavilion offers a reimagined experience to make going to the doctor easier, with a lot less hassle.

The 50,000-sq.-ft. building houses primary care, on-site labs and imag ing, and an expanding list of specialties. Patients sign in one time at the concierge Welcome Center and don’t need to go anywhere else. An in-house pharmacy means patients can leave with their pre scriptions already in hand.

“Our strategy was two years in the making to really think through what people want,” says John Johannessen, senior executive officer of non-acute care in AdventHealth’s West Florida division. “People don’t like going to doctors. You go because you’re sick and you want to be healthy. But, if people went more often for regular checkups and physicals, things could be addressed early and not

Not only is the doctor experience designed to be easier at the AdventHealth Care Pavilion in front of Hunter’s Green, it also is more comfortable, thanks to roomy exam rooms and outdoor seating overlooking a pond. (Photos provided by AdventHealth)

become (more) serious conditions.”

So, AdventHealth tried to take away many of the frustrations that are typi cal of a visit to the doctor’s office, such as scheduling way in advance, crowded waiting rooms with a long wait for the doctor, and filling out pages and pages of forms.

The Care Pavilion is open for early morning appointments, evening hours, and even all day Saturday, for flexibility and convenience.

Johannessen says AdventHealth is

adding advanced practitioners and physi cians to the location, in order to be sure they can accommodate the number of people who visit.

While appointments are available for patients who prefer them, you can walk right in and expect to be seen in a reasonable amount of time. You may not get to see your favorite doctor — whose schedule might be already filled for the day — but there will be someone avail able to see you in a timely manner.

“Walk-in doesn’t mean extended

wait,” Johannessen explains. “We are monitoring demand and want people to understand that ‘just walk in’ doesn’t mean I’m going to sit and wait three hours.”

Johannessen adds that another perk of the Care Pavilion is that patients won’t be asked to fill out forms over and over again. Online registration and communication through a patient portal and app mean communication when the office and its services are available at your fingertips.

“My personal experience is that I

went into the Care Pavilion for lab work and had the results that night,” he says. “Six hours later, I could access all my results in the patient portal.”

He says technology continues to evolve, but the at-your-fingertips con venience of lab results, prescription refills, and other services are appreciated by the Care Pavilion’s patients.

Entering The ‘Kid Zone’

For parents, another inconvenience of going to the doctor can be having to bring children along and keep them entertained. But, the AdventHealth Care Pavilion has a solution for that, too.

The office offers an on-site “Kids Club,” where up to eight children at a time are cared for, while their parent is seeing a doctor in the building.

“We call it our ‘Kid Zone,’” Johan nessen says. “It’s not a daycare center, but is equipped with trained staff while people are getting services at the build ing. You can drop your child off and go get your medical care taken care of.”

He says that the Care Pavilion does not charge any fee for the Kid Zone, which follows strict safety measures, such as procedures for registering and releas ing children, and doors are kept locked for security.

“The feedback I’ve gotten is that kids want to come back,” Johannes sen says. “It’s a convenience tool that we have, to try to make it a little easier

when (a parent needs) care.”

And, while Johannessen says the Care Pavilion is not an urgent care cent er, it is structured in a way that patients can receive all of the care they would get in an urgent care facility.

Since opening a year ago, the Adven tHealth Care Pavilion at Hunter’s Green already has expanded to add dermatology to its available services.

“It’s a challenging need,” Johannes sen says. “You live in Florida — the Sun shine State — and it can take such a long time to get in and see a dermatologist.”

Being that it’s a new specialty in the

building, the Care Pavilion currently has capacity for people to see a dermatologist fairly quickly. See the contact information at the end of this article to schedule a specialty appointment.

The Care Pavilion still has room to grow, and Johannessen says further expansion is being considered, especially centered around primary care needs.

“We’re having conversations with a dental practice, ophthalmology, and audiology,” he explains, “and (we’re) also considering physical therapy services.”

He says the company’s focus will continue to be on convenience, as well as

patient experience and satisfaction.

“We hope that people would start to accept the Care Pavilion as a first choice for primary needs,” he says. “If you have any primary care need, this center has all of the tools to get everything you need in one place.”

The AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunter’s Green is located at 8702 Hunter’s Lake Dr. It’s open MondayFriday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. For more infor mation, call (813) 467-4700, visit AdventHealthCarePavilion.com, or see the ad on page 2 of this issue.

The AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunter’s Green offers one-stop primary care, labs, imaging, pharmacy and specialty services in a 50,000-square-foot building just south of Cross Creek Blvd. on Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

At Spark Church, Members Are Sparking Change In Wesley Chapel

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Correspondent

While Spark Church is just a little more than a year old and is still relatively small, Pastor Garrett Hamblen says the church is already making an impactful difference in the community.

Members gather weekly for wor ship on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. at the B&B Theatres at The Grove movie theater (located north of S.R. 54, just west of I-75). But, they actually do much more than just that.

The church members have chosen to focus on four community needs they see in Wesley Chapel and surrounding Pasco County, including foster care, hu man trafficking, schools and pregnancy care centers.

“We are moving forward in a lot of big ways,” Pastor Garrett says, “and do ing things that have never been done in our area, that I’m aware of.”

For example, Pastor Garrett says they are working to create a foster care support network, with a goal of bringing other churches on board to support the efforts.

“We had 15 people go through training from a national-level organiza tion that teaches churches how to do this,” he says. “We want to rally around

foster families in the area – even though currently there are none in our church — and meet their physical needs, such as buying new clothes or a bed for a kid who gets dropped off at 2 a.m., or even have our children’s ministry do babysit ting for foster families.”

He says church members also are working with Bridging Freedom, a local organization that supports minor victims of human trafficking, offering a thera peutic safe home campus community for girls, ages 12-17, who have been rescued

from forced prostitution.

Spark Church has formed a partner ship to provide support that includes painting, landscaping, helping with the property and working on building a new home, as Bridging Freedom is expanding.

Pastor Garrett says his messages on Sunday mornings currently are focusing on the same theme.

“Each week, we pick a new problem in the community, look at what the Bible says about it, and talk about what the church should do about it,” he says. “Then, we go

out and work towards that.”

While Spark Church is growing in the number of people who attend, Pastor Garrett says it’s also growing in “depth,” with 90 percent of its members serving the church at least once a month. The people who find the church tend to be those who are passionate about making a difference.

“They’ve been to churches that don’t do a ton of outreach, but they want to go deeper,” he says. “They want their lives to be more meaningful. They want to go out and fight for our community.”

He says they also want to do life together — and not just on Sunday mornings. Garrett says an astounding 95 percent of church members are involved in weekly “core groups” of people who meet together to study the Bible, support each other and develop friendships. The church also has interest groups, where people go out to dinner together, or get together to do crafts, play disc golf, or pursue some other hobby.

This sense of connectivity may be formed because so many people experienced the isolation of the Covid pandemic, and are now ready to get back into community and make friends. And, Pastor Garrett says the church is ready to respond.

Garrett says he moved to the area

Pastor Garrett Hamblen and his wife Katterine are celebrating the one-year anniversary of Spark Church, which holds its services at B&B Theatres at The Grove at Wesley Chapel.

several years ago, when he took a job at Loving Hands Ministries, a drug reha bilitation program in Dade City. He also served as the young adult pastor, then executive pastor, for Calvary Assembly of God in Dade City.

He is licensed as a minister through the Assemblies of God and also has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and an Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, both from Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

Garrett and his wife Katterine now live in Wesley Chapel, just a few minutes away from the movie theater where the church meets.

On Sunday mornings, Spark Church takes over one wing of the theater, of fering worship in a large theater, kids’ church in a smaller theater, and a nursery in a birthday party room. He describes the kids’ areas as “locked down” for safety, in a corner of the building where no public traffic passes by.

Miriam Ventilato lives in the Wa tergrass community off Curley Rd. and joined Spark Church with her family a little over a year ago.

She, her husband, Tony and their teenage kids — ages 18, 15, and 13 — are all involved in the ministries of the church, from singing with the worship team to

putting out advertising flags to draw at tention to the church’s meeting location.

“It’s not just a one-and-done on Sunday,” Miriam says. “It’s doing small groups, working in ministry together, and volunteering together. You really become like a family, and people notice when you’re not there.”

That great sense of connectivity and willingness to work together leads to the outreach that she and others who partici pate in the church think is so important.

“We’re basically showing people the love of God through tangible ways how ever we can,” she says, “whether that’s through partnering in work days or look ing for opportunities to serve wherever there’s a need.”

Miriam adds that it’s easy to get on board with the idea that her church can make a difference in big community problems, just by touching one life at a time. It starts with her pastor and is en capsulated in the name of the church.

“I think that Pastor Garrett is conta gious,” says Miriam. “He says, ‘What fills, spills.’ So, we want to fill ourselves up with things that make a difference so we can spill it out into the community, just sparking each other to bring change.”

Spark Church meets at the B&B Theatres Wesley Chapel–The Grove 16, at 6333 Wesley Grove Blvd.) every Sunday at 10 a.m. For more informa tion, visit SparkPasco.com or see the ad on page 23.

Spark Church has been bringing people together over the past year for fun events (left), music performances and worship services that inspire and “spark” the love of God. (All photos for this story were provided by Spark Church)

Dr. Jureyda Will Make You Smile At Radiance Orthodontics

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Correspondent

Braces used to be a somewhat embar rassing, somewhat uncomfortable rite of passage for pre-teens, but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

The field of orthodontics continues to evolve and grow, with simpler ways to solve complex problems that relate to the straightening of the teeth and jaw — and not just for those in middle school.

While technology now offers many improvements, Dr. Sam Jureyda says he won’t allow it to replace his favorite thing about practicing orthodontics — developing relationships with people and working closely with them to achieve their perfect smile.

“Dr. J,” as his patients call him, opened his Radiance Orthodontics more than six years ago in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off of Commerce Park Blvd., near the New Tampa Rec Center.

His patients say they appreciate his warm, friendly demeanor, paired with his expertise and attention to detail.

Radiance Orthodontics is not a cor porate practice where patients are shuffled through as quickly as possible. Instead, all aspects of the practice are marked with Dr. J’s generous style, where he personally

ensures that each patient gets the treat ment they need, along with the respect and kindness he feels everyone deserves.

“The staff is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and I love that they all pay close attention to details,” says Rawan, a Wesley Chapel mom whose 16-year-old twins just got their braces off.

In fact, the girls were beyond thrilled with the results. They love how straight their teeth are, but Dr. J told Rawan he wasn’t quite satisfied.

“He’s a perfectionist,” Rawan says. “He’s amazing. He likes to make sure everything is perfect to their liking — and to his — so he decided to use Invisalign®

for little finishing touches.”

Rawan says that once her girls started their treatment with Dr. Jureyda, she de cided to get Invisalign for herself, as well.

“I never had a problem with my teeth, but over time, I started to get overcrowding,” Rawan explains. “My teeth weren’t terrible, but it was starting to bother me.”

Rawan says that when compared with other orthodontists in the area, the prices at Radiance were the most reasonable, which made it affordable for her to start treatment, too.

Affordability is one reason Karyn Kraf, a West Meadows mom, chose Radiance Orthodontics for her teenage daughters, Karis and Lydia, too.

“He’s got great payment plans and options, which is a big concern with two kids,” Karyn says. “Having flexibility in setting up payments was very helpful.”

She says she also chose the practice because, as treasurer of the Freedom High PTSA, she sees how invested Dr. Jureyda is in the community.

“He supports the local schools,” she says. “It means a lot to the community that he gives back in that way, and I want to make sure he knows he’s appreciated.”

See “Dr.

Dr. Sam Jureyda, also known as “Dr. J,” of Radiance Orthodontics in the Tampa Palms Profes sional Center, says that it’s still important for him to have hands-on contact with his orthodontic patients to achieve the best results. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Not only is the practice a business partner at all of New Tampa’s public schools, but for the past four years, Radiance Orthodontics has awarded a scholarship each spring to a Wharton High senior who has demonstrated a commitment to serve the community through volunteering. This year, he also will offer a scholarship to a senior at Freedom.

More Options Than Ever Before “Orthodontics is a rapidly-chang ing, dynamic specialty that offers more options than ever before,” Dr. Jureyda explains. “But, that also makes it confus ing for patients.”

He offers a unique, personalized treatment plan to every patient, taking into consideration medical needs, budg et, and lifestyle. The office staff works with patients to determine orthodontic benefits through dental insurance and provide affordable payment options.

Dr. Jureyda has practiced orthodon tics for more than 25 years. Before mov ing into private practice in 2006 — and subsequently opening Radiance in 2016 — he taught graduate-level students at the University of Buffalo, NY.

He offers a completely free, noobligation consultation, whether or not you’ve been referred to him by your dentist. Dr. J provides a thorough ex amination and makes recommendations as to whether or not treatment would be beneficial. Radiance Orthodontics offers both traditional braces and Invisalign®, and Dr. J will help you understand the pros and cons of each type of treatment.

Even traditional braces continue to evolve and use better technologies, and are typically available in either metal or clear ceramic.

Dr. J says that Invisalign®, which uses a series of invisible, removable, comfortable aligners to straighten teeth, is a constantly improving method that is now so effective, it often works more quickly than traditional braces.

Fancy television commercials may say that “do-it-yourself” options can work just as well, but Dr. J emphasizes that having treatment in person with an orthodontist allows you access to an ex pert who will check your progress every step of the way to keep you on track and watch to ensure no problems develop or worsen.

When it’s time to start treatment, Radiance Orthodontics uses a compact, hand-held wand and optical digital technology to create 3D images of a patient’s mouth. This technology is much easier and more comfortable than taking impressions by hand with a goopy material. It also streamlines the process

Dr. J’s personable, caring demeanor with his patients and their families is one major rea son why Radiance Orthodontics has been so successful. (Photo by Charmaine George)

of moving from diagnosis to treatment.

Patients can view their “before” images immediately on the screen during the appointment, and a proposed “after” im age comes via email shortly thereafter.

In between, Dr. J takes time to care fully review exactly how the technology recommends the teeth be moved in to position, using his decades of experience to be sure that each of his patients re ceives a treatment plan that is perfect for them. While the technology adds some degree of automation, he says it doesn’t replace his careful eye and expertise throughout the process.

That’s exactly why Karyn says she’s glad she chose Radiance Orthodontics.

“We’ve had such a great experi ence,” she says. “He’s so attentive and personable and very professional.”

And, while she says she never feels rushed, her time is respected and she’s able to get in and out much faster than when her son was in braces in another office, and she was often kept waiting for more than an hour before appointments.

“When we first met Dr. J, we imme diately felt comfortable with him and his staff,” Karyn says. “He spends so much time with the girls, he pays attention to details, and makes every patient feel special.”

To schedule a free consultation, text or call Radiance Orthodontics at (813) 972-1100. For more informa tion about the practice, located at 17427 Bridge Hill Ct., Suite A, in the Tampa Palms Professional Cent er, search for Radiance Orthodontics on Facebook, visit MyRadianceBrac es.com or see the ad on page 9.

priced kids’ menu, as well as desserts.

Skybox bartenders also serve a great selec tion of premium alcohol craft cocktails, fine wines and craft beers.

For more info about the Residence Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel (2867 La juana Blvd.) and the Skybox Rooftop Bar, call (833) 214-9098, visit Marriott.com or SkytopRooftopBar. com or see the ad on pg. 34 of this issue.

New Tampa Resident’s The Poker Night Murders Has Local Fla-

By GARY NAGER

Even though I was still living in Hunter’s Green when retired forensic psychiatrist Donald Taylor first started hosting weekly poker games at his home in the same community, I don’t believe I had ever met “Don.”

But, when he contacted me by email a few weeks ago, asking about Neighbor hood News advertising rates, I responded as I always do — asking him about the nature of the business he was trying to promote and whether he was interested in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel or both of our markets.

When he said that he was looking to promote his first-ever self-published nov el — entitled The Poker Night Murders — I was intrigued. I told him, as I have many authors before, that if he would send me a copy of the book, I’d take a look at it and possibly write something to try to help him sell more copies.

We ended up speaking on the phone at length about the book, which is based both on Don’s weekly poker nights at his home and fictional accounts of mur der cases, none of which, he says, were based on actual murderers he was called on to interview and testify about their mental states by either the courts or the attorneys involved in the cases.

Now, although I’ve done precious little reading for pleasure since I started editing thou sands of pages every year for my publi cations nearly 30 years ago, and never really was too big on murder mysteries as a reading genre, I agreed to at least read the first chapter or chapters to get a feel for the book.

The fact that Jannah and I cur rently really enjoy the Steve Martin-Martin Short-Selena Gomez Hulu series “Only Murders in the Build ing” definitely made me even more inter ested in the book’s subject material.

And no, I do not regret my decision to read it...at all.

Poker, Murder & New Tampa

One of the things that appealed to me immediately about the book was its

length — only 125 pages. The murders themselves take place over only four consecutive Thursdays, with each poker night played out in a single chapter of this four-chapter book.

The reason is not only due to my at tention span, but also because I knew that even if I didn’t love the book, I could get through it in just a few sittings without it affecting my deadline schedule.

The second thing that immediately ap pealed to me was how Don — who goes by the pen name “D.R. Taylor” in his novel — would weave actual No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker hands (with graphic illustrations showing the cards as they are played) and the various players’ reactions to how other players played those hands into the story.

Although I love to play poker, I have always kind of hated Hold ‘Em because I tend to, especially in lower stakes games, stay in as often as possible to see the “flop” cards, just as the character in the book named Cody, who is known to all of the other players as the worst player in the game, usually does, almost all of the time to his detriment.

In the book, “D.R.” says his fictional players decided at some point during the weekly high-stakes ($1,000 buy-in; more on this below) game at the home of the charac ter based on him — retired forensic psychia trist Dr. Ronald Turner — to only play Hold ‘Em “after the televised poker boom began in 2003.” Don admits that “the stakes and the implied incomes of the players have been magnified for dramatic effect,” noting that

New Tampa resident and retired forensic psychiatrist Donald “D.R.” Taylor hopes this article will help sell more copies of his first-ever novel — The Poker Night Murders.” (Photo provided by Don Taylor)

he “thought readers would be more inter ested in a game where people won or lost $2,000, rather than $37.” Don also goes into detail about not only the rules (for the uninitiated readers) but also the intricacies of Hold ‘Em, which made me realize even more why I never really won playing it. But, what really hooked me were all of the New Tampa and Tampa references — Ciccio Cali, Acropolis, USF, the Lightning, Bruce B. Downs Blvd., South Tampa, the

Seminole Hard Rock Casino and even a local female TV anchor who never got pro moted because of Kelly Ring. I don’t know if these references will be lost on readers outside of our area, but it definitely made the book more fun for me.

As for the murders themselves, I’ll admit that I focused on only two of the many major characters from the very be ginning (and one of those two did actually “do it”), but Don did such a great job of making you doubt your sleuthing skills that right up until the “Fourth Thursday” (final) chapter, I wasn’t sure whodunit.

And, while I would guess that The Poker Night Murders skews more towards a male audience because of the amount of poker included in the story and the lack of much in the way of sexual overtones, the book was definitely a page-turner for me. Rather than my anticipated “few sittings,” I devoured the book in just two.

I congratulate Don, his editor Kath leen Strattan and his illustrator and book designer John Reinhardt on a job well done. Will there be a sequel? “let’s see how this one sells,” Don says. “But, you never know.”

Spoken like a true mystery writer.

Donald Taylor’s The Poker Night Murders is available online (only) on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble for just $14.95 per copy. It’s not currently available in stores, but, as Don says, “We’ll see about it in the future.”

A CENTURY OF LOVE!

More than 200 people (including her daughter & party organizer, Ellen Fiss, right, and grandson Garrett Fiss, below) were on hand to celebrate Marion Brodarick’s 100th Birthday!

By GARY NAGER

Considering that she has lived in Pebble Creek for almost 42 years and has entered pretty much every contest we’ve ever run in the Neighborhood News the last 29 (and has regularly called our office to tell us about any number of news stories in her neighborhood), I’ve long considered Marion Brodarick to be a cherished member of my newspaper family.

I therefore was thrilled when Florence Bronner, a member of the bridge club Marion has been a part of since she first moved to New Tampa from her native Chicago, called me to invite me to the bridge club’s celebration of Marion’s 100th birthday at Heritage Isles Golf Club (photo, near right, by Charmaine George)

I was even more excited that Jannah and I were then invited to attend Marion’s “real” 100th birthday bash, thrown for her by her daughter (and long-time publicist for Tampa General Hospital and Fox-13 TV before that) Ellen Fiss. The party was held over Labor Day weekend at The Orlo, a 100+-year-old house in downtown Tampa that has been converted into a spectacular event venue.

Marion was transported to the event in her “Birthday Express,” a beautiful 1920s-style car (right), and was escorted into The Orlo by Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin (or, at least, great impersonators of them; there also were Audrey Hepburn and Elvis impersonators on hand). Inside, Ellen had tables of beautiful, signed photos from not only local newscasters, but celebrities such as Julie Andrews, Johnny Depp, Carol Burnett, Jerry Seinfeld and oth ers, as well as commendations from Tampa

Mayor Jane Castor, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd and the Tampa Bay Bucs, plus many other artifacts of Marion’s life, including photos from her wedding to her husband of 58 years,

Urban “Brod” Brodarick, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 86.

During her speech at the party, Ellen said that more than 200 people were in attendance

(many of whom wore 1920s-era costumes), including more than 50 relatives, who came from 15 states to be there. Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco (photo on next page) and

(Above, center) Ellen Fiss & Don Juceam; (Right) Olivia & Herb Fiss. Most photos on these pages were taken by Keith Lindquist & provided to Neighborhood News by Ellen Fiss.

Photo by Gary Nager

his wife, Dr. Linda McClintock, were among those who attended in person, while other dignitaries sent videos, including Santiago Corrada of Visit Tampa Bay (where Marion worked for three decades when it was called the Tampa Convention & Visitors Bureau; she also volunteered for 30+ years at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts), Fox-13 anchors Rus sell Rhodes and Jen Epstein, News Channel 8’s Stacy Schaible and Josh Benson and others.

There was dancing to the music of the 12-piece Don Juceam Orchestra, a quartet from Palma Ceia United Methodist Church (where Ellen and her husband Herb Fiss are members) who sang all of the theme songs of the U.S. military, a letter from Marion’s relatives in Croatia that was read by her grand daughter Olivia Fiss, delicious food by private

chef Justin Fedin and the most wonderful feeling Jannah and I have ever felt attending a birthday party.

Congrats, Marion. We love you!

Coach Is Bullish On Wiregrass Ranch Volleyball Team

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Amy Strawser had one goal for her daughter Haley and her Wiregrass Ranch High volleyball teammates this season — stability.

That’s why, when the team was potentially facing having to adapt to their third coach in three seasons, Amy, an as sistant the previous two years, stepped up.

“These are great girls,” Amy says. “They deserved some continuity.

Led by Haley, a junior who leads the team in virtually every statistical category, the Bulls were off to a 6-4 start as of Sept. 23, sandwiching two three-game winning streaks around a four-game slide.

How important was the continu ity to Amy, who has been coaching for roughly 20 years? Even after suffering a stroke last month, she sent practice plans to her players from the ICU of the Tallahassee hospital where she spent nine days.

“I have an amazing manager, Hailey Portieles,” Amy says. “And this group of girls is really mature. They were really supportive and stepped up to run the practices on their own.”

Wiregrass Ranch High volleyball star Haley and her mom (and Bulls coach) Amy Strawser have led the team to a 6-4 start to the 2022 season, despite Amy having spent nine days in a Tallahassee hospital after suffering a stroke earlier this month. (Photo by Charmaine George)

When Amy returned to the sidelines on Sept. 15, her players greeted her with flowers and signs proclaiming their joy at having their coach back.

Amy can’t help but cry when she recalls the moment. It’s a clear sign the relationship between her and her players is a strong one, and that is paying divi

dends on the court.

While it was the exceptional work of Portieles keeping things together off the court while Amy was in the hospital, it is Haley who is the glue on the court.

Amy (whose last name was Funk houser back then) was an All-Hillsbor ough County outside hitter at Bloom

ingdale High. She played Division I volleyball at Samford (AL) University and then went into coaching. She put a volleyball in Haley’s hand at the age of three, and the current Bulls standout never looked back.

“I was always around volleyball, and I really liked it,” Haley says. “I like that it’s a mental game, and a smart volleyball player is a good volleyball player. It’s not just a physical game.”

While Amy helped drill home the mental aspect, she also versed her daughter on the variety of skills required to play the game well.

Amy was a 5’-9” outside hitter in college back when you didn’t need to be 6’-3” to stand out; Haley, who is 5’-8” has learned some of those same skills, and then some, leading the Bulls last year with 191 kills.

“It helped a lot (that) she taught me the fundamentals and always made sure I was with good coaches to treat me the correct way,” Haley says. “She made me a better player.”

At the next level, Haley will prob ably be a setter. She leads the Bulls in assists with 110.

However, as a testament to that all-around game her mother helped her

refine, Haley also leads the team in kills (57), aces (18) and digs (128). It is rare to see one volleyball player lead in each of those specific categories.

“I like to focus on being the best that I can be at every skill,” Haley says. “I’m usually a setter, but I like to focus on doing my best on defense and when I’m hitting, I want to make sure I put the ball away.”

Amy says her daughter isn’t the only standout on the team.

Seniors Gianna Ginesin and Victoria Vizcaino also are key contributors, and Ayanna Klaiber-Norris heads up a junior class that has the potential to do big things next season.

“I think our junior class is going to make some waves,” Amy says.

Klaiber-Norris, a 6-ft.-tall middle hitter, is second on the team in kills and first in blocks, and Marisabel Monserate is a defensive standout. Along with the

development of freshmen Ava Sperling, who Amy describes as fearless, and Karen Hill, the Bulls are on an upward trend.

Even in two of their losses this year, the Bulls managed to take two sets off Mitchell and a set off Wesley Chapel, two teams expected to make deep play off runs this season.

“We’re definitely hopeful,” says Haley. “We have to potential to do well, and I think we will.”

Amy doesn’t want to have to send in game plans from a hospital bed again, but one thing is clear — she will do whatever she needs to do to draw out the potential of her budding Bulls.

“I have high hopes for this team,” Amy says, and then, with a laugh, added that when she was watching the team play via streaming in the hospital, her nurses were asking her what she was doing. “I think I was setting my heart monitor off.”

A number of contributing players have helped lead the Wiregrass Ranch Bulls to their solid start to the 2022 volleyball season.(Photo: Charmaine George)

Spotlight On: Bounty Hunters Basketball!

The Bounty Hunters, a local AAU (Am ateur Athletic Union) competitive basketball program, is hosting tryouts for its girls travel teams on Sunday, October 23, and invites girls in grades 5-11 in New Tampa and Wes ley Chapel to try out for the squad.

Coach Max Guevara (photo, with as sistant coach Jess Cumba), who played AAU ball when he was a kid (“Which probably saved my life,” he says, since he grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in Philadel phia) and in various adult leagues, played an assistant coach role with other organizations and the feedback he received from other par ents was always overwhelmingly positive.

“When you hear; ‘You should have your own team’ enough times, you start to consider it,” Guevara says. “It frustrated me seeing my own daughter go from program to program being told what to do but not be ing shown how to do it. About a year ago, I contacted the AAU to see what it would take to start my own club.”

Guevara sought corporate sponsorship for 6 months, but says he was told by corpo rate CEOs and general managers that, “‘No one cares about girls’ basketball’ and that they failed to see the return on their investment. So, I funded the Bounty Hunters out of my own pocket. We ran our first camp this past summer and it sold out in less than 2 weeks.”

The Bounty Hunters is a year-round program, but from March to August, Guevara says his Junior Varsity (JV) and Varsity teams will travel in and out of the state, participat

ing in tournaments against the best their age group has to offer. “We also teach these kids to be productive members of the community through volunteering and teaching them respect, communication skills, self-esteem and even money management,” he says.

The Bounty Hunters JV team is for girls in grades 5-8, and the Varsity team is for girls in grades 9-11. A total of 13 players per travel team will be selected, although the program also offers a Developmental Team.

The tryouts to be held on Oct. 23 will be free of charge. “As a nonprofit organiza tion, we must rely of the generosity of the community to survive,” Guevara says. “You can help us keep this going by making a contribution on our website (BountyHunt erBasketball.com).” For more details, please email info@bountyhunterbasket ball.com or see the ad below.

Macondo Coffee Shop Opens In Former Degajé Loca-

By JOHN C. COTEY

Casiani Contreras spent a lot of his time in college drinking coffee.

In between earning marketing and finance degrees from Florida International University in Miami, Contreras would spend his time studying at Macondo, a local coffee shop. He would start his day with a coffee and maybe a breakfast sand wich and, by lunchtime, he was ready for a smoothie and perhaps a quinoa bowl.

“I probably went there 100 times,” he says, and can still remember the smell of the coffee beans as they were being roasted.

Now, Contreras, 29, owns his coffee shop. On Sept. 19, he opened up Macon do Coffee Roasters in the former location of Degajé, in The Village at The Grove. The night before, Contreras and his

wife Anna (photo), his dad, mom and un cle put the finishing touches on the place around 1 a.m. The entire project was a labor of love, with help from his family and business partner Rommel Medina.

In the era of massive chains like Starbucks dominating the coffee market, Macondo is a nice change of pace. The Colombian coffee is painstakingly sourced and brewed — the cold brew is a 12-hour process – and the decor is hip and urban and, like everything at The Grove, Ins tagrammable. Contreras hired someone from Miami to put the impressive menu on the chalkboard behind the counter. It took two days to complete.

On it you can see a variety of hand-brewed 100% Colombian cof fees, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and wraps, paninis, salads, healthy bowls and smoothies.

Contreras made Macondo in Wesley Chapel happen. He said he sent the owner of the original four stores in the Miami area a long email, telling him one day he’d love to own a store of his own. He encouraged them to franchise, and they granted his wish.

But until he moved to Wesley Chapel, because he says he liked the vibe, finding a place to open his Macondo proved elusive. He visited over 10 poten

tial locations, but none of them worked. While he looked, he would often spend his day working (he owns a logistics com pany) at Degajé.

Then one day, after putting his dream on hold for six months, he found the perfect place. “I was on Google, I don’t remember the actual website, but I saw this place listed for sale and was like, Oh my God,” Contreras says. “I knew it was

the one near my house (in Epperson). And, I liked the place!”

So, three months ago, Contreras pur chased Degajé and, with a lot of hard work and long hours, turned it into Macondo.

“It was just super meant to be” Con treras says. For more information about Macondo Wesley Chapel (6027 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 101), visit Macondo Coffee.com or call (813) 991-5010.

KRATE Update — Celebrating The ‘90s As Sugar Pop Opens!

With very few of the repurposed ship ping crates at Phase 1 of the KRATE con tainer park at The Grove still left to open, the focus has shifted to getting people who may have visited the KRATEs early on — but weren’t thrilled with the parking, irreg ular hours and crowds — coming back to check out everything that has opened there since those first few weeks and months.

To that end, special events continue to be added, like Life Essential (Re)Fillery’s Storytime (see pg. 12), in order to keep locals (and others) coming back. Among those events, which have indeed proven to be big draws, were recent 1970s and ’80s nights, with entertainment on the container park’s main stage and costume contests.

The most recent of these was a 1990s night held on Sept. 24, which did bring a big crowd to hear popular songs from that decade (everything from Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys to Nirvana and more) played by the T&T Band, even though very few people entered the actual costume contest (top left photo).

To be fair, though, the ’90s definitely had fewer signature looks as the ’70s or ’80s, but a great time was still had by all, as surprisingly comfortable weather helped keep lines forming outside the Blush Wine Room, the Bacon Boss HQ and many others. In fact, Bacon Boss co-owner Christy Norland emceed the costume contest and gave out a gift card to her popular KRATE.

But, at least one new KRATE did open the same day as ’90s night — Sugar Pop, which is a throwback to old-time candy stores and carries a huge variety of hard

candies, chocolates (including chocolates imported from Turkey & Japan) and more. Sugar Pop is owned by the same fam ily that owns the Bebo’s Cheesesteaks

KRATE and is a place you should definitely check out if you have a sweet tooth. The only Phase 1 KRATE not yet open is Café Zorba, which we hope will be open within

a week or two after you receive this issue.

For more info about Sugar Pop, stop in at 5840 Grand Oro Ln. or visit “Sugar Pop Florida” on Facebook.—GN

Your 2nd Chance To Win Free Dining!

Whether or not you’ve already entered our 2022 Neighborhood News Reader Dining Survey & Contest, you still have time to enter again. We realized, as soon as our first Wesley Chapel entries began coming in, that we didn’t give some of you enough informa tion to properly provide answers to some of the categories in order to enter — and win free dining prizes in — this year’s contest.

The first problem was that we asked you to name your Three Favorite Restaurants in New Tampa (NT) and Wesley Chapel (WC). But, we assumed logic would dictate that one restaurant can not be your favorite, 2nd favorite and/or 3rd favorite place to eat. Even if a restaurant has locations in both of our distribution areas (for example, The Brunchery), that restaurant still can only be named as one of your three favorites and will only be counted as one vote for that restau rant, so please name three different res taurants as your number 1, 2 and 3 favorite places to eat in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

Two other categories that caused confu sion was that we asked you for your Favorite Dish and Favorite Appetizer in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. We wrongfully (again) assumed that our readers would real ize that we were asking you to name not only your favorite dish, but the restaurant that serves your favorite version of that dish.

Of the first 100 entries we’ve received, however, at least 20 or 30 of them just answered “coconut grouper” as your favorite dish or “onion rings” as your favorite ap

petizer, without telling us which restaurant actually serves your favorite grouper or onion rings. Yeesh.

And, considering that this is a Dining Survey, we didn’t think anyone would write in non-dining options when we asked you for your Favorite KRATE at The Grove. Al though we enjoy Katie Beth’s Boutique and MaeBerry Co. as much as the next guy (or girl), these are clearly not places to eat, which is what we are looking for in a Dining Survey.

Check The New Entry Address!

And finally, although we are happy about our move, we regret the timing — in the mid dle of this year’s contest — of us leaving our old address on S.R. 54 to move to our new location at the Medallion Corporate Park, also in Wesley Chapel. By the time this issue reaches your mailbox, we will already be at that new address — 2604 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Suite 102D, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544. Therefore, even though we have given the U.S. Post Office our change of address (which means that all mail received at our old location should be forwarded to us), in order to guarantee that your mailed entry will reach us on time, please use the new address (which does also now appear on the entry form).

Of course, the new mailing address doesn’t affect the entries you’ve made on our website — NeighborhoodNewsOnline. net — but if you know you got any of the categories mentioned above wrong, feel free to send us a second entry anyway. — GN

MEXICAN RESTAURANT

SURVEY

READER

AMERICAN RESTAURANT

ITALIAN RESTAURANT

PLACE FOR BURGERS IN

GREEK/MEDITERRANE

PLACE FOR PIZZA IN

BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT

LATIN (NOT MEX.) REST.

ICE CREAM/FROYO/GE

FRIED CHICKEN/WINGS

BEST THAI RESTAURANT

RESTAURANT FOR STEAK

BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH REST.

RESTAURANT W/BEST SUSHI

BEST FULL LIQUOR BAR IN

BEST BEER OR WINE BAR

BEST BAKERY/DESSERT IN

FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP

NEW YEAR, NEW RULES!

There are 24 categories in our 2022 Reader Dining Survey on this page. Please fill in as many categories as you like, but to be eligible to win this year’s FREE Dining Gift Cards (to the restaurant of your choice), you MUST tell us your top three favorite restaurants (of any cuisine type) in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel AND provide an answer in at least 18 of the 24 total categories. Please note that this year, your votes will still count if you don’t provide answers to at least 18 categories, you just won’t be eligible to win this year’s prizes.

Three winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries, whether you enter by mail or at NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net by no later than Wednes day, November 23, to win a $100, $60 or $35 gift card to the restaurant of your choice. Mail-in entries must have all requested personal info (right) & be mailed to our NEW address: Neighborhood News 2022 Dining Survey & Contest, 2604 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Suite 102-D, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544. — GN

DAYTIME

EMAIL

Enter

or by mail by Wednesday, November 23!

News 2022 Dining Survey & Contest 2604 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Suite 102D, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544

Enter Online, visit: NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

Lexington Oaks Golf Club Wants To Host YOUR Big Event!

By GARY NAGER

Over the past few years, I’ve written quite a few stories about Omari’s Grill at Lexington Oaks Golf Club, because owner Anass El-Omari is a classically trained chef who serves great food at the restaurant named for him.

However, over the past year or so, Anass has recognized that most of the peo ple dining at his golf course were, of course, golfers who didn’t necessarily care about his delicious pastas, steaks, fresh fish and other more upscale options. So, even though I personally am not thrilled about the changes to the menu, I still love the burgers, grilled chicken and chicken Philly sandwiches and the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. People also rave about the mozzarella sticks, onion rings, shrimp tacos (far right photo on next page) and Colombian-style empañadas.

An avid low-handicap golfer himself, Anass says, “Most golfers want sandwiches, burgers, wings and other faster items. So, that’s all we’re serving at Omari’s now.”

In addition to the beautiful, equestrianthemed par-72, 6,748-year public golf course, Anass and his wife Susana Herrera are now focusing on hosting special events at their 7,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse, which comfortably seats 100 people inside, and 40 people on the screened-in patio outside, plus still more people on a second outdoor patio that doesn’t have a screen.

“Our clubhouse is a great place for birthday parties, weddings, rehearsal din ners, quinceañeras, baby showers, memo rial services, seminars and. of course, golf tournaments,” Susana says. “We average at least two of these events per month.”

Anass and Susana have only owned the golf club and course for four years, but revamped the course’s greens in 2019 and expanded and finished renovating the club house itself last year. The Lexington Oaks clubhouse also features a full-liquor, fullservice bar and a nice pro shop for golfers.

And, although both the course and restaurant are open to the public, there also are golf memberships available. There also is league golf play almost every day of the week. All of the league and more golf info appears on the website LexingtonOaksGolf.com

The course hosts about 20 tournaments each year, and will again be home to the 2nd annual RADDSports Charity golf tourna ment in December (see ad on pg. 33).

The Place For Your Big Event!

According to its website, Lexington Oaks Golf Club’s impressive clubhouse is “the perfect location for your big day. We will personalize your event to make your wedding or other special day a moment you and your guests will treasure for a lifetime. We offer customized food and beverage menus, audio visual equipment, full-service bars and builtin public address systems. Our staff is specifi

cally trained in food and beverage operations and customer service. Our service goal is to anticipate every need before you ask and to exceed your expectations.

“If you’re looking for an even greater experience, Lexington Oaks Golf Club of fers an array of special touches to enhance your big event. We have put together a comprehensive listing of our menu options

(there are a lot more than just the Omari’s menu), services and other information.”

Best of all, the price is always right. If you compare Lexington Oaks Golf Club’s rates with other golf courses and/or banquet facili ties in the area, I’m personally confident you won’t find better (or even comparable) food, drinks or professional service for less anywhere else. Jannah and I hosted the baby shower for

our granddaughter Rosie there more than three years ago and everyone who attended raved about the food, the room and the service.

In other words, even though Omari’s Grill is no longer serving the fresh fish or pastas I loved for dinner, you can’t go wrong hosting your next big event or golf tourna ment at Lexington Oaks Golf Club!

Lexington Oaks Golf Club (26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd.) is open every day from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Omari’s is open for lunch & dinner Wed.-Fri., for lunch only Sat.-Sun., and is closed Mon.-Tues. For more information, call (813) 907-7270, visit LexingtonOaksGolf.com or see the ad on pg. 45.

Carrabba’s Opens On The North Side Of S.R. 56!

Speaking of Italian, the new Carrabba’s Italian Grill, located at 25298 Sierra Center Blvd. (between Bonefish Grill and Aus sie Grill, on the north side of S.R. 56) has officially opened to the public and there’s no doubt that it’s already a local favorite.

The newest location of the chain, which serves 130-year-old recipes created by the family of founders Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola, is one of more than 200 in nearly 30 U.S. states, with about 70 of those being located in Florida.

And, while I’ve never been the biggest fan of most chain eateries, the smaller new Carrabba’s “Bistro” setup is beautiful, has a great bar area and I already like many of the made-from-scratch dishes I’ve sampled,

Ha Long Bay Vietnamese To Open On BBD

Con gratulations to my new friends Nhan Nguyen and her husband Hai Chu and their family, the owners of the new Ha Long Bay restaurant, which is scheduled to have its Grand Opening on Friday, Oc tober 7, in the space at 20685 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. previously occupied by Aroi Thai-Tsuyu (not to be confused with the still-open Arroy Thai on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel).

Several months ago, we announced in these pages that the restaurant would be a new location of Hana Sushi, but when that deal fell through, Nhan and Hai jumped at the opportunity to open the fourth location of Ha Long Bay (the others are in St. Petersburg, Dunedin and Largo). Nhan and Hai also previously owned Ocean Blue Sushi Bar in Carrollwood.

The new Ha Long Bay, which will feature a variety of Vietnamese and Asian fusion favorites, including pho, banh mi sandwiches, Chinese-style stir-fry dishes, poké bowls, rice combination plates and a large variety of boba teas, will be man

aged by New Tampa residents Kay and Mandy Vongsa. “They are like family to us,” Nhan says. For more information, call (813) 406-4917 or visit HaLong BayNewTampa.com. — GN

including the lasagne pictured above, the Tuscan-grilled pork chops and the unique Johnny’s Trio (above, right; we substituted fi let for the sirloin steak Marsala it usually comes with), mezzaluna ravioli and chicken Bryan).

“Try us for weekday lunch or early dinner,” proprietor Mark Kolter says. “Our

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar & Rodizio On The Way

If there is one hole in the growing Wesley Chapel dining scene, it might be the lack of a true seafood place.

That hole will be getting partially filled soon.

A Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar is in the process of being built in the same mini-plaza as the recently opened Chicken Salad Chick next to the Costco off S.R. 56 on the extension of Wesley Chapel Blvd.

The 4,162-sq.ft. oyster bar will have a 535-sq.-ft. patio and started the permitting process in July.

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar has 10 locations in North Carolina and four in South Carolina, as well as single locations in Maryland, Georgia, Illinois and Texas.

The Wesley Chapel location, which is expected to be casual and no-frills like its other locations, is part of a Florida expansion that will add new restaurants in the Space Coast and Ocala areas.

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar’s go-to items are the oysters on the half shell, al though they also are served steamed and chargrilled. Other seafood items include scallops, ahi tuna, shrimp, snow crab legs and calamari, as well as American bar staples like chicken wings, burgers,

weekend dinner hours are always packed.”

For more info, call (813) 261-2691 or visit Carrabbas.com and please tell Mark that Jannah and I sent you! — GN

fries and macaroni and cheese bites.

Tacos, po-boy sandwiches and shrimp ‘n grits also are on the menu, and, of course, beer and cocktails.

For more information, visit TheShuckinShack.com.

Also, in the same area, we told you in July but now it’s official — Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse, has posted a sign saying “Coming Soon!” in front of the At Home store just south and across the road from Costco.

Rodizio Grill was the first authentic Brazilian steakhouse or “churrascaria” in the U.S. established in 1995 by Ivan Utrera. There is a location in Sarasota.

For more information, visit RodizioGrill.com. — JCC

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar is coming to the S.R. 56 area near Costco.

Umu Japanese & Thai’s Spectacular Grand Re-Opening!

Congratulations to Dew, Preeya & Will (1.-r. in top right photo), the own ers of Umu Japanese & Thai restaurant (2653 BBD Blvd., in the same plaza as The Hungry Greek & Dickey’s BBQ Pit), which held a North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) ribbon cutting in conjunction with its Grand Re-Opening on Sept. 20.

Umu, which was closed for two weeks and for lunch for a while longer, as more focus was being placed on its upscale din ner items, is open again for both lunch and dinner and members of the NTBC got an amazing preview of Umu’s new and revamped menu items during the event.

In addition to huge platters of the restaurant’s always-outstanding sushi, Umu served delicious BBQ pork belly, pad Thai, shrimp fried rice (which I couldn’t sample, but look at it!), gyoza dumplings, crispy chicken katsu and more.

In other words, if it’s been a while since you visited Umu, you need to go try it again soon — and please tell the owners I sent you!

Umu Japanese & Thai is open for lunch and dinner every weekday and for dinner only on Sat. & Sun. For more informa tion, call (813) 591-6121 or visit UmuJapanese.com. — Gary Nager; all photos on this page by Charmaine George

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