Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 30, Issue 26, December 27, 2022

Owner Christy Norland enjoys a bite of the John Gotti burger, one of the best sellers at Norland’s Bacon Boss HQ, which was voted by our readers as their Favorite KRATE. Check out the other winners from the 2002 Reader Dining Survey on pages 13-22. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Looking Ahead To 2023 In Wesley Chapel After A Crazy Busy 2022

By GARY NAGER Editorial

I’m so thankful for how things went for me, both personally and professionally, in 2022.

I found out this year that my sons and Jannah’s daughter and son will increase the number of grandchildren between us from two to six by April of next year. And, after a couple of years of serious pain, I had both of my knees replaced in 2022 and I’m back to working out regularly and feeling like I’ve turned back the clock to younger, healthier times.

In addition, the Neighborhood News is still going gangbusters, despite me having to suffer through those two knee replacement operations and many weeks of difficult physical therapy following each of those surgeries.

And, here in Wesley Chapel, 2022 was another year of unprecedented growth, as our all-direct-mail distribution grew from 29,000 homes, apartments and businesses and fewer than 82,000 people in zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545 to more than 31,000 residences and businesses and more than 85,000 people over the course of the year, despite the fact the once-insane local real estate market finally cooled off...at least somewhat.

I’m also proud to say that we added more than three dozen new advertisers in 2022 and continued to make the vast majority of our advertisers, old and new, happy with their results.

On pages 4 and 6 of this issue, managing editor John Cotey recaps some of the biggest 2022 stories in Wesley Chapel with looktowards-2023 updates on those stories. But, there are a few other stories we are looking forward to covering in 2023 and there’s little doubt that many of them also will be big news for us. Here are a few, in no particular order:

BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel opening — Although not as large as the existing AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital, adding a second full-service hospital in Wesley Chapel will definitely mean more access to health care within a few miles for more Wesley Chapel residents. Remember that a new hospital also means more doctors, nurses, therapists and jobs in our community and yes, more people moving to our area. I know that not everyone thinks that’s a good thing, but I, for one, am not opposed to it.

St. Luke’s Eye Center opening — After having cataracts in both eyes fixed at the St. Luke’s center in Tarpon Springs right before the pandemic began, I am hopeful that locals will be able to stay in our area (next to Miller’s Ale House) to get their eye surgeries done.

More new restaurants opening — In his 2022 recap, John mentions just how much response we got online when we announced that Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant was coming to S.R. 56, but it isn’t the only new restaurant we can look forward to opening in 2023. Although it hasn’t begun building yet, I’m hopeful that Rodizio Grill, The Brazilian Steakhouse, will open before the end of

2023 on the Wesley Chapel Blvd. extension, next to At Home. Other restaurants expected to open in 2023 (that we already know of) include Crazy Sushi at the Shops at Wiregrass, Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar (in the same plaza as Chicken Salad Chick) and Pho 54 (in the former location of Sweetea Café on S.R. 56; see pg. 36). These are just the ones we know for sure are coming, but of course, you know we’ll keep you posted about any and all others.

More road projects — In addition to the new interchange off I-75 at Overpass Rd., which could open before the end of 2022, John’s 2022 recap story on pages 4 & 6 also mentions the widening of S.R. 54 from east

of Curley Rd. to Eiland Blvd./Morris Bridge Rd., the Zephyrhills Bypass and the opening of Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. to S.R. 54 as other road projects expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

However, 2023 also is expected to see the completion of the improvements just south of the S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. intersection and hopefully, the start of anticipated improvements to Wesley Chapel Blvd. between S.R. 56 and S.R. 54. All we’ve seen so far on Wesley Chapel Blvd. is the addition of one new traffic signal on this dangerous two-lane road, which also is adding some new apartments near Lexington Oaks and some new commercial properties across from Total Wine &

More. We definitely plan to provide an update on everything planned for Wesley Chapel Blvd. during the first few months of 2023.

And...We’ll also check in to see how new District 2 (which includes much of Wesley Chapel) Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman is doing in his first few months in office; how the dispute between Pasco and RADDSports at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus (see story on pg. 8) gets resolved; and the planned opening of the first neo-traditional buildings in downtown Avalon Park on S.R. 54...and more.

In other words, keep reading for all the news of another busy year in Wesley Chapel!

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News

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Can 2023 Top 2022 In Wesley Chapel? Sure, Why Not?

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Will Wesley Chapel ever stop growing?

Conventional wisdom suggests that, eventually, the area will just run out of available space for new development.

On the other hand, there’s currently still a lot of developable space and 2022 was packed with more eye-opening developments and announcements, portending a future that will continue to delight those eager for new “stuff” and infuriate those who don’t want to be stuck in traffic getting to that new stuff.

Here are five of the biggest things that went down in Wesley Chapel in 2022, with an eye towards 2023.

1. The KRATE at the Grove Container Park finally debuted in June, and we think it’s fair to say that while it’s not perfect, it was still Wesley Chapel’s No. 1 success story of 2022. The grand opening event of what is, at the very least, our area’s most unique and one-of-a-kind hangout, drew roughly 8,000 people, and its neverending stream of special events — like ‘70s Night, ‘80s Night, movie nights and more — routinely draw more than a thousand patrons at a time.

Comprised of converted shipping containers with an Instagrammable flair, KRATE has a little something for almost everyone. It boasts 29 restau-

rants with a variety of ethnic offerings – many doing well in our annual Reader Dining Survey of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa eateries (see pages 13-22) — as well as 17 retail stores. The KRATE’s stage features some kind of live entertainment most weeks.

And, the park continues to come up with innovative new ideas — like last week’s “Swiftmas Christmas” celebrating Taylor Swift with contests and Wesley Chapel performer Isabella Diaz singing the pop superstar’s hits — that provide just another taste of what we can expect in 2023.

2. The Pop Stroke groundbreaking was definitely one of the more buzz-worthy beginnings of a new project in or near Wesley Chapel in 2022. Sure, there are bigger and more consequential developments in the area, but a hip new place to do stuff in an area that has complained about a lack of it for years will be huge when it opens in early 2023.

With Tiger Woods’ backing, the unique minigolf course is sure to draw big crowds to its location at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd. If it also can draw, well, Tiger Woods, to its grand opening, wouldn’t that be something?

Heck, Pop Stroke might even be open before the more traditional, family-oriented mini-golf course at The Grove, which we expect to announce it is officially opening....any...day...now...

3. Saddlebrook Resort — which deserves maybe more credit than anything else for putting Wesley Chapel on the map as far back as the 1980s — was sold in 2022 for $15 million, and long-time owner Tom Dempsey told us that it was just the first step in an expansion and renovation of the storied golf resort and residential development.

Sure enough, buyers Mast Capital and Amzak Capital Management are prepping to get their money’s worth from the deal. On Jan. 5, the developers

Two big developments made the biggest headlines in Wesley Chapel in 2022: (left) the KRATE at the Grove container park, which changed the face of dining & retail in “The Chap,” opened a few months after Saddlebrook Resort (right) was sold to developers whose plan is to revitalize what was, for decades, Wesley Chapel’s No. 1 attraction.

will present their plans to the public at a Pasco County Planning Commission meeting, with hopes of taking it to the Board of County Commissioners in February for approval.

Those plans include expanding Saddlebrook’s master-planned unit development (MPUD) by more than 400 acres and converting one of its two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses and the resort’s driving range into a site that would potentially include commercial/retail, restaurants, apartments, homes and other uses — serving as something of a Saddlebrook town center.

4. New roads may not be that sexy of a thing to list in the year’s biggest news, but Wesley Chapel took a few giant steps (and maybe a short drive) forward in 2022.

First, the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) is now fully open at the S.R. 56 and I-75 and, except for some clean up and road markings, has been completed.

Considering the issues the interchange had with its previous construction company, which caused a months-long delay, the completion of the DDI is a pretty impressive feat. And, while it may still be a little confusing to some people, there is little doubt the interchange has proven to be a success.

Any day now (maybe even by the

time you read this), the Overpass Rd. Interchange at I-75 also will be open, another project expected to have a big impact on area traffic. Located halfway between the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits, the new Exit 282 interchange will be a boon for those settling in the quickly developing northern part of Wesley Chapel, and heck, it might even also improve the S.R. 54 interchange, which likely has taken over the title from S.R. 56/I-75 as the worst area locally to be driving at 5 p.m. on a weekday.

Toss the widening of S.R. 54 from

east of Curley Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd. in there, which also is making steady progress and should be completed late in 2023, and, all in all, it kind of feels like this year was a win for area commuters. And, next year also should see the opening of at least the first leg of the long-awaited Zephyrhills Bypass from S.R. 54 to Morris Bridge Rd.

5. Wiregrass Ranch, which has been simmering for the past few years, is starting to boil, too.

In 2022, it was announced that a second hospital (Orlando Hospital)

was coming to the Ranch, along with Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant (which blew up our Facebook page more than any other story in 2022). A number of plans also were filed with the county to begin work on some of the other longvacant parcels in the DRI, including the long-awaited town center.

With Wiregrass Ranch Blvd., which will serve as the spine to the entire development, just about complete, we’re expecting a slew of major announcements from developer JD Porter in 2023.

The diverging diamond interchange (left) off I-75 at S.R. 56 was finally completed, and Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. could be next as the main artery running through the quickly developing Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact headed up by developer JD Porter (right).

County’s Default, RADDSports’ Lawsuit On Hold For Now

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Pasco County and RADDSports failed to settle their differences over the management of the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus at a November mediation, and have decided to pause efforts to reconcile those differences for 60 days until a second mediation can be held in February 2023.

A lawsuit, filed by RADDSports on Nov. 15, now hangs over the negotiations, as well.

The two sides issued a joint statement on Dec. 12, which was signed by RADDSports’ chief operating officer Anthony Homer and Pasco’s chief assistant county attorney David Goldstein, acknowledging the lawsuit and the lack of a settlement at the initial mediation session on Nov. 28, but stated that the two sides were still trying to resolve their issues.

“The parties have now agreed to place their disputes on hold for 60 days while they continue to work towards a definitive resolution,” the joint statement says. “There has been no judicial determination of whether RADDSports is or is not in default of the (contract).”

Homer says RADDSports wants that judicial determination, which is why

the company filed the suit.

“What we are suing for is a declarative action,” Homer says. “We simply want a judge to look at the county’s allegations, compare it to the contract and to essentially declare whether or not we are in default (as the county claims). That’s it.”

Goldstein declined comment.

After receiving a letter of default from Pasco County on Nov. 4, and re -

ceiving no response to its defense of the claims in the letter, RADDSports filed the suit, which claims that the county has long sought to undermine the management company’s efforts.

“Now, under the pretense of a default, the county is trying to terminate a 20-year contract with false claims in order to take over operations at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus,”

Homer says.

“We’re not asking for damages, we’re not asking to renegotiate the contract,” he adds.

“We’re perfectly happy to live within the terms of the agreement that we committed to at the beginning of this for the next 18 years. All we’re asking is for a judge to determine whether or not we are in default, and if we are not, we go back to business.”

While Homer hasn’t ruled out another suit for damages if the county proceeds with terminating the management company’s contract, RADDSports did agree to suspend its lawsuit during the current 60-day break in talks.

Both sides are still communicating, however, as well as collecting information and fulfilling public records requests that they expect will bolster their arguments on Feb. 7 when they meet again.

The two sides are at odds over how the sports facility, which opened in July

RADDSports, which manages the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, filed a lawsuit against the county after being declared in default of its management agreement by Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners. Following an initial mediation in November, the default and lawsuit are on hold until a second mediation session in February, as RADDSports and the county attempt to work out their differences.

of 2020 but officially opened in January 2021, is being run and the results of those early efforts.

On Oct. 25, the county’s Board of County Commissioners (BOC) approved a Notice of Default, originally written by Florida Sports Coast director Adam Thomas, which also included approval of roughly $3 million to take over management of the sports campus from RADDSports.

The county claims that RADD has focused too heavily on local events and did not promote tourism and overnight hotel stays – including failing to properly market the facility and not working with the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, which is located on the same campus.

The default letter received by RADD, which Homer says was different than what the BOC initially approved, was delivered to RADDSports on Nov. 4. Homer delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to the default claims at the following BOC meeting on Nov. 8.

Homer says that RADDSports asked the county to withdraw its claim of default, but was met with silence from the five county commissioners.

The suit was filed because “Pasco County basically left us in purgatory,” Homer said, after putting the accusation of default in the public domain.

RADDSports claims it has not only promoted tourism and met all of

the other requirements laid out in the contract, but actually has exceeded the number of room nights in the company’s agreement with the county and has spent $1.5 million of its own money to do so.

It says the county also paid consultants roughly $35,000 to produce data on RADDSports’ tourism efforts, and that data only confirmed that the management company has met expectations.

In addition, Florida Sports Coast is accused of attempting to turn other local businesses against RADDSports, with false accusations that those businesses refused to sign off on.

Homer says he is “optimistic” that the next mediation session will produce an agreement that both sides find satisfactory.

“We want the same thing the county wants,” he says. “The more people we bring into the building is better for us, and also better for them. It is unclear to us right now exactly what the county’s expectations are, since they are claiming we are in default, yet their own data they paid an outside company for confirmed that we are doing exactly what we said we would. In fact, their vendor said we were doing better than even we had estimated. So, there’s an alignment of interests to be found. Hopefully we can all agree on some objective metrics and move forward.“

‘Kidpreneurs’ Learning The Art Of Making Business Deals

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

On the way to school one day just over a year ago, one of the neighborhood kids that Danielle Cannon was driving to school mentioned that she wanted to start selling some of her homemade bracelets.

Cannon’s own two kids, 7-year-old Jane and 9-year-old Adam, chimed in that they were interested in selling some stuff as well.

“So I posted online asking if anyone knew of a good place to do this little thing for the neighborhood,” Cannon says.

That little thing, however, has become a much bigger thing. Within a day, more than 20 families had replied that their children wanted to be a part of it as well, and the Tampa Children’s Business Fair (TCBF) was born.

At the end of last month, Cannon’s army of “Kidpreneurs” set up more than 40 tables at the KRATE at The Grove container park, selling everything from artwork to tree saplings to cookies to Christmas trinkets to — you guessed it — bracelets.

“It has really grown,” says Cannon, who has poured thousands of dollars of her own money into her nonprofit fair where all the business owners are kids, ages 6-16. “Literally, the only limitation is finding places to hold it,” Cannon says.

The KRATE was generous enough to provide the space for free, although Cannon says other locations have charged as much as $1,500 to host a fair. The next TCBF event will again be at the KRATE on Saturday, February 25, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Cannon’s first event in late 2021 attracted about 20 kids. The final event of this year was held at the Temple Terrace Recreation Center on Dec. 11, and featured a whopping 75 tables and more than 100 Kidpreneurs.

“We would have had more but there was no more room,” Cannon says.

Gabrielle Thompson, a 15-year-old sophomore at Wesley Chapel High, was one of the “Kidpreneurs” selling blinged-

out tumblers and other items from her business, jets_customs. She also does custom items if you’re looking to put a name or saying on a 12- or 20-ounce tumbler.

Gabrielle has been doing pop-ups for a few years now and was excited to join the TCBF event, and hopes to continue to do so in the future.

“It’s taught me patience and organization,” Gabrielle says. “And, money

management, too, of course.”

The KRATE fair was the fifth of the year for some of the young business owners — New Tampa sisters Alghaliah (13-years-old), Layal (11) and Nouf Rizq (6) — have sold their wares at all of the TCBF events.

The sisters, who all attend TurnerBartels K-8 School and are pictured below, sell a variety of different necklaces

and bracelets, including ones with clay beads displaying positive messages like “Kind,” “Cute,” “Love” and “Shine.”

At the KRATE fair, the trio’s Queen of Hearts business displayed an expanded product line to include pens and PopSockets (to help you hold your cell phone) and, at the Temple Terrace fair, they unveiled another new line — jewelry boxes made of resin.

“You can add colors to them,” Alghaliah says. “It looks really cool.”

The sisters have made more than $400 at the fairs. They say they wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship and the process has helped them become more confident.

“It’s been fun,” Layal says.

Cannon says the Rizqs are some of her best Kidpreneurs, even winning “Best Presentation” honors at one of the fairs. Typically, Cannon has local business owners help her choose the booths that have the “Best Presentation,” “Most Creative Business Idea” and “Highest Business Potential.”

TCBF events encourage children to embrace all the tenets of entrepreneurship — developing a product and a brand, building a marketing strategy, setting prices and selling to customers.

Booths cost $25, but Cannon tries to return $5 to each business owner so they can walk around and network and buy things from their fellow Kidpreneurs.

Cannon hopes one day to not have to charge at all. She is hoping to land some sponsors to help cover some of the costs of running the quarterly fairs moving forward; those costs also include things like insurance and sometimes having to hire off-duty law enforcement officers, a requirement for some of the sites.

“I’m way over full-time hours working on this, but I know once people know about this they are going to love it,” Cannon says. “This is awesome, I love doing it, and the kids love it.”

For more information about the Tampa Children’s Business Fair and future fairs, visit TampaCBF.org.

(Above) Wesley Chapel resident Gabrielle Thompson shows off her wares at the recent Tampa Children’s Business Fair held at the KRATE at the Grove. (Photos: Charmaine George).

Presenting Our 2022 Reader Dining Survey Results!

Also announcing our 2022 Free Dining Prize winners!

OK, we’ll admit it — we tried something new and it didn’t work out the way either I or managing editor John Cotey had hoped.

After nearly 1,200 of you entered our 2021 Reader Dining Survey & Contest, we decided to not only expand the number of categories but to also stop providing you with the names of virtually every restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel in this year’s Survey.

And no, it didn’t go as we planned, as fewer than 400 of you entered this year’s Survey & Contest either online or by mail. What I will say, however, is that there were a lot fewer disqualified votes this year than last, as many of the restaurants who clearly had their regulars stuff the ballot boxes last year could be accused of the same practice this time around.

In other words, while there weren’t as many voters, we feel that the results are not only legitimate but, because of all of the additional categories, there’s no doubt that a lot more restaurants got at least one vote in a category this year than last.

On the next 10 pages, the winners of almost every category from this year’s contest are revealed. I say “almost” because there were two categories that we simply couldn’t declare a winner in or post the results of — “Favorite Appetizer” and “Favorite Dish.”

The problem, of course, was that when we first posted the contest in these pages (and in the pages of New Tampa Neighborhood News, as well as online) back in September, we didn’t ask you to tell us the restaurant where you enjoy your favorite appetizer and favorite dish. So, we ended up with a lot of “calamari” and “prime rib” votes that we couldn’t attribute to any particular eatery. Even after we asked you to make sure to tell us which restaurant, many of you still didn’t.

These two categories also ended up with the most vacant spaces — in other words, many of you skipped them altogether. And finally, other folks who did name a restaurant with their favorites either named dishes that we couldn’t find on the menu or couldn’t read on the mailed-in ballots.

So, we ended up with a total of 23 categories — 24, if you count breaking out your Favorite Restaurants overall by distribution area — and we’re proud of each and every one of you who took the time to fill out as many categories as possible. Your votes really do help these restaurants find out what our readers think of them and even though it’s a lot of effort to tabulate all the votes, it’s also fun for us to compare the results year after year and share them with the owners of the restaurants.

Congratulations To Our Free Dining Prize Winners!

Once again, three of our readers who entered this year’s Dining Survey & Contest were selected at random to win free dining at the restaurants of their choice:

Omataye Odu, Bridgewater — $100 Gift Card

John Oleon, Tampa Palms — $60 Gift Card

Trevor Williams Watergrass — $35 Gift Card

If you’re one of the winners named above, please email me at ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com to tell me what restaurant you want to win a gift card to and please also provide your complete mailing address and the best telephone number where you can be reached. — GN

Please also note that, due to space limitations, we were only able to include the top five restaurants and bars in every category (other than “Favorite Indian Restaurant,” where only the three places shown received more than a couple of votes each). The only other exception, of course, are the top-25 overall restaurant winners in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel shown on the next page.

However, if you go to our website — NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net — we go beyond the top five to include every place in every category that received enough votes to be what I call “statistically significant,” which includes the top eight in the “Favorite American Restaurant” category, the top seven in the “Favorite Steak” category, top six “Favorite Sushi” places and the top-10 in the “Favorite Pizza,” “Favorite Full Liquor Bar” and “Favorite Beer/Wine Bar” categories.

John and I haven’t yet decided for sure how we plan to go about this polling next year, but we’re considering only doing one or two categories every issue from June through November — and give a smaller free dining prize for each issue’s contest and one big Grand Prize after all of the categories have been finalized.

If you have a different suggestion as to what you’d like to see for our 2023 contest, please email me “Survey Idea” to ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com.

And of course, in our next issue, I’ll tell you my 2022 favorite restaurants in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, which is always fun for me and controversial for at least some of you. — GN

Since opening in 2017, Noble Crust has established itself as one of Wesley Chapel’s premier restaurants, and based on the votes of our readers, the premier restaurant.

For the second straight year, Noble Crust tops the list as our readers’ favorite in Wesley Chapel (and New Tampa, this year).

With competition stiffer than ever, Noble Crust’s Southern Italian-style dishes resonate with local foodies. The seasonal menu includes such favorites as the Ricotta Gnocchi (pictured, right), bronzed salmon, Southern fried chicken, fire-roasted Pork Chops and the F.G.B.L.T. — fried green tomatoes, Tabasco honeyglazed pork belly and pimento cheese.

“I think it’s the consistency and quality of the food that wins people over,” says Brad Elia, Noble Crust’s executive director of marketing and events, adding that great service also goes a long way.

Elia adds that, despite the industry struggles post-Covid, Noble Crust never substituted cheaper ingredients to make their dishes. The team at Noble Crust meets every Thursday at noon, 52 weeks a year, to discuss ways to tweak

the offerings and make sure everything on the menu is always up to par.

That has resulted

Favorite Breakfast

FIRST WATCH

Favorite Coffee STARBUCKS

Favorite New Restaurant In WC or NT

The LIVING ROOM

2. The Grill at Morris Bridge 3. Miller’s Ale House 4. Carrabba’s Italian Grill 5. Chuck Lager America’s Tavern

ne of the most anticipated new restaurant openings in Wesley Chapel in 2022 was the opening of the second location of The Living Room in the Shops at Wiregrass.

O

And, it would appear that our readers were not disappointed, as The Living Room dominated the “Favorite New restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel” category in this year’s survey, despite (because of?) the opening of so many new places to eat at The KRATE Container Park at The Grove.

Obviously, the locals are enjoying the food, craft cocktails and ambience owners Christina and Zach Feinstein (with scissors above) have brought to Wesley Chapel.—GN

We thought the addition to the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area of more local breakfast joints the past few years might make repeating as Favorite Breakfast a tough task for perpetual survey champ First Watch. Well, we were wrong. First Watch’s breakfast, brunch and lunch items continue to be popular with our readers. From avocado toast to pancakes (banana nut crunch, yum!) to omelettes, frittatas and skillet hashes, you can throw a dart at the breakfast menu and hit something delicious, decadent and healthy or indulgent.

And you can wash it all down with a Kale Tonic or Morning Meditation Fresh Juice. — JC

2. The Brunchery

3. Brunchie’s

4. Keke’s Breakfast Café

5. Cracker Barrel

We’d be lying if told you that we thought Starbucks had the best coffee around, but what they do offer is unmatched — a variety of hot and cold coffees, mochas, lattés and frappuccinos with never-ending options.

Because of that variety, ordering drinks at Starbucks is truly an art form. Order just a plain old cup of hot coffee and you have a choice of 20 syrups (sugar cookie syrup? Yes, please!) or sauces to add to it, eight different sweeteners and 10 different kinds of milk — like soy, oat, almond and coconut (and you can get any of them steamed...or not.)

That may not be for everyone, but try telling that to the lines of folks in every Starbucks drive-thru. — JC

2. Provisions Coffee & Kitchen

3. Bean Bar Co. 4. Dunkin’ Donuts

5. Coffee Speaks & Tea Talks

Favorite Dessert/ Bakery NOTHING

BUNDT CAKES

S ometimes, a restaurant or eatery can get caught up in trying to do too much.

At Nothing Bundt Cakes that’s not the case. It does bundt cakes and nothing but (duh!). Delicious, moist, sweet, melt-in-yourmouth bundt cakes.

Since opening at the Shops at Wiregrass in 2017, Nothing Bundt Cakes has been a perennial favorite in our dessert category, previously winning top honors in 2018.

You can choose between 11 flavors (including one gluten-free) in different sizes — bite-sized bundtinis, mini bundtlets or special-order full-sized bundt cakes — and, well, boom: perfection. — JC

2. Crumbl Cookie

3. Publix

4. Bakery X

5. Urban Sweets

Favorite Pizza

900º Woodfired & NY

I t may be time to crown owner Steve Falabella the King of Pizza in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area, as once again his 900º Woodfired Pizza is the reader’s pick for Favorite Pizza in our distribution areas.

900º has developed a loyal following in Wesley Chapel, in part due to the omnipresent Falabella, who has two popular pizza locations in Wesley Chapel and has also opened the popular Falabella Family Bistro.

The Shops at Wiregrass mall location put Falabella on the map, as the only local eatery serving both woodfired Neapolitan-style and delicious New York-style pizza. Made with crispy crust and topped with a sauce made from six different tomatoes and Grande cheese, as well as any other toppings you might like, 900º pizza has been the reader’s choice for years.

Like a perfect pizza topping, though, the topping on 900º’ success is the consistency of the product and the always friendly efforts of those serving it.

— JC

2. New York New York

3. Pizza Mania

4. Amici’s

5. Cappy’s

Favorite Dessert/Frozen

TWISTEE TREAT

I t should probably be no surprise that an ice cream place that is actually shaped like an ice cream cone would be our readers’ Favorite Frozen Dessert, unseating last year’s winner — the Ice Dreammm Shop.

Twistee Treat has locations in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, and serves up 30 different flavors of soft-serve ice cream in cups and cones, dipped and

topped with more than a dozen different kinds of cookies and candy. It also makes Waffle Tacos, Cookiewiches and sundaes to order. The twirl ice cream cones are a favorite of customers.

What truly separates Twistee Treat from the rest, however, is the convenience of the drive-thru, making visits quick and hassle free. — JC

2. Ice Dreammm Shop 3. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream 4. Cold Stone Creamery 5. Culver’s

Favorite Greek

HUNGRY GREEK

Although it hasn’t won this category every year we’ve asked our readers to tell us their favorite restaurants, The Hungry Greek on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel has never finished lower than second in this suddenly-more-competitive category.

And, there’s a good reason for that: Hungry Greek offers a consistently good product — from gyro sandwiches to kabobs to Greek salads — all at always-fair prices with outstandingly quick service. In fact, even though the line at the counter where you place your order can sometimes be long, especially at lunch time, you’re never kept waiting more than a few minutes.

And, Hungry Greek also offers a selection of decadent desserts and even Greek beer to go with the huge portions of delicious food.

Hungry Greek’s success here — and at the original location in West Tampa — surely has contributed to the rise of eight other locations in and around the Tampa Bay area, with the latest opening soon in San Antonio. — GN

2. Little Greek 3. Acropolis Greek Taverna 4. Cafe Zorba

5. El Prince Mediterranean

Favorite Burger

BURGER 21

With arguably more competition than any other category, Burger 21 continues to dominate the Favorite Burger category of our annual reader survey.

Dating back to 2013, Burger 21 has never not won the category, whether it was just New Tampa or New Tampa and Wesley Chapel combined. In fact, Burger 21 has been such a force it actually finished as New Tampa’s favorite overall restaurant in 2015 (after finishing second overall in 2014).

That’s a pretty amazing feat.

Readers continue to flock to the local chain’s Bruce B. Downs Blvd. location, due to a variety of different ways to get their burgers, all served on toasted brioche buns. You can get anything from regular cheeseburgers to a variety of Burger 21’s specialty burgers, like the limited time chimichurri burger. There are chicken, seafood and veggie options, as well. The fries are always nice and crispy, and don’t leave without capping your meal without one of Burger 21’s creamy, hand-spun shakes. — JC

2. Red Robin 3. Ford’s Garage 4. Bacon Boss HQ 5. Five Guys

Favorite Italian VIA ITALIA

One of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel’s most highly-regarded restaurants, Via Italia has planted itself atop our readers’ favorite lists since Roberto Maganuco opened it in 2020.

And why wouldn’t it? Via Italia mixes a great atmosphere with wonderful Italian food that is arguably the best you’ll find in our area.

But, the compliment that you hear most about Via Italia, and one that rings louder than any other when you have an ethnic restaurant, is authentic. That’s what Maganuco promised, and our readers say he has delivered.

There are few, if any items on the expansive menu that don’t drip with authenticity, from more than 20 different kinds of wood-fired pizza to nearly just as many pasta dishes. Just reading the menu is enough to get your mouth watering.

And, don’t forget to try out the variety of bruschetta options, or a high-end charcuterie board, filled with imported meats, cheeses and dried fruits from Italy. — JC

2. Falabella Family Bistro

3. Noble Crust 4. Olive Garden 5. Frammi

I t was a simple concept started by Josh and Christy (on this issue’s cover)Norland in 2015 — let’s make something everyone loves...bacon!

That one idea gave birth to the Bacon Boss HQ.

Rarely disappointing, what began as a food truck has now become the biggest hit at the new KRATE at the Grove, according to our readers.

BACON BOSS

creamy mac & cheese (above), chicken wings and Fat Tony tater tots topped with mac & cheese and bacon may not be good for your waistline, they are good for your soul. (But, if you tell your personal trainer we said that, we’ll just deny it.) — JC

Favorite Steak STONEWOOD GRILL & TAVERN

When Stonewood

Grill & Tavern

opened in Tampa Palms 20 years ago, it was a more upscale version of an Outback Steakhouse, as its founders had previously been Outback executives. Our Tampa Palms location was the First Stonewood outside of Orlando, and it was an instant hit with New Tampa residents and, eventually, with residents of Wesley Chapel, too.

Now, however, despite so many new restaurant options in both of our distribution areas, Stonewood is still our readers’ favorite Wesley Chapel eatery and this year, it officially also has your favorite steak in both communities.

The rest of your top-5 steak places appear below and none of them are in New Tampa. — GN 2. Outback Steakhouse

Texas Roadhouse

Longhorn Steakhouse

Favorite Sushi

ZUKKU-SAN SUSHI BAR & GRILL

Considering how many restaurants there are in both of our markets that serve sushi, it’s almost hard to believe that the five restaurants on this list put so much distance between themselves and any of their competition.

Even so, Zukku-San won the Favorite Sushi category by a fairly wide margin with our readers. We don’t know if that’s due to Zukku-San’s artistic interpretations of your favorite rolls, hand rolls and sashimi or if more people come to Zukku-San for its variety of other Asian-inspired dishes (you can check out Ato, the fast-casual concept from the owners of Zukku-San on pg. 34) and stay for the sushi, but we’re guessing it’s a combination of both factors. — GN 2. Sushi Café

Umu Japanese & Thai

Bonsai Sushi

Bluefin Japanese Rest.

Favorite Full Liquor Bar

THE BRASS TAP

E ven though it became popular as more of a place serving a huge variety of craft and microbrewed beers on tap at lower prices than any of the beeroriented restaurants located in the Shops at Wiregrass, we were surprised that The Brass Tap didn’t place in this year’s top-5 Favorite Beer/Wine Bar category with our readers, but finished first in the Favorite Full Liquor Bar category — as we separated the two types of bars for the first time.

There is no doubt, however, that The Brass Tap offers a cool vibe and is the choice of many of our readers, regardless of what type of alcohol they prefer to imbibe. It also allows you to bring in food ordered from the restaurants at the Shops.

2. Florida Ave. Brewing Co.

3. The Fat Rabbit Pub

4. Stonewood Grill & Tavern

5. Joe Whiskey’s

Favorite Thai Restaurant

THAI LANNA

Aconfession — I have been surprised for years that Thai Lanna hasn’t been named the Favorite Thai restaurant more often, because it really is superb.

It’s about time our readers agreed. (Rant over).

Tucked away in the corner of a gasoline-anchored strip mall on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa, Thai Lanna may be hard to find — kind of like a treasure box or varied flavors — but it’s worth the effort.

The dinner menu offers a variety of authentic and traditional dishes like its top-selling Pad Thai, Pad Woon Sen and Massaman Curry. All of the fried rice options also are exceptional, and there are many curry dishes — red, green, yellow and even pineapple — from which to choose.

The expansive menu features a host of noodle, seafood, duck and vegetarian dishes, too.

And, save room for the Mango Delight (mango sticky rice). It might just be the best dessert in New Tampa. — JC

2. Arroy Thai

3. Umu Japanese & Thai

4. Palm Thai

5. Thai Ruby

Favorite Mexican VALLARTA’S

Vallarta’s is coming pretty close to making us retire the Favorite Latin & Mexican Restaurant categories (don’t worry, amigos, we’ll give you another shot next year!).

Despite closing its New Tampa location a few years back, Vallarta’s is once again the most popular place our readers choose for Mexican food, even if the only local location is in Wesley Chapel.

The sizzling fajitas are always a hit, and the variety of tacos, nachos, burritos and quesadillas is impressive and can be served with steak, chicken or beef.

Or, you can go veggie with beans and rice.

Vallarta’s also nails one of the most important attributes of a Mexican restaurant — the price, which absolutely is affordable, especially the lunch specials and combo plates; the atmosphere, which is festive and loud; and the drinks, which are always large (“big as your head” margaritas!) and are often on special. — JC

2. Cantina (CC Blvd) 3. Señor Tequila 4. Cantina Laredo 5. Don Julio’s Authentic Mexican

One thing we had noticed over the years of this Reader Survey was that restaurants serving Latin cuisines other than Mexican food weren’t being given enough credit by our readers.

So this year, with all of the new restaurants, especially at the KRATEs, serving a variety of Latin cuisines, we decided to ask our readers to pick their favorite Latin restaurant that didn’t focus on fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos.

The result was that virtually every Latin restaurant serving something other than Mexican food registered a decent number of votes.

There was no doubt, however, that the Puerto Rican cuisine served at the ever-popular Rice-N-Beans was the winner in this category.

Serving authentic mofongo (photo), chicharrons, pan-fried whole snapper and even a chilled octopus salad, Rice-N-Beans also offers an upscale atmosphere, a reasonably priced bar and evening entertainment that none of the other non-Mexican Latin places on our list can boast.

And, owner Cindy Cruz says the Rice-N-Beans Express on S.R. 54 in Lutz (west of the Tampa Premium Outlets) should open next month. — GN

RICE-NBEANS Favorite

Latin Restaurant In Wesley Chapel or New Tampa

Photo provided by Gabriel Perez

Favorite Fried Chicken/Wings

BUFFALO WILD WINGS

Favorite Asian Restaurant

LIANG’S BISTRO

T

here are almost endless ways to get your chicken at Buffalo Wild Wings, whether you want it on a salad, on a sandwich, on a wrap or even on a bar pizza.

In fact, the Buffalo tender stacked burger, grilled chicken Buffalito and Nashville hot chicken sandwich are some of BWWs most popular items.

But, if we had to venture a guess, we’d say the most popular way folks eat their chicken at BWWs is via the mighty wing.

Whether you get your wings with the bone or without, there is a long list of flavors to choose from, aside from just regular old Buffalo, teriyaki or BBQ sauce.

Some of the more adventurous (and tasty) options include Blazin’ (proceed with caution...and have a beer in hand), Caribbean jerk, mango habanero and Thai curry. But, there’s no shame in the safer lemon pepper or parmesan garlic choices, either. — JC 2. King of the Coop

Favorite Beer/Wine Bar

FLORIDA AVENUE BREWING CO.

Although the menu has changed multiple times at Florida Avenue Brewing Co. since it first opened a few years ago, we were still a little surprised the former location of Sports + Field on S.R. 56 didn’t finish in the top-25 Favorite restaurant category with our readers this year.

What came as no surprise, however, was that Florida Ave. dominated our first-ever “Favorite Beer or Wine Bar in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel” category, while also finishing second for “Favorite Full Liquor Bar.”

No other local bar or tavern in either of our communities offers both craft beer made on the premises AND full liquor, and the recent opening of Florida Ave.’s perhaps-largest-in-Florida on-site brewing operation at its Wesley Chapel location certainly has helped its popularity among our beer-drinking readers. And of course, cutely-named favorites like “You’re My Boy, Blue” and “Noggy By Nature” — and the opportunity to sample them all — haven’t hurt Florida Ave.’s popularity, either. — GN

When you speak of perennial favorite restaurants in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, there’s no doubt that few (if any) have been as dominant as Liang’s Bistro.

Since completely revamping a defunct Burger King 20 or so years ago, Liang’s has been voted — by a wide margin every year — as either your “Favorite Asian” or “Favorite Chinese” Restaurant (or both) every year since.

And honestly, while Liang’s isn’t a traditionally authentic Chinese or even New York-style Chinese restaurant, its combination of NY-style egg rolls and BBQ spare ribs — plus everything from Mongolian-style beef, chicken or shrimp to more Japanese-style teriyaki chicken or steak and fried rice, with a few Thai and Korean BBQ-style dishes and even fresh fish and vegetarian dishes thrown in — have kept Liang’s at the top of our readers’ annual list.

Of course, the fact that it also is our only upscale sit-down Chinese restaurant, also serving beer and wine, hasn’t hurt, either. — GN 2. Asian Buffet

Favorite Indian Restaurant

MINERVA

Due to the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel’s ever-growing Indian population, as well as the slew of new Indian restaurants popping up in the area over the past few years, we decided this would be a good time to add a Favorite Indian Restaurant category, and we’re not that surprised that Minerva is our first winner — and only three of those Indian places garnered enough votes to even make our list.

Minerva, located in the New Tampa Center at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and New Tampa Blvd., opened in June 2016, and many instantly became fans of the restaurant’s authentic Indian flavors, ambiance and lunch buffet.

Minerva tries to hit all the right notes with its popular butter chicken, chicken tikka masala and chicken, goat/lamb, fish and vegetable biryani (mixed rice) dishes. Be sure to check out the biryani specials Thursdays and Sundays and of course, the impressive lunch buffet for dine-in only.

The oven-baked garlic naan is always a favorite, and Minerva offers a host of Indian drinks (including beers) and desserts. — JC

2. Saffron

3. Ice Spice

Favorite American Restaurant CHUCK LAGER

AMERICA’S TAVERN

N ot only is Chuck Lager America’s Tavern Wesley Chapel and New Tampa’s favorite American restaurant, it came very close to taking top honors for favorite restaurant in all of Wesley Chapel, finishing second to fellow Shops at Wiregrass favorite Noble Crust.

That’s likely a testament to the delicious food, crafted by celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani.

The restaurant offers an impressive drink menu of wine, beers and craft

cocktails, and its appetizers — especially the giant pretzel dusted in parmesan in the photo above — are popular, too.

The burgers come in different varieties and sandwiches like the smoked brisket grilled cheese also are popular.

The pasta, chicken and seafood dishes also are generally highly praised. You can’t go wrong with the prosciutto, goat cheese and fig jam flatbread, but you can also get it with many different toppings. And, an added bonus is the weekend brunch menu! — JC

2. Grillsmith

3. Stonewood Grill & Tavern

4. Bubba’s 33

5. Texas Roadhouse

Favorite New RestaurantTampa

STONEWOOD GRILL & TAVERN

Taxes. Death. Stonewood being chosen by our readers as New Tampa’s Favorite Restaurant.

Despite some changes in general managers over the years, little else has changed at Stonewood.

It still has a great bar, a superb wine selection and a menu featuring tasty items like cedar plank roasted salmon, sweet tea-brined pork chops, Tuscan chicken and other items you won’t find anywhere else in New Tampa.

There also are burgers, sandwiches, salads and pastas, as well as crafted bowls featuring poké, Southwest chicken and salmon.

Its steaks are popular — in fact, Stonewood was the only restaurant in our survey to top two categories, thanks to it also winning Favorite Steak in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel.

With an upscale atmosphere that suits a family or is perfect for date night, the Stonewood experience continues to be one enjoyed by many. — JC

2. The Grill at Morris Bridge

3. Via Italia

4. Liang’s Bistro

5. The Fat Rabbit Pub

Gramatica Now Kicking Winners With Life Guard Imaging

By JOHN C. COTEY John@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Like most people, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers placekicker Martin Gramatica worried about what, if any, future maladies might be lurking in his body. So, when he heard a commercial on the radio for Life Guard Imaging, which promises to help answer those questions with high-tech fullbody scans, he made a mental note to give them a call.

However, he never did.

Instead, it was a chance meeting — with a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan — a few weeks later on an airplane, that put the former Buc on a path to not only get himself scanned, but to join the team at Life Guard Imaging and start helping to save other people’s lives.

That Kansas City Chiefs fan was Frankie Maldonado, the director of operations of Life Guard Imaging, which is located on Rocky Point Dr. in Tampa, off the Courtney Campbell Cswy.

As a Bucs sponsor, Maldonado was on a team-sponsored flight sitting in the row ahead of Gramatica, who does color commentary for the Bucs’ Spanish flagship radio station WTMP-FM 96.1.

Gramatica’s wife Ashlee overheard the conversation and told Martin it was the guys from the radio commercial.

“Frankie is a huge Chiefs fan and was

wearing his Chiefs shirt, so I had to say something to him,” Gramatica said. “We ended up hanging out that weekend and had a great time. We landed back in Tampa on Sunday, and I had my scan on Tuesday, and it kind of went from there. Then, Eric (Shuman, Life Guard marketing director), and Frankie asked me if I wanted to come on board.”

Gramatica is now the vice president of business development for Life Guard Imag-

ing, a company that specializes in preventive screenings in order to find heart disease, cancer and other illnesses early enough that patients and their physicians can take the proper steps to correct them.

At Life Guard Imaging, you are scanned from your shoulders to the base of your pelvis. A registered CT Technologist slides you through a low-radiation, highresolution CT scanner, creating 3D images of your internal organs, which are then ex-

amined by a team of Board-certified Doctors of Radiology who can help aid in detecting deadly diseases before it’s too late.

The scans can help detect hundreds of issues, but among the most prominent are lung cancer (which kills more men and women than any other cancer), liver disease (which accounts for 2 million deaths per year) and abnormalities in your chest, abdomen or pelvis.

Maldonado describes the first scan as your base, and although you can get just one scan, he says yearly scans can reveal any dangerous year-to-year changes. He compares it to getting a mammogram.

“The single-most diagnosed cancer in America is breast cancer,” Maldonado says. “And yet, and most people don’t know this, the single most-survived cancer in American is breast cancer. That’s not a coincidence.”

A Little History

Maldonado took a job at an independent imaging facility in Atlanta in 2017, and knew then he wanted to bring scanning services to as many people as possible.

He has seen patient scans reveal earlystage pancreatic cancer — the same cancer that killed his father, prominent Maryland surgeon Dr. Benjamin J. Maldonado, Jr. — allowing this deadly type of cancer to be caught in time. Another patient had a cardiac calcium score so high it was revealed that three of his four main arteries had

The caring, professional staff at Life Guard Imaging on Rocky Point Dr. wants to help you discover possible life-threatening illnesses early with Life Guard’s unique full-body scans.

90-percent blockage. Triple bypass surgery saved him from an inevitable heart attack.

Life Guard Imaging is one of only five places nationwide that offer this type of fullbody-scan program, and the job is extremely gratifying. Gramatica says there are plans to expand to other locations in Florida.

“I’m having so much fun with it,” Gramatica says. “Where else can you say you are saving people’s lives?”

That’s why Gramatica didn’t want to just be a spokesman for the company. He

wanted a larger role — “I wanted to be all in,” he says. “I didn’t just want to do a couple of commercials and put my face and name out there and be done with it. As VP of business development, my job is to get the word out there and let people know what we do, because what we do is important.”

For Gramatica, knowing that he’s healthy is important. He owns his own business, coaches all three of his kids — 14- and 16-year-old boys and a 10-year-old daughter — in soccer, has been doing Bucs radio with his brother (and former USF kicker) Santiago for five years and was recently named the head coach of the new Tampa Bay Strikers men’s and women’s teams that will play in the National Indoor Soccer League, which will play its home matches nearby at the USF Yuengling Center.

“When I first thought about getting scanned, my stomach had been bothering me,” Gramatica says. That checked out fine, however, and his scans have only revealed a few wear-and-tear issues from a lifetime of playing soccer and kicking field goals.

“It gave my wife and I tremendous piece of mind,” he says. “It’s extremely valuable to know that everything is fine. And, if anything does develop, we’ll catch it early.”

Life Guard Imaging is located at 3001 N. Rocky Point Dr., Suite 185. For more info, visit LifeGuardImaging. com, call (813) 524-1010 or see the ad on page 31 of this issue. If you mention this story or the ad, you will receive a heart scan and coronary calcium score absolutely free.

Spotlight On...GrassWorks, LLC!

Armando, “Mandy” Pou (photo), the owner of GrassWorks, LLC, says he comes from, “a long line of lawn service and landscaping. My parents owned a tree nursery in Ocala. My family decided to relocate in 2008 but I stayed in Ocala and worked to build something of my own.”

After building his own thriving lawn care business (serving both residential and commercial clients) in Ocala for more than a decade, Pou and his then-fiancée Carley (who was pregnant with their first child) moved to Wesley Chapel to be closer to her family. What he found was that the areas of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa were growing and that there definitely was a need for quality lawn care services to serve all those new homes and businesses.

“Our customers in Ocala had become like family to me,” Pou says, adding that GrassWorks has retained some commercial accounts in the Ocala area. “We are working to build those same relationships here in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas.”

Whether residential or commercial, GrassWorks will mow and spray the entire property to get rid of any weeds, trim hedges and more.

“We prefer to offer lawn service first and then add landscaping services,” Pou says. “We listen to our customers’ needs and we take pride in our work, our knowledge and our customer service.”

Mandy and Carley and their 16-month-old daughter live on two acres in Wesley Chapel, where he also owns a local golf cart company.

For more information about GrassWorks, LLC, call (813) 3604400 or (352) 445-3692, visit them on Facebook @GrassworksLLC, on Instagram @grassworksocala or see the ad on pg. 38 of this issue. — GN

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers placekicker Martin Gramatica is now the VP of development for Life Guard Imaging.

Dr. Brian Wilson Of Tampa Palms Psychology Can Help With Your Stress

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Correspondent

Brian Wilson, Ph.D., will tell you that life today is more complex than ever.

“We live in these very challenging, technologically sophisticated and sometimes impersonal times,” says Dr. Wilson, “and I’m helping people cope.”

At his Tampa Palms Psychology, Wilson helps adults navigate life’s difficulties, especially when it comes to job stress, relationship problems, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and any number of other issues.

As a general psychologist, he says he “casts a wide net” in the adults he treats, but he does not counsel anyone under the age of 18.

For Dr. Wilson, who lives with his wife and son in Tampa Palms, it was a lifelong dream to open his own practice. In 2021, he says the timing was right, so he launched a private practice close to his family’s home.

“I’m trying to capture that neighborhood health care provider feel,” he says, in a time where more people are looking for therapists than there are professionals available to meet that need.

He says that, for several years now, there’s been a shortage of mental health providers, and the Covid-19 pandemic

caused a lot of stress — personal, economic and even political — and shined a light on that lack of providers.

Dr. Wilson has been practicing since 2003 and now has two decades of experience. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville and earned both his Master of Science (M.S.) and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

He also completed a psychology residency at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.

During the pandemic, Dr. Wilson offered telehealth appointments to his patients. Now, those patients have a choice of whether to see him in person or via online videoconferencing, which he says is secure and compliant with patient privacy laws.

“As a result of Covid, the technol-

ogy for telehealth appointments got much better,” he says. “Now, the quality is really good and some people just prefer not to have to drive to an appointment.”

He explains that telehealth works well if patients have a completely private and comfortable space where they can talk freely. For anyone who has any concerns about privacy, in-person appointments are a must.

“You have to feel safe and comfortable,” Dr. Wilson says.

While about half of his patients meet with him via telehealth, the other half visit Wilson at his office in the SOAR Co-Working space on Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms.

He describes it as a modern coworking model, where all kinds of people — especially entrepreneurs — have desks and communal spaces, while the other side of the space is made up of private, individual offices, like his.

“It’s a very stimulating, hip, cool place to come,” he explains. “It’s a very warm, inviting place, and my clients who come here really like it. They get the privacy they need, but also a sense of community.”

During those private conversations, Dr. Wilson uses his more than two decades of training and experience to help

Dr. Brian Wilson helps adults with a wide range of emotional issues via telehealth and in person at his office in Tampa Palms. (Photos by Charmaine George)

people sort through the difficulties they are experiencing in their lives.

Multiple Approaches

“I try to be incredibly responsive to people’s needs,” Dr. Wilson explains. “When one model isn’t working, I’m open to shift to another approach. Some other providers might only have one approach, but I am willing to shift.”

He commonly helps people who are experiencing PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) and has years of experience helping military veterans.

Dr. Wilson sometimes helps couples, but more often helps individuals and says that couples should have an impartial counselor for therapy together. Both people in the relationship should feel equally comfortable with the counselor and neither should feel that the counselor is taking sides.

He also is experienced helping those who have serious or life-changing medical issues and are learning to cope with a new reality, and the mental health problems that develop as a result.

Another area of expertise for Dr. Wilson is geriatrics — helping older adults. This could be people who are caring for a spouse who is ill, end-of-life concerns or those who are realizing that the transition into retirement is not what they thought it would be.

“I’m obviously not retired yet, but observing up close from the outside, I see that it tends to be very stressful,” Dr. Wilson explains. “It brings up all sorts of questions, like, ‘Has my life had any purpose?’ and, ‘What have I done and where am I going?’ It can be a perfect recipe for depression and anxiety, and all sorts of other problems.”

Dr. Wilson also says that if you’re an adult looking for a therapist, give him a call or send him an email using the con-

tact information on his website: TampaPalms Psychology.com.

“I always do a brief phone consultation with any adult who contacts me,” he says. “We talk for 10-15 minutes, which gives you an opportunity to feel me out, and get a sense of whether or not you would feel comfortable with me, with no cost or commitment.”

To protect his patients’ privacy, Dr. Wilson doesn’t ask them to share their experiences, but fellow professional Dr. Brian Doane of Tampa Bay Counseling Services is quick to say that he thinks very highly of Dr. Wilson and doesn’t hesitate to recommend him — for example, if he has a patient whose spouse needs counseling, too.

“If I’m working with someone and they say, ‘My spouse is looking for a therapist, too,’ he’s the first person I send them to,” Dr. Doane says, noting that it’s an important referral, since he will continue working with that person’s spouse and has a vested interest in both parties getting good help.

“Dr. Wilson is super compassionate, very ethical, and all the things that you want in a therapist,” Dr. Doane says. “He also has a really nice balance between being very kind and compassionate, and being assertively direct. He also knows the timing of when to be direct, providing honest feedback at a time when the (patient) is able to receive it.”

Tampa Palms Psychology is located in the SOAR Co-Working space at 17401 Commerce Park Blvd., Suite 103-0319. For appointments with Dr. Brian Wilson and more information about the practice, call (727) 239-5684, visit TampaPalmsPsychology.com, or see the ad on page 30.

Platinum Salon — An Outstanding Salon & Community Partner!

By Gary Nager

If you said you’ve never heard of Platinum Salon, located in the same plaza as Burger 21 off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., I’d have to say I’d be a little surprised.

Sure, the upscale, 1,600-sq.-ft. salon itself isn’t visible from BBD, but Platinum Salon’s visibility is more about its co-owners, Master Colorist/Stylist Allen Coleman and former occupational therapist Michael Berthelette, who handles the business side of the salon’s business.

Berthelette previously owned the Pure Hair salon with Coleman in Land O’Lakes, while Coleman — who opened Salon at the Walk in New Tampa in 1997 — has owned and operated five salons throughout the Tampa Bay area over the past 33 years. The partners opened Platinum Salon five years ago and merged Pure Hair with Platinum in Dec. 2018, when they closed Pure Hair.

But, while Coleman is the artist known for pushing boundaries and redefining style who is a National Leyton House (which is based in Australia) professional educator, Berthelette is the salon’s Chief Executive & Community Officer. Berthelette has been out in the

community building Platinum’s pubic profile as a three-year Board member and immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors with the North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC). He also is a member of the Business Networking International (BNI) Alliance (which meets every Wednesday at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County) and recently was added to the Board of Directors of the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Foundation.

Platinum Salon has 15 employees, including 12 stylists/colorists, all of whom, Coleman says, are “highly trained professionals” who specialize in highlights, lowlights, balayage/ombre and color corrections and also offer Keratin treatments, Brazilian blowout and other smoothing treatments, as well as tape-in hair extensions.

Coleman, who has clients who have been with him for 30+ years, inspires his stylists to be fearless behind the chair and is known for always delivering cuttingedge styles, innovative color, cutting techniques and service excellence.

“Allen is constantly seeking new challenges to add depth to his artistic experience and portfolio,” Berthelette says. “He’s driven by his unparalleled creative

(Above) The professional staff at Platinum Salon, located in the same plaza as Burger 21 off BBD Blvd. in New Tampa. (Below left) Allen Coleman is a Master Colorist & Stylist; (Below right) You can get a great balayage style from any of the stylists/colorists at Platinum Salon. (Photos provided by abcactionnews.com, Platinum Salon & Charmaine George)

energy to break down barriers and leave his mark and legacy on this world.”

He adds, “Our clientele is primarily professional business women who want to look and feel special. We help them do every day at Platinum Salon.”

In addition to serving the community in BNI and both the hospital foundation and the NTBC, Berthelette, Coleman and Platinum Salon also participate in the U.S. Marine Corps’ annual Toys for Tots campaign.

“My brother-in-law Johnnie Miller served in the Marines,” Allen says. “And it’s such a worthy cause.”

In addition, any first-time customer who mentions this story or the ad on pg. 35 of this issue will receive a free deep conditioning treatment — a $45 value — with the purchase of any hair service.

Platinum Salon (20304 Trout Creek Dr.) is open MondayThursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday & Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call (813) 9732400, search “PlatinumSalonTampa” on Facebook, “PlatinumHairSalonTampa” on Instagram or see the ad on pg. 35.

Kiran Indian Grocery — Treating New Tampa Like Family For 20 Years

By GARY NAGER

Photos by Charmaine George

Kiran Indian Grocery, located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza, has been a mainstay at this constantly-changing plaza since 2014. Before that, owner Kiran Vanthenapalli owned a store (from 2003-06; and an Indian restaurant, too) on E. Fowler Ave. and, from 2006-10, her store was in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

That means that some of her beloved customers have known and trusted Kiran and her family and staff to provide their (predominantly) Indian and Pakistani spices, coffees and teas, frozen foods, meats, snacks, sweets and even hair care and other cosmetic products (and so much more) for almost 20 years.

And of course, Kiran is perhaps best known for her amazing selection of fresh produce, with so many Indian specialty items I’ve never tasted (or even seen) before at prices that she says she knows, “no one can beat. I do my research — and no one beats my prices on produce.”

For example, she can describe the difference between coconuts used for Indian prayers and those that are meant for eating, and of course, stocks both in the store.

But actually, saying that Kiran is best known for her produce isn’t 100-percent accurate. Kiran Indian Grocery is actually best-known for Kiran herself, something that no other store of any kind can boast.

Not only can Kiran tell you where each and every one of her thousands of available items are located, she also can tell you the prices for each — all off the top of her head. That’s kind of amazing because she has so many different items and many different brands of the same types of products — e.g., she has as many different “masala” seasonings and brands as most grocery stores have beers — crammed into a store that somehow seems both much bigger and much smaller than it actually is because it offers such an amazing variety of products.

“I can’t do my own inventory on a computer,” Kiran says. “My computer is right here (pointing to her head).”

But, Kiran’s staffers also are knowledge -

able. It’s just pretty much impossible for anyone else to have memorized the prices, sizes and exact location within the store of so many different items — many of which aren’t even marked with prices.

But, if Kiran tells you what the price is on any item, rest assured that when that item is rung up at the check-out counter, the exact price she quoted will pop up.

Also stored in Kiran’s computer brain are the favorite items of every one of her regular customers. She re-orders many items based on when she knows the customers who regularly purchase those items will be back in to buy them.

“I don’t like disappointing anyone,” she says with her usual sweet smile. “If I

am running low on an item you always get, I’ll hold enough of that item for you,” so you can stay stocked until she gets her next shipment of it. And, “If I only have three left, and I don’t know how soon I’ll get more, I’ll tell you to buy two of them.”

And, if Kiran does somehow run out of one of your favorites, she’ll suggest an alternative that you can try that you might end up liking better.

A Love Of Animals

Kiran and her husband Sudeer have always also served not only their community, but people — and even animals — in need around the world.

She has been involved — at least since opening her store in Cross Creek — with the Tampa Bay chapter of the SPCA (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and she has donated fresh produce, rice and really anything the local chapter has needed because she is such a strong believer that people need pets and that so many of the pets in shelters can and do help individuals and families who need the kind of companionship and love that

only a dog or cat can provide.

“I love the SPCA,” Kiran says. “It feels good to help them because they help so many people...and animals.”

When Covid-19 hit back in March 2020 and I started going through issues with my printer, Kiran was probably the first (but thankfully, not the only) advertiser to call me and say, “What do you need? How can I help?

She thought I said that I was going out of business. “I started crying,” she said. “I told (her husband) Sudeer, ‘We have to help our brother.’”

Even though I thankfully never got to that point and have no Indian heritage whatsoever, Kiran has been calling me her brother for years now. And, even though she seems to treat everyone who stops into the store like a member of her family, I refer to her as my sister, too. You just can’t fake her kind of genuine goodness and compassion for others.

“Gary, my brother, I’m so sorry that I’m out of your favorite chocolate bars right now,” she said to me on my most recent visit. “I also

(Above left) Kiran Vanthenapalli of Kiran Indian Grocery on Cross Creek Blvd. explains the difference between prayer coconuts and coconuts for eating.

(Above right) Kiran’s son Satvik (left) is a clinical psychiatrist; her younger son Sahit is in medical school. (Below) Kiran stocks everything from frozen Indian specialties to a huge variety of teas and frozen naan breads, as well as huge varieties of fresh produce and imported chocolate bars. (Photos by Charmaine George)

had to order (my wife) Jannah’s favorite tea. I’ll let you know when all of that comes in.” But, it’s a big compliment to me because Kiran does also have an amazing family of which she is equally proud. Sudeer is a software engineer and their older son Satvik graduated from medical school at USF and is now a clinical psychiatrist, while younger son Sahit currently is in med school and plans to become a psychiatrist as well.

Another case in point about how Kiran treats everyone is that, when people check out at her store, she or her cashier will put coupons from other local businesses in the customers’ shopping bags. She has helped most of the Indian restaurants (as well as the new Gorkhali Kitchen Nepalese restaurant now located next to her store)

and other businesses owned by people from India and Pakistan in our area this way and she says that she would be happy to do it for other businesses, too.

“We’re all in this together,” she says. And of course, whether you like or want to cook Indian food or not, if you’re a fan of delicious chocolate cookies or other sweet and/or salty treats, or you want the best prices in town on a most unique selection of fresh produce items, you owe it to yourself to visit my sister Kiran.

Kiran Indian Grocery is located at 10042 Cross Creek Blvd. and is open Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information, call (813) 994-6202, search “Kiran Indian Grocery” on Facebook or see the ad on pg. 34.

By GARY NAGER Photos by Charmaine George

Whenever I get to talk to Ferdian Jap, the co-owner of Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill on S.R. 56, it seems that he and co-owner and executive chef Gia Tran are always talking about their next venture.

Zukku-San’s original location, known as Zukku Sushi, is located in Armature Works near downtown Tampa, and is definitely more of a sushi bar concept than Zukku-San’s more formal, sit-down dining room equipped with a premium full bar.

Even as our Zukku-San was opening, however, Ferdian and Gia were already opening another Zukku Sushi location in Charlotte, NC.

And, sometime shortly thereafter, the first-ever location of the fast-casual concept restaurant known as Ato was opening in Lakeland, even though the second location of Ato also was getting ready to open in the KRATE at The Grove container park here in Wesley Chapel.

Ato opened here a couple of months ago and it basically combines a nice selection of Zukku-San’s appetizers (more on them below), along with both curated and make-your-own poké bowls and what the partners have dubbed “sushi burritos,” which are basically like super-sized sushi rolls, complete with seaweed (nori) wraps and filled with sticky sushi rice and an assortment of available fillings.

Those Delicious Starters!

You long-time readers already know how much I love the appetizers available at Zukku-San, so please excuse me for repeating myself, as the starters at Ato offer a nice cross-section of the ones I love at Zukku-San.

First of all, while I still can’t eat shrimp (curse you, shellfish allergy), photographer Charmaine George loved the shrimp tempura appetizer served with the already-famous house-made ponzu sauce.

Speaking of shellfish issues, Ato head chef Walter Ruiz cautioned me that there is a possibility of cross-contamination in virtually everything served at Ato, but if you let them know you have an allergy, they will make sure to change into a fresh pair of gloves to prepare your food. That may not be enough for some of you to risk it, but after dozens of visits to Zukku-San and now four visits to Ato, I’ve never had my reaction

after eating at either location.

Both the pansautéed (in egg and a sweet brown sauce) Zukku dumplings and the fried pork gyoza dumplings are nothing short of sublime.

The super-crisp vegetable spring rolls are served with the same slightly spicy orange chili sauce as at Zukku-San, but I like them better at Ato because the sauce is served on the side, which keeps those spring rolls cracklin’ crisp. At Zukku-San, the spring rolls are served atop the sauce, which does get them a little bit soggy.

(Below left) The spacious (especially for a KRATE) interior of Ato. (Below right) The tuna poké (left) and spicy salmon curated poké bowls, each of which is served with its own variety of veggies. The spicy salmon bowl also is topped with grilled pineapple and a spicy sriracha vin sauce.

I personally have never been a big fan of crab Rangoon, but the crab-and-creamcheese pillows are very popular with the folks we’ve seen eating them at Ato. Other starters include wakame (seaweed) salad, ginger tossed salad, miso (tofu) soup and edamame (soybeans).

Bowling You Over

Ato also features a variety of big poké

(Above left) Our editor can’t eat the shrimp tempura appetizer at Ato in the KRATE at The Grove container park, but that shouldn’t stop you. (Above right) The crisp vegetable spring rolls are served with a semi-spicy orange chili sauce. (Below left) The Zukku dumplings are pork dumplings sautéed in egg and topped with a sweet brown sauce. (Below right) Ato offers a variety of cold sakes, wines, Sapporo Japanese beer on tap Tractor Japanese soft drinks & more.

bowls already curated for you and also offers you the opportunity to “Express Yourself” by creating your own poké bowl.

My favorite of the curated bowls is the tuna poké, with fresh tuna, pickled red onions, masago (smelt roe/eggs), mixed greens, carrots, roasted corn, scallions, wonton chips and sesame seeds topped with a zesty, but not spicy, poké sauce. Charmaine and I both also enjoyed the spicy salmon poké bowl, with salmon, scallions, masago, wakame, cucumbers, mixed greens, carrots, grilled pineapple, pickled serrano peppers, togarashi (spice mixture), spicy nori (dried seaweed) and a not-too-spicy sriracha vin sauce.

Other curated bowls include the “Dynamite Bowl” with tempura shrimp, avocado, spicy mayo and veggies; the “Tiger Bowl,”

with panko-breaded chicken, crab mix, broccoli, spicy mayo and sweet eel sauce; the “Trio Bowl” (salmon, tuna and hamachi, or yellowtail); and the “Florida Bowl,” with tuna, salmon and avocado.

There are three sizes of “Express Yourself” bowls, made with your choice of “Canvas” (sushi rice, brown rice or mixed greens), your choice of any of the proteins mentioned previously, one sauce per protein and lots of “Embellishments” (including asparagus and edamame beans) and “Finish It Up” options that include salmon bacon, teriyaki shitake mushrooms, cilantro and more).

The curated burritos include “The Buddha” (all veggies), the “Land & Sea” (with panko chicken and tempura shrimp), “The Godzilla” (spicy tuna, hamachi, tempura

shrimp and crab mix) and “The Kraken” (salmon, crab mix, cream cheese, serrano peppers, pineapple and more).

Ato also offers hot and cold sakes, pinot gris, pinot noir, Sapporo Japanese beer on draft and non-alcoholic drinks like fountain sods, coconut water, rotating flavors of Ramune Japanese sodas and certified organic Tractor beverages, including cold brew green tea, hibiscus and Mandarin orange & cardamom flavors.

In other words, if you haven’t tried Ato yet, I think there’s a great chance you’ll love it when you do!

Ato is located at 5816 Goldview Pkwy., Suite 102, at the southern end of the container park in the KRATEs. It is

open from 11 a.m. every day until 9 p.m. Mon,-Fri., until 10 p.m. on Sat. and 7 p.m. on Sun. For more info, visit AtoPoke.com or call (813) 602-2015. Online ordering is available but delivery currently is not. Also, see pg. 37 for the latest new place from our friends at Zukku-San and Ato — Astro Craft Ice Cream!

Ato head chef Walter Ruiz will add whatever ingredients you want to your “Express Yourself” poké bowls and will hand-roll your curated burrito, including “The Kraken,” with salmon, crab mix, cream cheese, serrano peppers and pineapple.

Pho 54 To Replace Sweetea Café

Retail KRATEs That Are Changing Hands

Although we clearly have been super-excited about all of the great restaurant concepts at the KRATE at The Grove, there’s no doubt that it’s been tougher sledding for many (but certainly not all) of the non-food retail establishments at the container park.

To date, one announced retail KRATE (The Snapbox) never opened at all, one ( Valiart Jewelry, see below) has been reopened by the same owners with a completely new concept and two others ( The Rebellious Hippie and Décor by ZC) have closed and will be replaced by equally new retail concepts.

What previously was called Valiart Jewelry is now called Valiart Designs (see logo below), after the KRATE was rebranded

as a sublimation printing shop, specializing in printing your favorite designs and sayings on T-shirts, mugs and more.

Meanwhile, Décor by ZC is being replaced by 3 Eleven Candlemaking Bar, a custom candlemaking “experience.”

And, The Rebellious Hippie gift store, one of the first KRATEs to open, is being rebranded as Oasis, a totally different type of equally eclectic gift shop. Although we haven’t confirmed any of these with the owners (and haven’t yet found a website for the store), a spokesperson for the KRATEs says Oasis will sell jewelry, candles, soaps, a skincare line, shampoos and even children’s books. We wish all of these new retail KRATEs good luck!

We missed it that Sweetea Café on S.R. 56 had closed, but a member of the same family plans to re-open the Vietnamese/boba tea eatery as Pho 54. “I thought we were on 54,” admits Rickie, the new owner. “But we will expand the Vietnamese menu and reopen in January.”— GN

For more information about Valiart Designs, visit their page on Facebook. For 3 Eleven Candlemaking Bar, search @3ElevenAroma on Instagram. — GN

Two of the retail KRATEs that will reopen with new concepts are the former Décor by ZC (above), which will become 3 Eleven Candlemaking Bar, and The Rebellious Hippie (below), which will become Oasis.

Astro Craft Ice Cream Brings More Delicious Treats To S.R. 56!

Congratulations go out to my friends Ferdian Jap and Gia Tran, the co-owners of Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill on S.R. 56 (see ad below), who also recently opened Ato Edible Art (see story on page 34) in the KRATE at The Grove container park and even more recently opened the second location of Astro Craft Ice Cream less than a half-mile from Zukku-San on the north side of 56.

Astro, which has its original location on N. Ola Ave. in the Heights Market just north of downtown Tampa, is proud to offer locally produced craft ice cream in a variety of unique flavors, from Tampa guava cream cheese to brown sugar whiskey cookie dough and my favorite (so far), the banana pudding peanut butter cookie.

“Our classic flavors...reflect the diversity of our Tampa Bay community & honor its rich history,” according to the website AstroCraftIceCream.com.

The Astro menu also includes signature creations like tiramisu cheesecake (creme brulée café con leché ice cream topped with lady fingers, cheesecake bites and cocoa powder, finished with a chocolate flavor “shot.” (Note-There also are honey and caramel flavor shots available for your favorite ice cream creation.) There’s even a Cuban ice cream sandwich with your choice of ice cream flavors, pressed between two pieces of Cuban bread from Tampa’s La Segunda bakery.

Astro also offers a variety of toppings for your waffle cone or cup or on cookies and I don’t think there are more decadent brownies sold anywhere than those at Astro, which are supplied by Tampa-based Mike’s Pies.

Astro Craft Ice Cream (25700 Sierra Center Blvd.) is open Mon.-Wed., noon10 p.m.); Thur.-Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sun. For more info, visit AstroCraftIceCream.com. — GN

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