Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 29. Issue 4, February 16, 2021 by Neighborhood News

WESLEY CHAPEL

Volume 29

Inside:

Our Editor’s 2020 Dining Favorites In Wesley Chapel!

See pages 31-39 & 42!

Issue 4

NEWS

February 16, 2021

Thanks!

Local health care workers get the experience of a lifetime. By JOHN C. COTEY

The NFL and the Tampa Bay Bucs treated 7,500 vaccinated health care heroes from across the country to attend Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium, including local anesthesiologists Dr. Joy Allee of New Tampa (left in top right photo) and Dr. Rayna Clark of Wesley Chapel. All photos courtesy of Dr. Allee.

ealth care workers came from every NFL city — from Seattle to Foxboro and from New Orleans to Phoenix and all points in between — to witness history, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 to become the first NFL team to ever play, and win, a Super Bowl in its own city. For Dr. Joy Allee, a former Wesley Chapel resident now living in New Tampa, it was a pretty great start to her new hobby of being a football fan. Dr. Allee, an anesthesiologist and former Estancia at Wiregrass Ranch resident who works at Brandon Regional Hospital, found out in late January that she was one of 7,500 twice-vaccinated health care workers to get invited to Super Bowl LV as guests of the NFL, as

See “Health Care Heroes” on page 4!

You Have To Try Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill! See pages 38-39...And You’ll Understand Why!

thanks for their service during the Covid-19 pandemic. A majority of those health care heroes were from hospitals and health care systems in Tampa and Central Florida, although each of the NFL’s 32 teams also selected health care workers from their respective communities to attend. Allee says she knew nothing about football when she entered the drawing for tickets, and that the only game she had ever watched was the Super Bowl each year. But even then, she was watching for the commercials and halftime show. She did know this, however — the Super Bowl is pretty much the biggest game on earth. To be offered the chance to go because of her hard, and often devastating, work this year helping patients during a pandemic that has killed

It’s Kind Of Awesome To Live In ‘Champa’ Bay These Days! An editorial by Gary Nager When I first moved back to Florida in 1993, the Tampa Bay Lightning had just completed their first season in the National Hockey League — at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds in unincorporated Hillsborough County. And, one of the reasons I moved to Florida from Westchester County, NY, was because Tampa Bay was rumored to be getting not just an expansion baseball franchise, but my beloved San Francisco Giants were supposed to be leaving Candlestick Park to come to our area and I wanted to publish a Giants magazine. Well, as the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and Giants often go astray, and the Giants never moved here, but the Nagers still did. Five years later, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were finally born as a Major League Baseball expansion franchise. And, when I moved here in 1993, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were simply awful. After going 0-14 in their first year (1976), the Bucs made the playoffs for the first time in 1979, and two more times in 1981 and ‘82, but then went 15 years before their next postseason game, under secondyear coach Tony Dungy. Their record during that span was a dismal 100-223, which means they won less than a third of their all-time games from their inception through my third year of owning the Neighborhood News. Even so, you’d never know it if you talked to any fan who was from any part of the Bay area. The Bucs’ fans were almost cult-like, despite their creamsicle-colored uniforms, long before Dungy became the coach. I remember being threatened by a bar owner in New Port Richey for suggesting that he turn his largestscreen TV off a Bucs preseason game. He told me, “We’re all Bucs fans here, son. If you don’t like it, I invite you and your family to leave.” But oh, how the Tampa Bay area’s sports franchises have risen. In perhaps the hardest year for sports ever, as virtually everyone in the country now knows, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2020 Stanley Cup (the team’s second), the Tampa Bay Rays made it to the World Series for the second time and the Tampa Bay Bucs capped their 2020 season with a dominating 31-9 win over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs the day before we went to press with this issue — the team’s second time hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy (photo). It historically hasn’t been an easy time rooting for the local major sports franchises, especially, this Covid-crazy year, but how rewarding has it been? Who would have thought that the Bolts would come back from the previous season’s devastating sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2019 playoffs? Who would have thought that the Rays, with one of MLB’s lowest payrolls, would beat out the Red Sox, Yankees and defending American League champion Astros to advance to the World Series? And, who would have thought that the Bucs would go from being a 7-5 playoff pretender with a questionable defense and a finally-old-looking 43-year-old QB to reel off eight consecutive wins, including decisive victories over Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and the seemingly unbeatable Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs? Out of nowhere, we won eight consecutive games with a top-level defense and Tom Brady looking like, well, the Brady who Neighborhood News

had won six Super Bowls with the Patriots. Wow. If not for The Weekend’s worstever halftime performance and Covid forcing most local fans to stay away from the first-ever Super Bowl played and won by a team in its own stadium, Brady, head coach Bruce Arians, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles finished off an almost perfect game to give the GOAT his seventh win and fifth Super Bowl MVP award. Congrats to the health care heroes who got to attend the game for free (see page 1). I salute you and your efforts to keep as many of us as possible alive during this plague even more than I salute the Bucs, the Bolts, the Rays and even MLS’s Tampa Bay Rowdies for providing the best-possible distractions during this most difficult year. Way to go, Champa Bay!

INSIDE:

How many apartments are too many for Wesley Chapel?

Page 6

Photo source: Sky Sports

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(813) 991-6161 Our editor reveals his 25 favorite Wesley Chapel restaurants for 2020.

Pages 31-37 & 42 Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News

OUR NEW ADDRESS: 28949 State Road 54 Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 Phone: (813) 910-2575 Advertising E-mail: Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Editorial E-mail: EditorialDept@NTNeighborhoodNews.com Publisher & Editor /Ad Sales Gary Nager Managing Editor / Photographer John C. Cotey Correspondents Celeste McLaughlin • Mike Camunas • Eric Vician Lead Video Producer/Multimedia Specialist Charmaine George Graphic Designers Georgia Carmichael • Valerie Wegener Billing Assistant Jannah Nager Office Assistants Natalie Engel • Benjamin Hobe Nothing that appears in Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News may be reproduced, whether wholly or in part, without permission. Opinions expressed by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News writers are their own and do not reflect the publisher’s opinion. The deadline for outside editorial submissions and advertisement reservations for Volume 29, Issue 6, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, March 1, 2021. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will consider previously nonpublished outside editorial submissions if they are double spaced, typed and less than 500 words. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit and/or reject all outside editorial submissions and makes no guarantees regarding publication dates. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News will not return unsolicited editorial materials. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News reserves the right to edit &/or reject any advertising. Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is not responsible for errors in advertising beyond the actual cost of the advertising space itself, nor for the validity of any claims made by its advertisers.

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‘Health Care Heroes’ Continued from page 1. hundreds of thousands and hospitalized millions across the U.S., was thrilling. “They could have just put a banner up or done a commercial to thank healthcare workers and that would have been huge,” Allee said. “But we were actually there. At the game. It’s a humbling experience.” Allee and fellow anesthesiologist Dr. Rayna Clark, Allee’s former neighbor in Estancia, attended a pregame party with a dozen or so healthcare workers, and then were treated to a TikTok-sponsored concert, with headliner Miley Cyrus (and some surprises — Joan Jett and Billy Idol). Food and drinks were served, and NFL and Bucs employees lined the walkway into the stadium and applauded as they walked in. The game was merely the icing on the cake. “The whole thing was an electric atmosphere,” Dr. Clark said. Allee immersed herself in the experience. Once she put her name in the drawing in December for a Super Bowl ticket, she started studying up with the biggest football fan in her house, her husband David. “I started to pay attention,” she said. “I watched the last two Bucs games, and had David explain what was going on. I told him I needed to learn fast because I might find myself at the Super Bowl.” The Monday following the NFC

Like Allee, Clark didn’t know much about football, either. She watched a game while she attended Brigham Young University because one of her best friends was a cheerleader, and she had been to one San Francisco 49ers and one New England Patriots game. The quarterback in that game was — you guessed it — new Bucs’ QB Tom Brady. “I moved down here three years ago,” Clark said. Health care workers were honored with a pregame concert, food “He (Brady) followed me and drink and tickets to watch the Bucs win Super Bowl LV. down to Tampa.” Both doctors wore championship game, when the Bucs sequined Bucs masks, made by Allee of clinched a spot in the Big Game by beating the favored Green Bay Packers, Allee found course, and didn’t need to know anything about a Cover 2 defense or a pulling guard out she was selected to attend the game. to enjoy the game, because the experience “I couldn’t wait to see the look on David’s face,” she said, laughing. “I didn’t was so mind-blowing. They were wowed know if he was going to be excited for me, by the extravagance and magnitude of the game, the energy in the stadium even with or hate me.” a limited crowd, and the excitement of An avid tennis player known as much everyone watching. for her flashy, bedazzled style as for her “I just can’t put it into words,” Allee blistering forehand, Allee bought a Tom Brady jersey the night she found out she’d said. “I’ve been to a tennis Grand Slam be attending the game. She said she bought (U.S. Open), but this is like a million times more. Just to be sitting in that stadium. enough rhinestones and sequins to keep Michaels in business for the next 10 years. I’m a fan for life.” She stayed up many nights until 2 a.m. In the toughest professional year of making her shirt and hat and shoes shimeither of their lives, it was a fantastic escape, mer and shine. they said. Covid-19 has changed the course

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Dr. Joy Allee made sure she was blinged out for her first-ever in-person football game.

of so many lives, and they have suffered along with every patient they had to intubate because they unable to breathe due to the deadly disease. They don’t generally receive a lot of attention, but for the first time ever, an anesthesiologist even made the cover of Time magazine in April. “I think it has been a really strange year,” Clark said. “When the President of United States, Joe Biden, said we honor our healthcare heroes, it’s like whoa. We went into this job for multiple reasons, but being a hero wasn’t one. This is a job, and we’re not used to receiving that kind of praise. I mean, ‘Hey, we want to give you these seats that usually sell for a lot of money to thank you for hard work this year’….what a great gesture!”

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Commissioners Spar Over Need For More Apartments By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com More and more apartment communities are being built in or proposed for the Wesley Chapel area, and Mike Moore doesn’t like it. The Pasco County Commissioner, whose District 2 includes most of Wesley Chapel and some of Land O’Lakes, is leading the fight against building more apartments, in contrast to his fellow commissioners who also represent parts of Wesley Chapel — District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley, whose district includes much of Wesley Chapel north of S.R. 54, and District 3 commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who represents a sliver of the southwest corner of Wesley Chapel. Moore and Starkey clashed at a Jan. 12 commission meeting over a proposal to build apartments just north of the future BayCare Hospital on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) and Eagleston Blvds. Moore and Starkey disagreed about whether or not to approve the proposal by the developer, Mass Capital, with Moore motioning to have it denied. and both Starkey and Oakley voting against it, as did new Dist. 4 county commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick. The commission then voted 5-0 to continue the debate over the proposal

The Charleson Communities at Wesley Chapel are under construction at the southeast corner of New River Rd. and S.R. 54., part of more than 1,000 apartment/multi-family units being added to District 2 recently. Commissioners debated whether more apartments are needed in the area. (Photo: tampacivil.com/Aerial Productions) — which would build 240 multi-family already enough multi-family properties to dwellings on 16.24 acres — for 60 days. fulfill the need in the area. To prove he wasn’t alone, he funded Before then, the commissioners were scheduled to pick the argument back up at a poll conducted by Spry Strategies in December of 400 residents in District 2. a workshop scheduled for Feb. 9, which was after we went to press with this issue. “I’ve beaten this drum for years Moore has long opposed the prolifera- about apartment complexes in Pasco tion of new apartments in the county and, County, but especially in District 2, so I in particular, in his district. His reasons are went ahead and did something,” Moore clear — apartments are taking up land that says. “It was not funded with county could be better used generating employdollars, it was $1,700 and I used my ment, and because he believes there are own account…I wanted to show it’s not

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just coming out of my mouth, it’s coming out of citizens’ mouths, too.” The results, however unscientific, reveal that more local residents agree with him than not, with 154 (or 38.5 percent) saying they don’t approve of the number of apartment buildings in their communities. Almost as many (149) were unsure or didn’t have an opinion; Moore chalked that high number up to the poll being conducted during the holidays. And, 97 (24.2%) of those polled approve of the amount of apartments in their community. The poll also revealed that 196 (or 49%) would prefer to see more office and commercial development than more apartments, with 59 (14.7%) not having a preference. Again, a high number, 145 (or 36%), were unsure or didn’t have an opinion either way. Asked whether they believed that more apartments should be built in Pasco County, 231 (57.75%) replied no and 73 (18.3%) replied yes, with 96 (24% unsure). “Not a day goes by, especially in Land O’Lakes and Wesley Chapel, that someone comes up and starts talking to me and doesn’t bring it up,” Moore says. “I get emails about Covid and in it they bring up the subject of apartments. It shows you how frustrated the community is when it

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comes to the amount of apartment complexes built in that area.” According to Nectorious Pittos, AICP, Pasco County’s director of Planning and Development, there are 68 Master Planned Unit Developments (MPUDs) in District 2, and 25 allow for multi-family apartments to be built. Recently, more than 1,000 units have been approved, constructed or are under construction at four new communities — Charleston at Wesley Chapel (on the southwest corner of S.R. 54 and New River Rd., just past Avalon Park West), the new Parc at Wesley Chapel in Lexington Oaks, the Cypress Creek Town Center and in the Aiken MPUD in nearby Land O’Lakes. Moore says there are dozens of parcels in the area that already have the entitlements dating back to the 1980s to build apartments, and he has no interest in taking those away. But, developers hoping to rezone areas that would be better used for job-creating commercial spaces is where he wants to draw the line. Moore also cited traffic issues, lack of the space generating employment and revenue for the county, and the effects more apartments will have on nearby schools. The county received 24 emails about the Mass Capital project, all opposing it. However, Barbara Wilhite, the lawyer representing the developer, said those emails were all from Seven Oaks residents, and despite its proximity, the proposed apartment complex is not located within the Seven

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Oaks DRI. She said there was support for the proposal from actual future neighbors like BayCare Hospital, Blue Heron Assisted Living Facility and nearby townhomes. While Moore, who lives in Seven Oaks, was adamantly opposed regardless, Starkey was supportive of developer Mass Capital’s proposal. She says she heard apartments in the area were at 98 percent capacity — Moore says he disagrees with that number — and she didn’t feel the number of apartments already in existence were oversaturating the area. She also felt it was a good location for apartments, and argued there would be less traffic added to the area with an apartment complex than any other use. Starkey argued against Moore’s motion to deny by disputing his points and suggesting he was arguing from a privileged perspective. “It’s elitist and improper,” Starkey said. “Not everyone can live in a $500,000 (home in a) gated community. We are going down a path that is really dangerous, rude and inappropriate.” Oakley said he felt the project was a good idea and “fits a puzzle.” He voted against Moore’s motion to deny it. Moore, who says he has spent a good amount of time researching the subject of apartments and the good and bad effects they can have on communities, said he was hoping to change some minds at the Feb. 9 workshop.

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Wesley Chapel District Park To Offer Residents More Options By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com The new indoor sports and recreation center being built by Pasco County at the Wesley Chapel District Park (WCDP) will have indoor courts for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and other sports, plus the flexibility to host meetings in additional rooms and the opportunity for summer camps. That may not be all that unique for such a facility, but this is: It’s going to finish on time. The Neighborhood News went on a recent tour of the new $4.8-million facility, which Pasco County project manager Curtis Franklin proudly says will open as expected in June. That’s big news coming off a year where so many projects have been slowed due to Covid-influenced difficulties in getting building materials on time. “If you get this done by June, I really need to get you on more projects,” District 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore quipped. The new facility, located at 7727 Boyette Rd., has gone vertical and is taking shape. Located right next to the Tampa Bay Lightning street hockey rink — Comm. Moore and parks director Keith Wiley fired a few shots before the tour (and we can neither confirm nor deny whether they put any in between the pipes) — the longawaited recreation facility will have 18,000 square feet of indoor space, including 10,000 for a court that will be used for a variety of indoor sports. The court is large enough for a regulation size basketball court and can be converted to two 3/4 length perpendicular basketball courts for youth leagues, two

The Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. already has basketball courts outside, but once the county’s 18,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility at the park has been completed, it will provide and indoor home for those who want to play hoops and other sports that are often difficult to play outside with Florida’s unpredictable weather. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

volleyball courts or six pickleball courts. Cheerleading and dance also can be held inside, and plans also may include indoor soccer, also known as futsal. With the push of a button, a partition can even separate the gymnasium in two, allowing for a multi-purpose room on one side and a court on the other. The facility will use the additional 8,000 square feet of space for two multipurpose rooms (one of them large enough to convert to two rooms) for meetings, as well as a full kitchen and offices. The facility opens up in the back to a large seating

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area overlooking a grassy area, which can accommodate parties, small concerts and even movies in the park. With the new gymnasium, plus tennis courts, 20 fields for soccer, lacrosse and flag football fields, a first-ofits-kind inclusive playground for children with disabilities, a regular playground, the Lightning street hockey rink, fishing, fitness trails, picnic areas, a pavilion and still plenty of leftover space on its 144 acres, WCDP will be the premier park in Pasco County. “This is kind of the model for future district parks,” Wiley said during our tour.

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The facility at WCDP also will be able to host summer camps, which will be a big deal, Wiley says. Currently, campers hoping to take part in the county’s popular summer programs have to drive to the Land O’Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Pkwy., which Wiley says fills up within minutes once registration is opened each year. Meanwhile, the much larger Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, located just a few miles south of WCDP, was completed in July as a public-private partnership between the county and RADDSports, Moore says, but the new indoor facility at WCDP will Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore tried out his serve a different audience. “When it comes to the county, slapshot at the Tampa Bay Lightning-funded outtourism has always been the focus for door roller rink during a recent tour of the county’s new indoor gymnasium at WCDP. Wiregrass Ranch — holding events Those three projects will add a and bringing people into town on combined 50,000 or so homes to Wesley weekends who will be spending money Chapel. Those projects, however, are years in the community,” Moore says. “This is away from being built. more for local residents, a place for the Until then, WCDP’s expansion will community to congregate.” widen the scope of what can be offered to Wiley said the county’s Parks & RecWesley Chapel residents. reation Dept. controls six sites for future “The gymnasium was always the plan parks in Pasco County, and three of those (when the park was originally built), we will be built in Wesley Chapel in the areas just needed to get the funding,” Wiley of future master planned developments in Wyndfields, Two Rivers and the Village of said. “The more residents, the more Pasadena Hills (VOPH) once concurrency services you need, and Wesley Chapel is booming.” calls for it and the funding can be found.

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Zach Gets A Second Shot At ‘American Idol’ By JOHN C. COTEY

john@ntneighborhoodnews.com If you remember Zach D’Onofrio’s first appearance on ABC-TV’s “American Idol” in 2018, we have news for you. You ain’t seen nothing yet. The kid that gave socks to the judges, danced with Katie Perry (see photo on next page) and then wowed with his voice — when it transformed from Kermit the Frog to Frank Sinatra to earn a golden ticket — is now older and wiser and back on the show. The Wiregrass Ranch High graduate, who now attends Florida Southern College, will appear on the audition shows in the coming weeks. He did not appear in the season premiere, which aired locally on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. on WFTS-TV, and hasn’t been told when his episode will air. So, what happens this time? A lot. But we can’t tell you. Just like last time, Zach has been sworn to secrecy until the episode airs. His family, a good friend and his girlfriend know, and we are privy to a few of Zach’s twists and turns this time around, so we could tell you, but then we’d have to...well, you know how the saying goes. Zach’s return to “Idol” actually began in August when he signed up for Zoom auditions. The producers instantly recognized him, and he sang “No Fire” by S. Grant

Wiregrass Ranch and “American Idol” alum Zach D’Onofrio (with girlfriend Catie Turner) has earned a second chance to be on the ABC-TV show. Parker while playing the ukelele, and the fol- in Ventura County about 90 minutes northwest of Los Angeles — for live auditions the lowing round, sang the same song and also played piano while singing “Places We Won’t first week of November, and mum’s been the word ever since. Walk” by Bruno Major. “It’s kind of fun keeping the secret,” Zach wasn’t sure he had passed, Zach says. especially when August passed, and so did Although it was his second time in September. Then, a friend received a rejection email, so Zach thought he might still be front of judges Lionel Ritchie, Luke Bryan and Perry, Zach says he still felt a little trepialive. In mid-October, he finally got word dation about his second chance. that he was headed to Ojai, CA — which is

“I was pretty nervous seeing the judges again because it’s been so long,” he says. “When I walked out, they were like, ‘Oh, we know Zach.’” He sang “Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles. “And, that’s pretty much all I can tell you,” he says, chuckling. A lot has changed since Zach, then a squeaky-voiced 16-year-old who had only started singing a year before, was cut following the first competition in Los Angeles. He returned to Wesley Chapel, won a few singing competitions, graduated from Wiregrass Ranch and was accepted into the University of South Florida, where he was going to study biomedical science and become a doctor one day. But, “American Idol” had awakened something in him. He wanted to hone his singing skills. He wanted to help make music. He wanted to follow what had become his passion. After one year at USF, Zach, now 20, transferred to Florida Southern and is now a music management major. He says he would like to manage artists one day, help them with auditions and, of course, cut his own first album. “I think only reason I wanted to be a doctor was because they make a lot of money, but would that make me happy?,” Zach says. “(Being on) ‘American Idol’ made me happy. Singing made me happy. I

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liked the performing and talking to fans. So why not commit to music fully?” Why not try “American Idol” again? The last thing Zach told us in 2018 after his surprisingly quick end on the show was that he was encouraged by fellow contestants to try again — and he told them he would. And, that thought has always stuck in his head. His girlfriend, Catie Turner, was on the show with Zach in 2018 and finished sixth. While she can’t compete again, she never stopped encouraging Zach to try. “It’s always been kind of stuck in the back of my head that I would go back and try again,” Zach says. “It was inevitable. I want to prove to myself that I can do it again. My goal was to make it farther this time than last time.” Zach says being in California during the

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pandemic was concerning, especially making the trip out there. But, with Covid-19 tests every other day, and the threat of being sent home if you tested positive, Zach says the auditions were smooth. Each contestant was encouraged to stay confined to their room. “It was kind of like house arrest,” Zach jokes. “But I felt safe the whole time. Everyone wore masks. You won’t see people wearing them while on stage, but anyone who wasn’t singing at the time had masks on.” Zach says people still recognize him in public as the “American Idol,” though most seem to remember his affinity for socks. But his “socks appeal” is gone, and this season’s version of Zach might be best described as “sweater late than never,” as he makes his return with a different style. As for the rest, Zach says you’ll have to tune in on Sunday nights.

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Wesley Chapel’s Episcopal Church Consecrated As Saint Paul’s Hymes joked that they don’t teach integrated marketing at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, where she finished in 2014, but it’s just one of many skills she has to help expand the footprint of St. Paul’s, and one of the reasons she was chosen for the task. “My happy place is creation and innovation,” Hymes said. “So, this is something I really enjoy.” St. Paul’s holds mass weekly, on Sundays at 10 a.m. For more information, visit SaintPaulsEpiscopalChurch. org or call (813) 803-7489.

By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

The Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church has been around in some form or fashion since 2017, when four worshippers gathered at the St. Aslem’s Episcopal Chapel Center at the University of South Florida, followed by occasional meetings in conference rooms of various car dealerships in the area. Led by Adrienne Hymes, a missioner for church extension in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, the meetings grew slowly. The church finally leased space a year later in a professional office park, and then moved to another space, and on Jan. 24, celebrated its first Patronal Feast Day and was officially consecrated as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Wesley Chapel. On Jan. 28, an official ribbon cutting was held, and the church, the only Episcopal church in Wesley Chapel, re-intoduced itself to the community. “Here we are, Wesley Chapel,’” said Hymes, now the Reverend Mother and Vicar of the church. The consecration of the church by Bishop Dabney Smith, of the Episcopal Diocese of SW Florida, marked a big and important moment. “There are different stages, so today was one of those things where we said yes, we wanted to plant a church and now we have the roots in the ground,” Rev. Hymes said. “It’s taken three years, but we’ve been working to get things going.” Hymes, a Virginia native who recently moved to Wesley Chapel, said she never lost faith, even when the meetings only had a handful of people show up. In fact, the original four members are no longer involved with this particular church but, little by little, Hymes said she used her marketing and public relations background, as well as an energetic and electric personality, to attract more people to St. Paul’s. The church first leased space in the Redfern Professional Center behind the Shops of Mystic Oak off Bruce. B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel in February 2018,

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Reverend Mother Adrienne Hymes talks to visitors at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Wesley Chapel ribbon cutting on Jan. 28. (Photo: Charmaine George) and Hymes was ordained as an Episcopal church. Hymes relishes the mission, and priest a few months later. In November, seems like the ideal person to lead the the first mass was held with 22 attendees. charge to such lofty goals. “Episcopal churches don’t live in Other than spikes on Easter and Christbuildings like this, Rev. Hymes said, “so mas, Sunday services attracted between the vision is now that we have leadership in 20-25 members. place and we are growing, we need to talk In mid-2019, the church moved a about getting land, and then we will build short three-minute walk away and converted a personal fitness center in the Re- our church.” She added that they will take naissance Professional Park into its current about six months to breathe, and then form a committee to start looking for land. location. More than 70 people showed up for the first Holy Eucharist at the new location and masses regularly attracted 50 or so members, until Covid hit. “PreCovid, we were really growing,” Rev. Hymes said. “It was really amazing.” After almost a year of doing virtual services, the church now limits 25 at mass, and also has recently unveiled its new Fellowship Hall – converting the dance theater right next door. The hall is used for socially distant post-mass coffee gatherings and bible study, as well as meetings. The newer, larger location is more convenient for Episcopalians looking for a place to worship. The nearest Episcopal Church is Grace Episcopal in Tampa Palms, nearly 10 miles away. The next goal is to build a traditional

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Debra Model Management & School Teaches Model Behavior By MIKE CAMUNAS Debra Jacobs has an eye for modeling talent, a keen sense of someone who will just leap off the page or screen or make an advertisement pop. One would hope so because, as a former model and modeling scout herself, plus previously running a modeling agency in New York City, Jacobs now runs Debra Model Management & Modeling School, just a few miles south of Wesley Chapel in Tampa Palms. Don’t be mistaken — despite its name, Debra Model Management is not a modeling agency, but a school, one that teaches both potential models and even those genuinely interested in learning all of the ins and outs, dos and don’t,s of the modeling industry. “Everywhere I go, people ask me how do I get (me or my child) into modeling,?” Jacobs says. That’s why I started this. I wanted people to have an affordable, transparent modeling management agency so they can really learn about this industry. That’s why this is a school, not an agency. They can learn modeling, they can learn fashion, and they can learn modeling management. That’s what I’m teaching them here.” Jacobs, whose first modeling gig was when she was just 15 years old, says she

Ashley Lawrence, 23, two-year-old Kannon Wengret and Mikayla Alexander, age 9, are three of the students currently working with Debra Jacobs Model Management in New Tampa. (Photos: Mike Camunas)

loves discovering new talent. She has approached some of her clients to gauge their interest in modeling, including her newest client, Kannon Wengret, a two-year-old boy Jacobs saw at the Tampa Palms Publix and gave his mom, Rachel, her business card. “We were just at the Publix pharmacy when Debra spotted us,” Rachel says. “I

will say, it did seem kind of weird, but she was like, ‘He’s so cute. He should model.’ I had thought about it and did want to get him into some kind of modeling. Whenever I post pictures of him on social media, people are like, ‘He could be a model.’ But, I figured people were just being nice.” After meeting with Jacobs, and learning about all her experience in the

modeling industry, Rachel thought she would be a good fit for Kannon. Debra Model Management offers a 10-week course that includes teaching runway techniques and other poses for photography sessions. The photos taken go into the student’s professional modeling portfolio. Jacobs also teaches proper nutrition, fashion dos and don’ts

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and the importance of self image. “When I did my first ginormous fashion show,” Jacobs recalls, “it was in Washington, D.C., in Constitution Hall, and they just gave me a bunch of clothes and told me to go out there. I didn’t know what to do. In many modeling schools, they don’t tell you those things, like what goes on backstage and knowing where to go and what to do.” But, it’s certainly not always easy. Jacobs admits that she faced obstacles. She remembers being rejected, and told she was too “short-waisted,” or all legs, she says. She remembers thinking how cruel that was to tell her, and says she has never forgotten it. “That is why my company will never reject or give bad feedback to anyone who wants to model,” she says. “People are amazing when they are driven to do something, and won’t take no for an answer. Just because one person rejects you, that doesn’t mean that others won’t accept you.” Jacobs went on to model in New York City, and signed with agents in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Virginia. She walked runways for high fashion designers, and became a regular fashion model on QVC-TV out of their West Chester, PA, studios. She won a runway modeling competition and was named Washington D.C.’s Super Model of the Year. One of her Debra Model Management

and counting, including what she considers to be her greatest accomplishment — modeling for the 1993-94 Ebony Fashion Fair, an event put on by Jet and Ebony magazines in which they only picked 11 models to go on a tour of hundreds of U.S. cities and the Bahamas. “I also was known as the model with the most outfit changes in one show,” Jacobs says with pride. “Eighteen in one show.” But, Jacobs also is well educated in not only modeling, but fashion. She holds a degree in Fashion Merchandising from Wesley College in Dover, DE, which is part of the coursework taught at Debra Model Management.

Helping Children A Passion

Jacobs says she is very passionate Debra Jacobs has worked in the modeling inabout not only helping children who have dustry for 40 years and is happy to share her aspirations to model, act or perform, but wisdom and experience with her students. also to give back by working with various clients, 23-year-old Ashley Lawrence, is charities that help more unfortunate chilgetting into modeling because of Jacobs. dren. Her plan is to get back into charity “I had been told I should model, but and community work, just as she did when didn’t think I could until I met Debra,” she worked with abused or impoverished Lawrence says. “It was a lot about getting children in the court systems in New York. through the right doors, and she has It’s easy to see what an immediate helped show me how to do that. And, just impact Jacobs has with kids and one has learning how to model the right way, in to look no further than 9-year-old Mikayla pictures and everything.” Alexander. “I love that she teaches me to Certainly, Jacobs has the experience be a great model and be a great actress,” and knowledge to impart to her students Mikayla said. “I’ve learned how to eat and clients. She has modeled for 40 years better, like more fruits and vegetables, and

I’ve also learned about positive self-image. I know all of that is very important now.” “Isn’t she just so poised for her age?” Jacobs adds, beaming with obvious pride. Jacobs also is proud to start the first — and currently, the only — modeling business in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. She says she will always go above and beyond trying to get a photo shoot or other modeling gigs booked for her clients, but it’s not the main focus. Since Debra Model Management is a both school and a management company, Jacobs is focused on helping each of her models realize their full potential, because once that happens, and they have what someone is looking for, they will be found, she says. Just like she was. “When I tell people about all of my experience and accomplishments, I realize some may not believe me,” Jacobs says. “Because I’ve done a lot. But, I truly love modeling and the fashion industry. My business is geared towards those individuals who are excited about it, like I am. When you walk into my studio, I want you to feel like you’re in a modeling wonderland.” Debra Jacobs Model Management is located 5331 Primrose Lake Cir., Suite 245, in Tampa Palms. For more information, visit DebraModelManagement.com, email debramodelmanagement@gmail.com or see the ad on page 24 of this issue.

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The ExerScience Center Approach Is Whole-Body Wellness By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Lauren Leiva is not just an experienced personal trainer, passionate yogi and certified nutrition expert, she also is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). That means she has the knowledge, expertise and advanced degree to help ensure her patients become healthier, stronger and pain-free. At her ExerScience Center in Lutz, Dr. Leiva offers physical therapy, personal training, nutrition, group fitness and yoga, all with the goal of helping people to feel their best. Dr. Leiva earned her DPT degree from Nova Southeastern University in Tampa. Prior to that, she earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Biomedical Science and Biomedical Physics from the University of South Florida, also in Tampa. In addition to her degrees, she is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a Certified Personal Trainer and a Fitness Nutrition Specialist, among other certifications. She also is a registered Yoga Teacher (or RYT), a designation given by the Yoga Alliance U.S to an individual who has completed the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification. (Lauren’s was earned through YogaFit Training Systems, which is recognized by the Yoga Alliance U.S.) While Dr. Leiva originally launched The ExerScience Center in 2015, she opened the doors of her first brick-andmortar location on S.R. 54 in Lutz (less than two miles from the Tampa Premium Outlets) just this past November. Previously, Dr. Leiva traveled to her patients and to community centers, where she taught group fitness and yoga classes. She says that the road to her doctorate degree was winding, with a detour when she had to leave school to care for her mom, who had lung cancer and suffered a stroke. Then, she suffered her own medical crisis. A lifelong survivor of Crohn’s disease, Dr. Leiva’s second pregnancy put her in the hospital, where she stayed for nine months. She says at that time, yoga saved her life. “Yoga is not a class, it’s a way of life,”

Dr. Lauren Leiva has used her own past physical adversities to forge a plan for clients dealing with a myriad of injury rehab and chronic pain issues at The ExerScience Center on S.R. 54 in Lutz. That plan often includes the Neubie machine from NeuFit, which uses electrical stimulation to help re-educate your neuromuscular systems. (Photos: Charmaine George) she says. “Posture and pose movements are compassion to treat others. I have a conre-education, such as treating a spinal cord only one part of yoga. It’s a mind-over-mat- nection with patients who are not able to injury or an athlete’s torn tendon, or helpter philosophy.” walk, talk or find their breath.” ing people recover from surgery. With both her own and her unborn She says that helps her to successfully “We make the body its most functional baby’s lives in danger, and even when Dr. treat people who haven’t been able to find form possible, whether you’re paralyzed, or Leiva was intubated and then later had to solutions elsewhere, from eliminating chron- an elite athlete, or anywhere in between,” use a colostomy bag, she says she had a ic or injury-caused pain to avoiding surgery. she says. “Anybody can become their best strong belief she was going to be okay. In part, she says, that’s because of her self by training their nervous system. We “It was yoga, and the ability to well-rounded education and doctorate in can strengthen everyone’s muscles, whether have that mind-over-matter spirit when physical therapy, but also her background in they have pain or not.” surgeons and everyone else told me I both personal training and yoga. The ExerScience Center offers can’t and I won’t,” she says. “I always “Prior to (physical therapy) school, memberships, where patients spend an believed that I could, and I did. I feel I with everything I’d studied, I had a lot of hour each week at the center, working can triumph over anything.” knowledge,” she says. “I thought being on different modalities. This may include She shares that spirit with her patients, a DPT would make me stand out as a biohacking — which she describes as tapwho appreciate her energy and optimism. personal trainer.” ping into your own biology to manipuShe says her goal was to open a gym late certain variables for optimal results But, Can She Help You? and have her business focus on personal — or electrical stimulation, vibration Dr. Leiva says she treats and trains “evtherapy, infrared sauna, halotherapy (aka eryone,” from people who are paralyzed or training and yoga, and that she never salt therapy), or other types of treatment. have a spinal cord injury, all the way to elite considered being a DPT in a hospital or other traditional setting. She also had a The center offers the latest technolathletes, including Olympians. She currently ogy in PT, including a machine called the is working with Raj Dhesi, known as Jinder drive to finish what she had started after facing so much personal adversity. Neubie by NeuFit, a patented electrical Mahal or “The Maharaja,” a former WWE But, what Dr. Leiva also found was stimulation device to help re-educate your wrestling champion. that she fell in love with physical therapy, neuromuscular system. “I grew up as an athlete — a figure too. Now, she says most of her business is Perhaps most important of all, she says, skater, and I played volleyball,” Dr. is that she treats everyone with empathy, Leiva says. “But, having been completely physical therapy. She says her specialty is neuromuscular respect and honesty. “We respect the body disabled myself at times gives me the

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“She’s very intuitive and she listens,” says Melenda. “She looks at you holistically and listens to everything you say.” In fact, Melenda says she had no idea that she didn’t know how to breathe properly. “No one pulls you aside and says, “This is how you breathe,’” Melenda explains. “But, she doesn’t assume you know anything. She watches, and then she starts correcting.” Melenda says the instruction has helped her to dramatically reduce stress. “She is truly a healer in my eyes,” says Melenda. “After my back pain went away, I just kept going and everything is starting to change on me physically. I didn’t know how weak I was in certain places because I’m so strong in other places. I can’t wait to see what we’re going to work on next.” Gazelle Stevens is another happy patient Dr. Leiva (shown here with her purple hair) provides a variety of exercises and yoga to help clients of Dr. Leiva’s. She has been going to The recovering from injuries or surgery regain their strength and full range of motion. ExerScience Center for about two months. and the mind,” she says. “‘No pain, no newest and best therapeutic methods. So, I “I’ve had a great experience,” she says, gain’ does not apply in my center.” am always studying, always learning.” as Dr. Leiva has treated her for pain stemTo help patients who can’t afford Melenda Watzke has been a patient of ming from several herniated disks in her regular memberships, Dr. Leiva also hosts The ExerScience Center for several months. back and neck, and a labral tear in her hip. community clinics once a month with “I’m a dancer, and I hurt my back,” “I’m a fitness instructor, so it’s very opportunities for low-cost physical therapy Melenda says. “I live about 45 minutes taxing on my body when I have these issues evaluations and second opinions. away, but that first time I met with Dr. and I can’t teach,” Gazelle says. “I had tried In February, Dr. Leiva says she Leiva, I knew the drive was worth it.” a bunch of other methods and nothing was will become certified in dry needling Melenda says she’s seen a lot of helping. But, I felt a huge difference (with (similar to acupuncture, but used by change in her body, and not only has she Dr. Leiva) within the first two weeks.” physical therapists). “I’m an innovabeen healed from her pain, but Dr. Leiva Gazelle says she’s done physical thertive therapist,” she says, “and I think it’s has treated other problems that Melenda apy at other offices, but it’s been totally important to always be learning all of the didn’t know she had. different, and that she gets much more indi-

vidual attention at The ExerScience Center. “Dr. Lauren is very knowledgeable, and also very understanding, from that patient perspective,” explains Gazelle. “She understands what it means to be in pain and not get answers. I try to be more holistic, with a wellness approach, not, ‘give me a shot’ or ‘give me surgery.’ A lot of people are in that mindset, and she’s really good for that.” Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, The ExerScience Center has paused all in-person group fitness classes and switched the focus to online classes. The staff follows all cleaning and precautionary procedures set in place by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) & Prevention, as well as state and county guidelines. The center does not currently accept walk-ins, and anyone with an appointment is screened, including a temperature check, before they come in. The ExerScience Center staff includes not only Dr. Leiva, but also office manager Elizabeth Sanchez, and receptionists Marilu Sanchez (not related to Elizabeth) and Jennifer Barrett. Dr. Leiva is married to Jonathan, who owns Leiva’s Jewelry in New Tampa. Their two sons are Elijah, who is 13, and Alexander Joseph, who is four. The ExerScience Center is located at 24706 S.R. 54, two miles west of the Tampa Premium Outlets. For more info, call (813) 803-7070, see the ad on pg. 20, or visit TheExerScienceCenter.com.

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Your CBD Store On S.R. 54 Keeps Adding New, Healthy Options By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

Debbie Brooks says she started taking CBD years ago to relieve the pain in her feet from neuropathy, following chemotherapy treatments for her cancer. Long before CBD, or cannabidiol, became more mainstream, Brooks, who is 61 years old and lives in Webster, FL, had to search smoke shops for CBD relief, which seemed to vary from shop to shop. “It was never the same every time,” she says. “Sometimes, I swear I thought it was just olive oil.” Brooks eventually discovered Lisa Feigel, who owned a Your CBD Store franchise in Englewood, FL, located two hours away, but who offered online ordering. The CBD products she received from Feigel were better, never failed and provided consistent relief. So, when Feigel opened her second location in Wesley Chapel, which has been open since August of 2019 in the Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54 — despite an hour drive — Brooks became one of her first, and most regular customers. “Lisa is great,” Cook says. “She has so much knowledge, it’s almost like she’s a scientist. And they have so many great products that always help.” Cook’s story is a familiar one to Feigel, who says that many of her customers come to her looking for reliable relief for a number of symptoms, ranging from pain and muscle aches to anxiety and insomnia. “They don’t want to become reliant on opioids,” Lisa says. Your CBD Store is a boutique, and doesn’t stock hundreds of items that promise to do a million different things. It focuses on what CBD does best by providing relief, relaxation and, sometimes, a much-needed respite from your daily grind. As CBD has become more accepted and popular, Lisa says she doesn’t have to educate customers who correlate it with

Lisa Feigel has increased the product offerings at her Your CBD Store, located in the Freedom

marijuana as much as she did in the past. CBD is derived from hemp, which is a variety of cannabis (as is marijuana), but with less than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the ingredient that gets you “high.” However, CBD still retains all of the health benefits of cannabis. CBD products are offered as full spectrum, which are generally stronger and contain no more than the legal limit of 0.3% THC, and broad spectrum, which have no THC at all. In the last year, Feigel has added a number of new, popular items to her inventory, such as CBG- and CBN-infused gummies, tinctures and water solubles. CBG, or cannabigerol, and CBN, or cannabinol, are relatively new to the CBD product world and are currently undergoing intensive scientific study. CBN is THC-free and helps cause a drowsy effect that can aid with sleeping, while CBG is touted more for its potential therapeutic and anti-inflammatory effects. Feigel calls it the “super momma of cannabinoids.”

“Anxiety and insomnia are the biggest two concerns when people come into the store,” Feigel says, adding that those two things can lead to depression and other maladies. “It’s like a domino effect.” CBD, Lisa says, helps bring your mental state and body back into balance. “We all have about 150 different

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cannabinoids in our system already,” Lisa says, but sometimes, outside forces — injury, stress from work, illness, etc. — can disrupt the production of them. CBD will bind with the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in our brains to help bring the body back into balance, or homeostasis. “It’s just a natural supplement we’re putting back into our system,” she says. This can be done via tinctures (like an eyedropper, placed right under the tongue), water soluble (which dissolve in water) products, edible gummies and even vapes. CBD has many uses and benefits. Your CBD store offers pet products in any form, including peanut butter- and bacon-flavored treats and biscuits, for dogs who get freaked out by the sound of thunder and fireworks or have separation or other anxiety. Feigel says she gives CBD to her 103-pound yellow Labrador retriever for car trips to the groomer, as well as to help reduce her rescue shih-tzu’s seizures. And, for the first time, the store even now has CBD cat treats. There also are award-winning skincare products and topical creams for aches and pains (Neighborhood News publisher Gary Nager is a fan), and even a new Maxine & Morgan line for women’s wellness, such as for menstrual cramps. There’s also a CBD coffee creamer available.

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Lisa Feigel’s Your CBD Store on S.R. 54 offers a variety of products, including (l.-r.) CBN and CBG gummies, as well as tinctures with CBG and CBN), as well as pet treats and tinctures in a variety of flavors and forms to help calm your anxious cat or dog. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

One of the newest products is a Raw Hemp CBG Flower, which contains high-levels of CBG. It offers flexibility in that can be smoked or even used in cooking and for making smoothies and tea, to name a few. “It’s all due to the Your CBD Store franchise, which is always striving for more and better products,” Lisa says. “And, there’s still so many things coming out on the horizon.” Lisa says she was drawn to the power of CBD due to her own fibromyalgia, and has used it for other things as well.

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Her daughter Ashley, who manages the Wesley Chapel location, uses CBD for joint pain and anxiety. Even Lisa’s mom, who didn’t know anything about CBD when Lisa became a franchise owner and joked that her daughter was now a “drug dealer,” is now an avid user of the topical creams, which help with her arthritis. SunMed CBD is the exclusive supplier to Your CBD Stores. The company has its own farms in Denver, CO, where they grow hemp, and the processing of those plants takes place in Florida. Lisa and her staff hope that customers

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will choose CBD products over opioids and other addictive and sometimes dangerous drugs prescribed by doctors. They will help you find the right doses and forms of CBD for you, and best way to maximize its effects. Those effects are wide-ranging, says Debbie Brooks. She had stopped taking any CBD for a few weeks because of the long drive and busy schedule taking care of her elderly parents. But once off it, she realized that it did more than just reduce her pain, it had been helping her handle all the stress in her life. So, she says, it was

back to Wesley Chapel for more relief. “It helped in more aspects of my life than I even realized,” Cook says. “It’s well worth the travel, just for the great staff and the expertise Lisa has. She is just amazing.” Your CBD Store Wesley Chapel is located at 30044 S.R. 54. It is open Monday.-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. For more information, call (813) 536-0119, visit CBDrx4u.com/ find-us/Florida/Wesley-Chapel, search “YourCBDStoreWesleyChapel” on Facebook or see the ad on pg. 23.

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F45 Training At The Grove Offers Super Workouts & Cleanliness By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

Kim Balfe can tell you all about how great the classes are at the F45 Training at The Grove studio that she owns with her husband Bob, or how wonderful their instructors are, how the members have raved about the workouts or even how successful the fitness facility has been since opening in the middle of the pandemic last summer. And she does. But nowadays, she starts with this instead: F45 Training at The Grove is clean and safe. Really, really clean and safe. In today’s world, where Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on local businesses and hit gyms harder than most others — even delaying the opening of Wesley Chapel’s F45 Training a few months last spring — that’s pretty big news. “Cleaning is always a priority, especially in a gym,” Kim says. “We feel we have a responsibility when it comes to the safety of our members. We want people to see that we take it seriously.” How seriously? Kim completed a rigorous course, which she likened to getting a Ph.D, in order for F45 Training to receive facility accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), which helps organizations and businesses respond to biological threats and biohazard situations through education and training. A sticker will be displayed on the gym front window affirming their accreditation, and Pasco County reimbursed the cost of earning the designation. Getting the accreditation involved studying pages and pages of

When you’re done at one station at F45 Training, it’s time to sanitize your equipment before moving on to the next one. (Photos: Charmaine George)

documents and learning all of the policies and procedures required to have a clean gym. Kim also says she attended a 10-hour class. While cleanliness is much more at the forefront of most people’s minds these days — 20 percent of poten-

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tial new members ask about the safety of returning to the gym — F45 has combined that with socially-distant classes that add to the safety measures. While some classes are more crowded for those that prefer it, a number of offerings, like the one we attended on a recent Thursday morning, had a surprising amount of room between participants. No one rotated stations before first disinfecting the equipment they had just used. “We have one of the bigger F45s in the area,’’ Kim says of the 3,300-sq.-ft. facility, which also has showers. “There’s plenty of room.” The cleanliness helped convince Kim Shephard to get back in the gym. The gym she usually works out at where she lives in New Tampa has been closed, and after almost a year off, it was time to get back to work. Shepard admits she starting putting on some weight during the pandemic, but it’s currently coming off and she says she has dropped five percent body fat since joining F45. “It’s been a life changer for me,” says the 36-yearold Shephard. “I love it. I like the small classes, the trainers get to know you on a personal level and it really is a community. And the gym is super-duper clean.” The F in F45 stands for Functional Training, which focuses on strengthening muscles you use for everyday activities and emphasizes core strength and stability. The 45 is how many minutes (almost) every workout lasts. There are 2,700 different exercises and 36 different workouts as members move from station to station, with Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays focusing on cardio, and Tuesday and Thursdays for resistance training. “Every single day is a totally different workout,” says

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There’s plenty of room for social distancing at F45 Training at The Grove. To the far right, head trainer Zach Johnston helps a client work on the proper form during a recent class.

Bob who (as does Kim) also partakes in many of the classes. The classes all have names, like 22, Bears, Moon Hopper and All-Star. And, the classes also are universal. If you are doing the Angry Bird at The Grove location, then so are fitness members at F45s in Sacramento, San Antonio and Sydney, Australia (where the company was founded in 2011 by equities trader Rob Deutsch). The only class that is longer than 45 minutes is Saturday’s class, which is an hour-long hybrid, called Hollywood, which F45 calls its pinnacle showcase, and is sometimes accompanied by a live DJ. “Saturday is the big fun day,” Kim says. “It’s my favorite day.” F45 remains one of the hottest fitness franchises in the world, with more than 1,750 studios in 45 countries, including more than 650 in the U.S. It is part of a trend towards high-tech fitness boutiques which offer more personalized care than the traditional big-box gyms. As an example, an experienced fitness participant can take part in the same class as a newcomer, and the trainers take special care to make sure the experience is enjoyable for both, by offering those who can’t physically perform certain exercises a less-challenging alternative option.

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“Sometimes people come in and know nothing and have never been in a gym before,“ says head trainer Zach Johnston. “We’re here to guide and help them. F45 is very scalable. There are some advanced movements, but they can all be regressed down.” Large television monitors show how to do every move, and Zach and his team will help if any of the exercises are too much for you. Zach, who has a Bachelor of Science in Biological Health Science and a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science from the University of South Florida, is beyond qualified to train people, and says he chose F45 because he loves the concept of functional workouts, as well as the community that the fitness facility is building. “I feel like people love coming in,” he says, “and I don’t think they even think about Covid. I think people see the certification and know it’s safe here.” F45 Wesley Chapel also has recurring challenges, nutritional coaching and meal plans via F45’s app and other perks — to further differentiate itself from the fitness pack. It’s another community-building benefit that F45 Training at The Grove strives to achieve. Bob and Kim say they love the social

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aspect of F45. The company has a slick website, highly-active Facebook and Instagram pages — which can be a good place to find specials — and stays in touch with its members via text. Doing so helps build camaraderie amongst those trying to get and stay in shape, and also offers the kind of accountability that is difficult for many to have working out on their own. “For a lot of people, this is all about being healthy and staying in shape, to strengthen their immune systems and their mental health,” Kim says. “And, for many of them, this is their getaway.

We’re glad we can be that for them.” Best of all, you can give it a try for free. F45 Training offers one free week of classes for prospective members. F45 Training at The Grove (6207 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 102) offers classes at 5, 6, 7 and 9 a.m. weekday mornings, and at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday evenings. Saturday classes are at 7, 8:15 and 9:30 a.m., and Sunday classes are at 8 and 9 a.m. For more info, call (813) 683-5222, visit F45Ttraining.com/TheGroveAtWesleyChapel/home or see the ad on page 29.

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Medi-Weightloss Of Lutz Promises Results & Long-Term Help! By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN Weight gain has been a common side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, as exercise and other healthy habits have taken a back seat for many people. Medi-Weightloss of Lutz owner Gerri Willett says the pandemic initially caused a lot of uncertainty for her small business, but ultimately has driven many new patients to the practice, located on S.R. 54, two miles west of where it meets S.R. 56 (near the Tampa Premium Outlets). In the 15 years since it opened in 2006, Gerri says Medi-Weightloss of Lutz has helped patients lose nearly 130,000 pounds. It’s easy to get started, as completely free assessments are always offered. Today, while there are 91 Medi-Weightloss locations nationwide, Gerri owns the locations in both Lutz and Brandon, operating the two as a local, family-owned business, which has been her passion for the past 15 years. The success patients see when they try the Medi-Weightloss program is what continues to drive people to the practice. “Our patients refer their friends because they know we do a really a good job,” Gerri says. The Medi-Weightloss program is supervised by Andrew Weitzman, M.D., who is Board-certified in Internal Medicine. The program combines diet and exercise with supplements, managed by a doctor, to help people lose weight and keep it off. Like most businesses, Medi-Weightloss has had to make adaptations because of the Covid pandemic, creating virtually touch-free visits, while keeping its doors open to better circulate fresh air, providing clean pens, taking temperature checks, having hand sanitizer available and other precautionary measures. “We also offer telemedicine,” says Gerri. “We do whatever you feel comfortable with, whether that’s telemedicine, or coming in to be weighed when we’re otherwise closed to patients, so you’re the only one in the office, or driving through

The caring, dedicated staff of Medi-Weightloss of Lutz includes (l.-r.) Karina Gonzalez, Raquel Sanford, Alex Pierantoni, Dr. Andrew Weitzman, Erin Jones & Patty Pinson.

the parking lot to pick up a prescription.” The staff is compassionate and understanding, cheering their patients on to reach their goals. “It can be very difficult for people to step foot into a weight-loss clinic because, a lot of times, they have already tried so many different things,” says Gerri. “People beat themselves up horribly about their weight.” Whether it’s newfound weight gain as your body changes due to age, weight that was lost in the past but has crept back on, or pounds put on during the pandemic, Gerri says, “We want people to know we’ll figure it out and we’ll get them to be successful.”

How It Works

During the first phase of the program — also known as the acute or weight-loss phase — clients come in once a week. After an initial consultation with weight measurements, blood work and an electrocardiogram (EKG), patients receive a binder to store educational handouts, recapping the information shared at each session. They also receive recipes for

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delicious, healthy meals, with ingredients that are easy to find. Patients also start a detailed journal to log their eating, drinking and sleeping data. They also receive vitamin supplements, a food scale to help with portion control and ketone sticks to detect their level of ketosis. (Note: Physiologic Ketosis is a normal response to low glucose availability, such as low-carbohydrate diets or fasting.)

Medi-Weightloss has many ways to help during the weight-loss phase, including injections of Methionine Inositol Choline (MIC Combo) to put B12 vitamins and amino acids into the bloodstream, both of which help with fat metabolism, liver function and fat excretion. Patients also receive Vitamin B6 and B1 injections, which help reduce water retention and keep your energy up, while battling food cravings. Dr. Weitzman says the goal is always to reduce medications that patients may be taking. “One of my favorite things is getting someone off of blood pressure medications,” he says. “You lose 20 pounds and, all of a sudden, your blood pressure goes down.” After the acute phase of the program ends (once ca client reaches his/her target weight), they check in less often during the maintenance and wellness phases. But, if a client should re-gain weight after completing the program, Gerri says there’s no reason to worry. “Life happens and we are here to help,” she says. “It doesn’t mean you failed. It means you had stress in your life, or something happened. Just pop back into the program! There is no restart fee.”

Caring, Helpful Staff

Medi-Weightloss of Lutz has a staff of

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caring professionals who truly understand what it’s like to be in their patient’s shoes. In fact, some are former patients. Erin Jones had lost her husband in 2010 and then, she says, “I ate for a year.” In 2011, she started the Medi-Weightloss program and lost 50 pounds. After that, she joined the team. Erin is now a full-time medical assistant and the office manager at Medi-Weightloss of Lutz and Brandon. “Patients can take comfort in knowing that we’ve been down their road before and that we can truly say we know what they’re going through,” Erin says. Medical assistant Patty Pinson has been with Medi-Weightloss for a decade and is a retired Registered Nurse (RN). Other Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) include Karina Gonzalez and Alex Pierantoni, while Raquel Sanford manages the front office. Dr. Weitzman is a Board-certified Medical Doctor who earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel, and completed his residency at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, NY. He operated a primary care practice in New York, then moved to Manatee County, before coming on board at Medi-Weightloss more than four years ago. He says there actually are many similarities between primary care and weight loss. “The main difference is that with

This time around, Sally is confident she has the support and resources she needs to keep the weight off. “They’ve been my cheerleaders and my mentors,” she says. “I’ve had long talks with the doctor and he’s fabulous. They all are. I highly recommend people go there.” To schedule a free assessment at Medi-Weighloss of Lutz (24420 S.R. 54, Lutz), call (813) 909-1700. The office is open five days a week: 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Mon.; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Tues., 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wed; 1 p.m.-7 p.m. on Thur.; and 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m on Fri. More information is available at MediWeightloss.com/locations/ lutz/ or see the ad on page 21. Sally Morrison, who is 70 years old and a former Army nurse, has lost 90 pounds since beginning the Medi-Weightloss program nine months ago, then weighing 233 pounds. primary care, you’re already treating a knew the consequences when she saw how patient’s disease. Here, we’re working bad her lab results were after a checkup, so strictly with prevention.” she decided to make a change. He stresses all three legs of the A friend had success with Meweight-loss process: diet, exercise and ap- di-Weightloss, so Sally decided to try it, too. petite suppression. “You must do all three “When I was in my 30s, I was an in order to succeed,” Dr. Weitzman says. operating room nurse in the Army. I ran Sally Morrison is a Medi-Weightloss every day back then,” she says, “and I feel patient who has found success. In the past almost as good now as I did then.” nine months, she’s lost 90 pounds, just She says she had tried a different in time to celebrate her 70th birthday in program about 10 years ago, but the early February. weight crept back on. And, the clinic Before Medi-Weightloss, Sally says she went to had closed, which left her she felt terrible. As a former nurse, she feeling abandoned.

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Information Yo Murphy (right) is hands-on when it comes to training athletes trying to get to the next level.

Yo Murphy Performance Expands To Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com Llewellyn Murphy, Jr., better known as Yo to Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ fans, remembers tearing his quad muscle in 2001. But, with the help of a performance therapist and fitness coach, Murphy was able to get back to playing wide receiver in time to help the St. Louis Rams make it to Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, which the Rams lost to the New England Patriots, the first Big Game win for QB Tom Brady. Murphy, who played seven games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999 and was an electric kickoff returner, says he didn’t have a Plan B at the time, but the rehabilitation experience and how it helped him play four more seasons of professional football crystallized one for him. “It showed me how much value that has, and how much impact you can have on someone’s life when you do this job and focus on what they need,” Murphy says. “I just fell in love with it.” Murphy ended up becoming the only player ever to play seasons in the NFL, Candaian Football League (CFL), the XFL and NFL Europe. He also is the only player to suit up for the Super Bowl, Grey Cup and World Bowl championship games. Murphy is now a 15-year veteran of the performance training industry, and is expanding from his Westchase location to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County. Yo Murphy Performance should be up and running later this month. At the 11,000-sq.-ft. Westchase location, 38 professional and professional-to-be athletes train as part of his clientele, including Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle Schwarber, Kanasas City Royals first baseman Carlos Santana, 2020 Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith (from the University of Alabama) as well as NFL hopefuls getting ready for 28

the NFL combine, like Smith’s teammate at Alabama, DT Christian Barmore and speedy Auburn WR Anthony Schwartz. While prepping professional athletes for a combine or upcoming season may be a specialty, Murphy says his training center also caters to a few hundred “corporate,” as well as more than 100 youth athletes. “We treat the regular dude like a serious athlete,” Murphy says. “People get in ruts when they just go to the gym (to go). The only difference between the athlete and the regular dude is, while in the gym training, athletes have a start and an end date. We are good as humans when we have goals and we have deadlines and we have discipline involved. That’s what we focus on. We treat everyone the same.” Murphy says he was alerted to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus by his director of basketball, Darryl Hepburn, who Murphy says has held NBA combines but saw a need for a facility with more courts. Once Murphy visited, he saw the Wiregrass Sports Campus, with its 98,000-sq. ft. of indoor space to be “a perfect fit.” Yo Murphy Performance caters to the serious athlete, whether professional or amateur. The Wiregrass Ranch location, he says, will offer memberships for adults, and even offer 1-on-1 training and combines for those corporate athletes. Expect a fair share of professional athletes to be sharing that space as well. Murphy said NFL wide receivers like Diontae Johnson (Pittsburgh), Deon Cain (Baltimore) and Auden Tate (Cincinatti and a Wharton High in New Tampa graduate) all live near the facility and plan on training there in the offseason. Murphy expects a more than two dozen NFL players to make Wiregrass Ranch their training home now that the Super Bowl LV is over. For additional information about Yo Murphy Performance, visit YoMurphy.com.

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High School Sports Notebook: Signings & District Titles! By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) had one of its best nights in school history on Feb. 5, hitting the trifecta by winning three District championships on the same night. The Bulls’ boys and girls soccer teams, as well as the girls’ basketball team, all picked up wins in their respective District finals and advanced to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Regional playoffs. The State-ranked boys soccer team, ranked No. 29 in all classes by the FHSAA, knocked off No. 24 Mitchell 3-2 in its Class 6A, District 5 final. The win avenged a loss to the Mustangs (16-6-1) in last year’s District title game. The Bulls (pictured top left, from @WRHSStampede), now 17-5-3, rode their top three goal scorers to the victory. Senior Justin Amis and juniors Aidan Ettouati and Alec Santiago each scored once against Mitchell, with Ettouati adding two assists. The WRH girls’ soccer team (12-5-3, bottom left) needed extra time to knock off East Lake on penalty kicks, with senior keeper Ella McGahey making a leaping save to her right to clinch the Dist. 6A-5 victory. And, in basketball, WRH (top right) turned a tight contest into a comfortable 41-30 win over East Lake for the 6A-9 title. All three Bulls programs advanced to Regionals, which started the week after we went to press with this issue. SIGNINGS: Three Cypress Creek High (CCH) baseball players signed with colleges, including pitcher Peyton Petry, who was second on the team in hitting last year (.464 average) and struck out 27 batters in 12 innings in three appearances. Petry signed with Saint Leo. The others

signings (picture bottom right, with Petry), were 1B/P Anthony Menendez (Thomas University) and INF Zach Buelk (Thomas University). Also signing on Feb. 3 were Wiregrass Ranch High football players Larry Gibbs and Gabe Thompson. Gibbs, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound defensive back, signed

with Warner University in Lake Wales. Last season, Gibbs had 17 tackles, five passes defensed, two interceptions and one sack, and also had a 90-yard punt return. Thompson (6-4, 250), who was a starter at tight end, signed with Army. Last season, Thompson caught 11 passes for 119 yards and was credited with four pancake blocks.

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Every year, in the issue after we report the results of our Reader

Dining Survey & Contest, I always feel compelled to give you my dining favorites, including all of the restaurants that opened in (or very near) New Tampa and Wesley Chapel the previous year. And, with all the new eateries that opened in our distribution areas in 2020 after the reader voting ended, my “survey” list looks even more different than usual than the places our readers voted for in our last issue. Wesley Chapel definitely had one of its biggest years ever, in terms of restaurant openings, in 2020, so my list this year looks very different than last year. On pages 32-37, you’ll find short writeups about my 25 favorite restaurants (new and existing) in Wesley Chapel for 2020, starting with the delicious Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant in The Village at The Grove. There’s also an alphabetical listing of my next 25 favorites — of nearly 100 I sampled in 2020 in “The Chap” alone. Treble Makers head chef Kevin Maggard is still adding new menu items, but my favorite may still be the coconut curry grouper shown here — which is something of a surprise in itself because I really thought I didn’t like curry. On pg. 42, you’ll find my 50 favorite restaurants in New Tampa for 2020, as well as some other lists of my favorite New York-style pizza in both markets from last year. — GN Check out the rest of Gary’s 2020 Favorite Restaurants in Wesley Chapel & New Tampa & on pages 32-37 & 42!

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TREBLE MAKERS 6034 Wesley Grove Blvd. The Grove at Wesley Chapel (813) 406-4371

hen Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant (see ad on pg. 34) was getting ready to open in the new Village at The Grove, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the food — that is, until I met with co-owner Jamie Hess and Executive Chef Kevin Maggard. Then, I couldn’t wait for it to open. Maggard promised delicious, tender steaks (like the perfectly seasoned filet shown in the top photo), fresh fish and seafood and unique, inspired appetizers and in the six months or so that Treble Makers has been open, he has more than delivered on that promise, at least in one editor’s opinion. His seared, sesame-crusted ahi tuna appetizer (lower photo) is as good as there is in the area, and although it hasn’t always been as crispy as the perfect first time I had his sweet & spicy calamari, there’s no doubt that it’s different than you’ll find anywhere else. People we’ve spoken with also rave about his imperial crab dip and homemade potato gnocchi appetizers. In addition to the coconut curry grouper shown on page 31 and the filet

TROPICS at SADDLEBROOK 5700 Saddlebrook Way (813) 973-1111

shown here, definitely also try the seared diver scallops, the tender veal or chicken Marsala and I still plan to try the NY strip and prime rib steak options. And of course, please also check out the dueling piano shows and other entertainment options at my favorite for 2020!

ZUKKU-SAN SUSHI 25916 Sierra Center Blvd (813) 419-1351 See story on pgs. 38-39!

hile I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you about why I love ZukkuSan so much — my full-length review of this elegant, new and delicious sushi-and-so-muchmore restaurant located just west of I-75 on S.R. 56 appears on pgs. 38-39 — I will tell you that it also is Jannah’s 15-month-old granddaughter Rosie’s favorite place to eat in our area, so we’ve been going there a lot. And, it’s definitely not so much about the sushi, which is excellent, as much as it is about creativity. The dish shown above — a semi-spicy raw bluefin tuna appetizer topped with caviar and served with golden grape tomatoes — isn’t on the menu, yet...but I’m guessing it will be soon. 32

hen Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook resort closed for muchneeded renovations in 2020, it was a little easier for me to move Treble Makers up to this year’s top spot in Wesley Chapel, even though much of the Dempsey’s menu is still available at resort’s The Tropics restaurant. Another factor in dropping the only non-chain restaurant in Wesley Chapel to offer a tomahawk ribeye steak (photo) is affordability. Treble Makers definitely isn’t cheap, but The Tropics is still primarily a “big night out” kind of meal for almost anyone, especially for a certain news magazine editor..

ROCK & BREWS

26000 S.R. 56 (813) 537-6016

irectly across S.R. 56 from Zukku-San is Rock & Brews, which is owned in part, and inspired, by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock group KISS. But, Rock & Brews is a really delicious restaurant offering everything from “sweet heat” chicken (photo) and a really good 8-oz. filet mignon, to crispy calamari, unique Brews-chetta, blackened redfish, wings, blackened chicken pasta and even the “front row” pizzas. And, even though it also opened during the pandemic, it seems that a lot of local people agree with me when it comes to the made-from-scratch food, the atmosphere and the live music on weekends (please call about availability). Jannah and I love the covered outdoor bar

GRILLSMITH

2000 Piazza Ave #100 The Shops at Wiregrass (813) 907-1900

honestly don’t remember when Grillsmith first added its “short trip” fish entrée (above), but Jannah and I have been much bigger fans of this Tampa-based mini-chain ever since. We’ve had everything from grouper and mahi to corvina and amberjack since then and we’ve never been served anything but nicesized portions of fresh, delicious fish. We’re also really fond of the smashed cauliflower side shown above, as well as the crunchy tuna appetizer, the lemon feta chicken, port wine filet and the outstanding service we always receive at the spacious bar. I also enjoy the skirt steak chimichurri entrée and the desserts.

OMARI’S GRILL

Lexington Oaks Golf Club 26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd. (813) 907-7270

mari’s Grill at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club (see ad on pg. 34) is still (sadly) one of Wesley Chapel’s best-kept secrets. And, even though you can only get co-owner/chef Anass El-Omari’s perfect grilled mahi-mahi topped with mango salsa (above), crispy, but tender chicken parmigiana and filet mignon with cream sauce as Friday night dinner specials, the regular golfer-oriented menu for lunch and dinner is delicious, too. From burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches to salads and wings, everything is made from scratch and it shows. You can even give it a try for free as a first-time visitor to a Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel meeting on Wednesdays at noon.

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Neighborhood News

FLORIDA AVENUE BREWING CO. 2029 Arrowgrass Dr. (813) 452-6333

hen you think about craft beer breweries, you may not think of delicious food, but in the case of Florida Avenue Brewing Co.’s location in the former Sports + Field building on S.R. 56, you’d really be missing out on something yummy. With small plates like perfectly sesame-seared, Szechwan ahi tuna, excellent Chinese sticky ribs, Buffalo cauliflower and the jumbo lump crab cakes shown above (with zesty remoulade sauce), a variety of flatbreads, Korean-style bibimbap bowls, braised short ribs and Gulf grouper fish & chips, Florida Ave. (see ad on pg. 37) has great chef-created food to go with a unique variety of craft beers and hard ciders and seltzers. @NTWCNews

LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE

AUSSIE GRILL

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

BUBBA’s 33

26340 Silver Maple Pkwy. (813) 522-5090

ubba’s 33 (see ad on pg. 31), which is an entirely different concept restaurant from Texas Roadhouse, features sports bar prices with restaurant-quality food. Delicious starters include the crispy wings in a variety of sauces and dry rubs to unique items like “Big O”(onion) Rings, crispy fried pickles, Bubba’s fiesta dip (with bacon, ground beef and refried beans), plus tasty hand-tossed pizzas, excellent bacon grind bacon burgers (photo), plus everything from California grilled chicken to Southern fried chicken and chipotle chicken & shrimp pasta. There’s even two different Texas Roadhousequality grilled and marinated signature ribeye steaks and outstanding drink prices.

2647 Creek Grass Way, Lutz (813) 909-0003

hen Jannah and I feel like a delicious filet at a fair price, with great sides included, Longhorn is the first place we both usually think of — and not just because it’s the closest steakhouse to where we live. From the tender Flo’s filet (photo) to the NY strip or the recently added bone-in “outlaw” ribeye, Longhorn’s steaks are aways done to perfection and if you’re somehow ever not happy, the management will always make it right. We love the salad, the crisp-crust bread and always-fresh veggies, too. Jannah also loves the parmesancrusted chicken. And, although we wish the bar area was a little bigger, the bartenders and drink prices are outstanding.

ou have to hand it to Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, for coming up with this fantastic fastcasual concept. Even though it opened in the middle of the pandemic, the new Aussie Grill — ours is the first freestanding unit — with its super-easy drive-through and order-ahead pickup options, was the right concept at the right time. The food is Outback-quality — from the topped, grilled chicken (photo) and seared beef tenderloin large plates, to the bacon “bomb” burger and braised brisket sandwich and more — Aussie Grill has been a welcome addition to our local dining scene. With a larger menu, it could have finished even higher on this list.

NOBLE CRUST 28330 Paseo Dr. Shops at Wiregrass (813) 703-2602

here is no doubt in my mind that with a little larger and more diverse menu, Noble Crust also would finish higher on my list of Wesley Chapel favorites. I love the house-made gnocchi and unique beef and pork meatball appetizers (there’s even Impossible meatballs available now), as well as the double cut pork chop, bistro steak and chicken fried chicken parm (above) entrées. Recently added items include crispy Brussels sprouts, a gorgonzola filet and eggplant parm. And, people rave about Noble Crust’s oven-baked pizzas, although we usually go for the entrées. The bar area may be a little tight, but it offers an amazing selection of ultra-premium liquor and a great, fun vibe. Neighborhood News

PASTA DI GUY

4839 Bruce B Downs Blvd (813) 994-1294

wner/chef Guy Carmeli continues to add items to his still-smallish menu, but it’s hard to argue with the quality served up at the 2020 addition to our local dining scene. Our favorites at Pasta di Guy (see ad on pg. 42) are the made-from-scratch strozzapreti and spaghetti pastas, topped with any of the six different freshly made sauces (Alfredo, beef Bolognese, marinara, creamy pesto, vodka or aglio e olio (garlic and oil), and what may be the best house-cut zucchini noodles (above) in our area. Yes, it costs extra to add grilled chicken, house-made Italian sausage and veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, but it’s worth it. And, the recent addition of design-your-own, housemade pizzas is a step in the right direction, too. @NTWCNews

5710 Oakley Blvd. (813) 973-7717

The steak quality at the Outback Steakhouse has never been in question. The Victoria’s filet is very similar in quality and price to Longhorn’s Flo’s filet and the bone-in New York strip shown here is, as the menu claims, full of flavor. In addition to the great variety of steaks, Outback also is famous for its shrimp on the barbie and bloomin’ onion appetizers, Alice Springs chicken and surf & turf options that I sadly can’t enjoy, but rewards members (like me!) get $20 off at Outback or Bonefish or $40 off at Fleming’s every third visit. Jannah and I still won’t wait for a table, but whether we sit at the bar or use the easy takeout system, we’re rarely disappointed.

CHUCK LAGER

UMU JAPANESE & THAI

25340 Sierra Center Blvd. (813) 261-0140

AMERICA’S TAVERN 2001 Piazza Ave Suite 175 Shops at Wiregrass (813) 820-4500

hile it didn’t take much for this third link in a new, small chain with a menu inspired by celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani to surpass its predecessor (Primebar) in its space at the Shops at Wiregrass, there’s no doubt that Chuck Lager’s is a beautiful new restaurant with a great vibe and a unique menu that has caught on with locals, even though it opened deep into the pandemic. Jannah and I love the Fabio’s meatball sub and Cajun grouper taco handhelds, as well as the chicken parmesan, pork chop Milanese and Italian steak (photo) entrées and the sautéed baby broccolini is amazing. There also are great burgers, flatbreads and salads.

2653 Bruce B Downs Blvd. (813) 591-6121

any locals rave about the sushi at Umu Japanese & Thai and you can count me among them, but when you take a deeper dive into the menu (as I finally have), you find out that there’s even more to love than the huge selection of sushi rolls and the best variety of white meat fish nigiri (on rice) and sashimi in our area. I have enjoyed the crispy soy-marinated Kara-Age chicken appetizer (from Umu’s “Hot Tasting” starters menu), the deep-fried chicken and pork (Umu-ton) katsu, the “Wafustyle” Japanese NY strip steak and especially, the miso-marinated Chilean sea bass shown here. “Gary’s 2020 Favorites” continue on pgs. 36-37

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is NOW OPEN for LUNCH & DINNER!

Experience Wesley Chapel’s Newest Home-Grown Sushi Restaurant That Everyone Is Raving About! “By far the best sushi around the Wesley Chapel area!!! The sushi is SO fresh and delicious. Also, the inside is decorated so cute and it’s a great atmosphere. HIGHLY recommended. This is our new go-to spot!.” — Rachel, on Google “Atmosphere is simply stunning, from the simplicity to the local artistry of the koi-fish artwork, bonsai trees and lighting. Music gives the perfect vibe for a perfect date night!” — Josh S. on Yelp Opening responsibly with 50% capacity, routine sanitation & hand sanitation stations, all employees wear masks, and brand new air/ventilation equipment, plus hot towel service!

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GARY’S 2020 WESLEY CHAPEL FAVES (Cont. from pg. 33)

BONEFISH GRILL 25264 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz (813) 907-8202

When you’re looking for the best seared tuna sashimi appetizer (photo) in Wesley Chapel, there’s no doubt in my mind that the recently relocated Bonefish Grill is still near the top of the list. The thick slices are always fresh, always well-seared but still rare and covered in black and white sesame seeds. Bonefish also features excellent fresh fish, but not as good for my money as Grillsmith’s. The Outback-quality steaks are an added bonus. I can’t eat the bang-bang shrimp because of my accursed shellfish allergy (but they will make it as bang-bang chicken for folks like me) and it’s still among the best you’ll find anywhere. Love the new bar area, too!

THE HUNGRY GREEK

TOP SHELF SPORTS LOUNGE

2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (813) 345-8526

ow that there are so many new restaurants in Wesley Chapel, it’s easy to forget about The Hungry Greek, but not if you enjoy great Greek specialties (as I do) in a fast-casual environment that never disappoints for quality, service or price. I’ve yet to try the recent addition of Greek bowls (with brown rice, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, feta, olives, pepperoncini and tzatziki sauce, with your choice of chicken, gyro meat, shrimp, falafel or salmon), but the spanakopita and the gyro dinner shown above (I get it without the onions) are always great, especially with a Mythos or other Greek beer.

28812 S.R. 54 (813) 535-7678

’ve said before that when Glory Days Grill first opened in New Tampa a few years ago, replacing the popular Lee Roy Selmon’s, I wasn’t a big fan. However, when Jannah and I first tried the new Glory Days on S.R. 54, less than a mile from my office, we immediately recognized that the menu had been greatly upgraded. Even though they did away with our favorite appetizer (zucchini fries), the burgers (try the proprietary blend) are excellent and I also enjoy the comeback chicken (with sundried tomatoes and feta cheese in lemon-butter sauce), fried chicken & waffles, the Boston clam “chowda,” the 1988 center-cut sirloin and the house-marinated pork chops shown above.

ARROY THAI

27427 Wesley Chapel Blvd. Pinebrook at The Grove plaza (813) 501-4924

or anyone looking for delicious (which is what “Arroy” means) Thai food in Wesley Chapel, Arroy Thai is fast, casual and excellent. I enjoy the lunch specials, which include steamed jasmine rice, fried wontons and a salad with peanut dressing for only $8.95-$13.95, depending upon the protein you choose — which for me is usually chicken or pork, with garlic and black pepper sauce, although I also love the spicy basil and fresh ginger sauces, too. I also love the crispy duck dinner entrées, although I’m not big on curry sauces or noodle dishes.

FORD’S GARAGE

25226 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz (813) 540-3673

nother mini-chain (with 14 of its 16 locations here in Florida) with really good food, Ford’s Garage features a big variety of prime black angus burgers, plus excellent sesame-crusted ahi tuna and a giant funnel tower of jumbo piston onion rings and six different kinds of mac n’ cheese. Jannah and I love the grilled chicken Henry entrée (shown above) and the chop salad and the 10-oz. NY strip steak entrée is tasty, too. With great drink specials and lots of indoor and outdoor bar seating, Ford’s Garage lets

ased on my experience at other ice rinks when both of my sons played ice hockey, I had no real expectations for good food when what is now called AdventHealth Center Ice first opened. Boy, was I wrong. Not only does Top Shelf have some of the best wings, burgers (photo) and bar food around, it also serves delicious mixed veggies as a side and the craft beers from owner Keelan Cottle’s own 81Bay Brewing are definitely popular with the hockey moms and dads. Top Shelf also is mine and Jannah’s favorite place to watch Lightning games. you keep your social distance, too.

GLORY DAYS GRILL

at AdventHealth Center Ice 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd. (813) 953-1032

LITTLE ITALY’S FAMILY RESTAURANT

THE GARDEN GRILLE

24436 S.R. 54, Lutz (813) 909-2122

wners Jessica and Carl Meyers’ seemingly hard-to-find location on S.R. 54, a mile or so west of the Tampa Premium Outlets, has been bringing in hungry fans from the moment it opened and the addition of beer, wine and homemade sangria definitely hasn’t hurt business, either. Although I’ve always said that the menu could be more diverse, if you’re looking for huge portions of lasagne, chicken or veal parmigiana (photo, usually offered as a special only) and, especially the calzones, this is your place. I can’t partake of the “lobsta” ravioli, but I’ve seen and heard many rave about it.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 4 • February 16, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

Neighborhood News

at the Hilton Garden Inn 26640 Silver Maple Pkwy. (813) 591-6900

lease stop me if you’ve heard me say this before, but when the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel first opened in late 2018, it hosted a Grand Opening event, where the food served in the hotel’s Garden Grille restaurant was so good, I thought it must’ve come from an outside caterer. Wrong! The food at the Garden Grille is excellent, from delicious crispy wings, to tasty meatballs, perfect Pan Asian ribs and even a great New York strip steak (photo). I wish the Garden Grille was open for lunch, but it’s also great for “event” food like a unique French toast casserole for brunch and more. The bar is never crowded and has great drink prices. @NTWCNews

RICE-n-BEANS

900 DEGREES WOODFIRED PIZZA

27405 Wesley Chapel Blvd. (813) 803-7974

lthough I never really thought of Puerto Rican food as one of my favorite Latin cuisines until I tried the original location of Rice-n-Beans on S.R. 54 in Lutz, the beautiful new location (in the former Cody’s Roadhouse building) has kept me a fan of Wesley Chapel’s Rice-n-Beans, especially the amazing fried chicken chicharrons shown above. I’m also a fan of the roast pork mofongo, the grilled pork chops and chicken breast in garlic sauce. And yes, the rice and (I prefer the red) beans served with every meal are also delicious and authentic. Rice-n-Beans also has great drink prices at its spacious, full-liquor bar and had added salsa dancing and other entertainment pre-pandemic.

Shops at Wiregrass 28152 Paseo Dr., St. 195 (813) 527-6940

he next three restaurants, which tied for my 25th place this year, are all among my favorite NY-style pizza places (see pg. 42), but all three also feature one or more of my favorite local pasta dishes, so they all deserved to be on this list. I personally prefer the NY-style to the woodfired Neapolitan-style pizza at 900º Woodfired Pizza, but my favorite dish is definitely the freshly-made penne pesto Genovese shown above, although I usually have owner Steve Falabella’s happy crew add grilled chicken and even some sautéed spinach to mine. The penne alla vodka and lasagne are awesome, too!

AMICI PIZZA

FRATELLI’S PIZZA & CAFE

26602 Wesley Chapel Blvd. (813) 973-9734

or anyone who loves authentic NY-style pizza, the new location of Amici’s on Wesley Chapel Blvd (aka S.R. 54) in Lutz has brought me ever closer to the Mannino brothers and their delicious pizza. But, like 900º Woodfired, Amici’s makes my list of Wesley Chapel favorites in part because it features a very authentic NY-style version of another one of my favorite pasta dishes — the linguine with white clams shown above. I can’t really call it a sauce, because it’s correctly more of a light broth, but it is loaded with whole clams and garlic and is a definite must-try! And, although I’ve never been a big fan of the garlic knots at most pizza places, try Amici’s garlic bread with marinara dip. Yum!

5327 Village Market (813) 991-1118

ven though I didn’t remember the name of their long-time, open-24-hours-a-day original Fratelli’s in the Hunts Point Market in The Bronx, NY, I am so happy that the Fratelli brothers decided to sell that location and bring their tasty NY-style pizza and pastas to Wesley Chapel. I was even happier when I first sampled the truly authentic penne with broccoli rabe, chicken and sausage shown above. You won’t find better broccoli rabe in the Tampa Bay area and the baked pastas and hot subs also rock! Fratelli’s also features Jannah’s favorite garlicky Grandma’s pizza in Wesley Chapel.

GARY’S NEXT 25 WESLEY CHAPEL FAVES (in alphabetical order)

All of these restaurants also are very good, just not good enough (in my opinion) to make my Top-25 in (or adjacent to) Wesley Chapel.-GN FJ Express Arepa Mia Hibachi Express Bahama Breeze Irish 31 Best NY Pizza Medilish Bonsai Sushi NY NY Pizza Bosco’s Italian-to-Go O’Brien’s Irish Pub Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. PizzaMania Brunchie’s Sweetea Café Burger Monger Taco Bus Cantina Laredo Vallarta’s Capital Tacos Wolf’s Den Chuy’s Tex-Mex Yamato Japanese Steakhouse First Watch Five Guys Burgers & Fries For more of Gary’s 2020 Faves, see pg. 42!

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4839 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. | PastadiGuy.com | 813.994.1294 | Open every day (except Mon), Noon-9pm Neighborhood News

@NTWCNews

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Zukku-San Is Taking Its Place Among Wesley Chapel’s Best! By Gary Nager

If you somehow haven’t seen it as you crawl to or from I-75 on S.R. 56, or you haven’t seen the ads (or my previous shorter writeups) in these pages, a favorite from Tampa’s Armature Works has opened in our area. Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill opened towards the end of 2020, next to Crumbl Cookie, and has brought that great Tampa vibe along with it. But, while the Zukku Sushi location in the Tampa Heights Market at Armature Works is set up (like most restaurants in that space) as a faster-food mix of “curated” sushi, poké bowls and sushi burritos,

co-owner Ferdian Jap and his possible future brother-in-law and co-owner/Executive Chef Gia Tran (Ferdian’s girlfriend is Gia’s wife’s sister) have brought the same “works of art” feel to the coolly elegant Zukku-San, which is much more of a sitdown, fine dining restaurant, featuring a super-premium, full liquor bar. Gia, who spent several years at Sushi Alive in the Westshore Business District, followed by five years at Ocean Prime outside of the International Plaza, says that Zukku-San allows him to get even more into his unique combination of knowledge and love of the freshest sushi and the ability to create more upscale works of art that he learned at Ocean Prime. In fact, “Zukku” is a canvas commonly used by artists to create their masterpieces and “San” is a title of respect added to a name in Japanese. Amazing food is the art form and the chefs are the artists who use the finest ingredients to create these culinary masterpieces. In fact, there even are large and small sushi and sashimi palettes served on a custom artist’s palette. These folks are not playing around when it comes to food. If you spend a few minutes with Ferdian and Chef Gia, you can tell just how excited they are about their latest venture together (they also have a Zukku Sushi location in Charlotte, NC) — and they’re not the only ones. Although fans of Zukku-San pack the place (but please note that there are few eateries better set up for social distancing) for dinner virtually every night, Gia and Ferdian only recently unveiled a new lunch menu, so the lunch crowd is just now building. But, while you can get the full dinner menu if you go at lunch time, there also are lunchonly items, like excellent tuna and other poké bowls and tender short rib and other bento boxes (all of which include salad, rice, two fried gyoza, or pork dumplings, and Zukku-San’s amazingly fresh and delicious sautéed veggies). The bottom line is that whether you go for lunch, dinner or drinks and appetizers, you really can’t beat the quality — or the artistry — of Chef Gia’s food at Zukku-San.

For Starters...

(Above, top to bottom) Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill offers a wide variety of sushi rolls. The steak yakitori and tuna tataki starters are both among Gary’s favorites. And, Gary says you simply have to try the zucchini tempura. (Right, top to bottom) Exec. Chef Gia Tran. The delicious beef short ribs bento box. Most Japanese restaurants offer a fried gyoza appetizer, but very few offer soft shell crab tempura. (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager) 38

Jannah and I haven’t always gotten a full meal when we visit Zukku-San because the starters are just so delicious — and many of our favorites appear on this page. But, every dine-in visitor to Zukku-San also receives a towel that puffs up when your server pours hot water on it. But, neither photographer Charmaine

George nor I got a picture that really does it justice, so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself, OK? But, even though Jannah and I aren’t as big on sushi as some Zukku-San diners, the fish is always fresh and excellent, as is the seared ahi tuna tataki. Also outstanding are the fried vegetable spring rolls (served with a unique orange chili sauce), the skewers of beef tenderloin and chicken yakitori (shrimp and scallop yakitori also are on the menu; all are skewered with fresh sautéed onions, peppers zucchini and even broccoli) and the fried pork gyoza. But, our favorite starters are probably the wide variety of Tempura a la Carte options. Jannah’s favorite is the zucchini and mine are the broccoli, carrot and amazing whole soft shell crab tempura. Also on the tempura menu are shrimp, sweet potato, tofu, whole giant squid, avocado, scallops, hamachi (yellowtail) collar, asparagus, onion rings, red and jalapeño pepper and even whole lobster tail tempura. “Most Japanese restaurants give you an order of tempura that may have some vegetables you don’t like,” Ferdian says. “But, we give you four pieces of zucchini or broccoli or whatever vegetables you like, for only $2.95 per order. At Zukku-San, you pick only the tempura items you want.” There’s even “Chef’s Features” available, like the tender bluefin tuna appetizer, topped with caviar, shown in my “Gary’s Favorites” short capsule for Zukku-San on page 32. Ferdian says that it’s likely to become a regular menu item in the future, but Gia says other “Chef’s Features” also are coming soon. There also are soups and salads available as starters, but other than the ginger salad that comes with the entrées, Jannah and I haven’t sampled any of them...yet.

Check out New Tampa’s Lima Restaurant to find out

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From The Wok & Grill

Just in case you’re still hungry for more than just appetizers, Zukku-San offers mine and Jannah’s favorite chicken teriyaki (right), which is served with those most delicious sautéed veggies. Also available are dinner portions of those tender, delicious grilled short ribs, plus items we haven’t tried yet, like soy butter glazed baked salmon, miso garlic scallops or tofu, and wok-fired hibachi and udon noodle dishes, all with your choice of protein, or just with veggies. But, it’s really hard for us to ever pass up the Japanese-style fried rice, which is jasmine rice with egg, peas, carrots and onions and available with chicken, beef, shrimp or fried tofu protein options, but our favorite is the veggie fried rice (right), which adds red peppers, broccoli, zucchini and amazing baby bok choy. The rice has a nutty flavor that is hard to match. Zukku-San also has a kids menu, but while the items aren’t cheap, the portions seem adult size to us. There’s also a variety of desserts, from triple chocolate cake to matcha green tea cheesecake, fried ice cream and more, but we’ve honestly never had room left over for dessert. There’s also a variety of hot and iced teas, as well as boba milk tea, but Jannah usually gets a wine or hot saki and I usually have either an Asahi Dry or Sapporo beer, or a whiskey. Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill (25916 Sierra center Blvd., Lutz) opens every day at 11 and is open until 9:30 on weekdays, 10 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. & 9 p.m. on Sun. For more info, visit ZukkuSushi.com, call (813) 419-1351 or see the ad on pg. 35.

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17631 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (in front of Home Depot) @NTWCNews

For takeout or more information, call 813.528.8088

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New Tampa & wesley Chapel Classifieds HOME IMPROVEMENT

TOM JOSEPH HANDYMAN: FREE ESTIMATES! Serving residents, Realtors & property mgrs. 30+ yrs home construction exp. Move in/out setups & repairs. Repairs for sale/rent. Hang flatscreen TVs. Setup wifi & home theater. Install closet organizers. Cabinets, pullouts, shelving. Gen’l carpentry. Crown molding. Kitchen backsplash. Door install/repair & more! Call 813-7514998 or email JosephHomesllc@outlook.com

AMBLER ENTERPRISES Home Improvement. Call James at 813-385-6402. 30 Years of exp. Specialist in Kitchens & Bathrooms. Referrals upon request. All interior work: Drywall, Texture Paining, Doors, etc. Use us once & you won’t need to look elsewhere. Google us to see pictures: Wesley Chapel Ambler Enterprises. See our display ad at the bottom of this page! JUNK HAULING SERVICE! • We handle all types of furniture removal — bedroom sets, chairs, mattresses & box springs • Hot water heaters & hot tubs — take apart & remove • Construction material • Carpet removal • Estate, eviction, yard, garage & attic clean-outs • Office, home & factory • Comm’l/resdt’l. GorillaJunkremovalExperts.com. For appts/info, call/text Nigel @ 888-346-5865. WESLEYCHAPELPRESSUREWASHING.COM Soft pressure ext. house cleaning, screen enclosures, pool decks, driveways, sidewalks, fences, roofs, paver sealing & deck staining. We clean everything. No job too big/small. Exp. the difference when you hire a pressure cleaning pro. Licensed & insured. Owner operated. Call for a free estimate or visit our website. 813-433-6015. RAYMOND PAINTING. Ext. & Int. Svcs. Exterior: Painting, pressure washing, clean & seal pavers, stucco, roofing, leaks & wood rot repair. Interior: Painting, plastering, ceiling & wall repairs & tiles. Licensed & Bonded. References available. Free estimates. Your Neighborhood Arbor Greene Resident! We work 7 days. Call 813-994-5124. CHARLES POPPE ELECTRIC. Electric of all kinds: pools, spas, svc changes, new circuits, low-voltage, repairs, upgrades, changes to existing, troubleshoot’g, GFCI performance testing, generators. We are experts w/40+ years exp. Discount of 50% off labor for senior citizens! Lic’d & Insured Master Electrician (EC 13002399) - free phone estimates. Call 813-477-9068.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

TJ’s PRESSURE WASHING LLC. Houses, Fences, Driveways, Lanais & Screened Enclosures. Most resdt’l 2-car driveways & vinyl fences start at $75. House washing starts at $150 for 1-story home & $199 for 2-story home. Need an instant quote? Text me a picture of the job you need done. Call Tj at 727-808-7775.

HOME HEALTH CARE

SENIOR OVERNIGHT COMPANION SITTERS Two kind senior sisters seeking work safeguarding your loved one during the overnight hours. We’ve been working w/the senior population for 10 years & have seen a need for local, English-speaking, background-checked, Covid-tested, dependable companions w/their own transportation. Very reasonable rates. Call Diane or Elisa at 813-938-8614. CNA/HHA available to do private duty care in your home. 30 years of exp. Will attend to all of your daily needs. References upon request. Call Rhonda at 850-586-1868.

MISCELLANEOUS GET $500 TOWARDS CLOSING COSTS... when you buy a NEW CONSTRUCTION HOME with Florida Homes with Geri at Epperson OR Mirada. Schedule a PRIVATE TOUR of both Communities by a Resident Realtor. Join @LifeAtTheLagoon with @RealtorGeri Call/Text 813-609-0966. Connect with me on Instagram & Facebook.

CLEANING SERVICES

A-to-Z CLEANING & ORGANIZING. House & Ofc Cleaning & Organizing Svcs! We use our own supplies. Affordable & Reliable. Family-Owned & Operated. Wesley Chapel Resident. Weekly / Bi-Weekly / Deep Cleaning/ Move-In / Move-Out. Serving Wesley Chapel & New Tampa. Call today for a FREE No-Obligation Quote: 813-462-1270. Local references supplied upon request.

CLEAN-IT RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL CLEANING: Following all CDC Guidelines, 18 years cleaning in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel. Licensed & Insured. Call 813.505.0431, email cleanitmc@gmail.com or see our display ad on page 41!.

MILLENNIUM HOME REPAIR. Prof’l Handyman. Cabinet install., dry wall repair, tile install. & repair, some plumbing, laminate flooring, light fixtures, int. painting, appliance install., pressure washing, paneling, window repair, awning install., carpentry, garbage disposal, fence repair, crown molding, window blinds, seal baths & showers, TV mounting & more. Call 813-400-1408 or email TycoonUnion@yahoo.com.

B CLEANING SERVICES: Over 18 years experience! Commercial and Residential; Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly; New house and post-construction clean-up; Window cleaning; Move-in or move-out cleanings; Pressure washing; FREE estimates; References available. Call today: 813-531-0154 or e-mail: bcleanings@hotmail.com D-ULTRA CLEANING SERVICE We have our own supplies & more than 400 clients in New Tampa! For more information, call 813-758-9710 or see our display ad below right.

DRY WALL SPECIALIST. Not a handyman. Affordable, Quality Work repairing water damage, ceilings & walls, retexturing, popcorn removal, room addt’ns, cracks, holes, plaster & stucco repair. 26 years exp. WC resident. State Certified. Call Ron for a free estimate: 813-784-5999.

1,850-sq.-ft. Commercial/Medical Space Available to Lease. Address: 24420 SR 54, Lutz (in the MediWeightloss Building). For more info, call 813-293-4377 or email: gwillett@mediweightlossclinics.com.

COMMERCIAL SPACE AVAILABLE

LAWN & LANDSCAPING

ALL DIMENSIONS LANDSCAPE & EXTERIORS, LLC. Complete residential & commercial landscape, hardscape & softscape. Mulch & decorative stone. Patios, decks, retaining walls, property maintenance & lawn care. Sod & lawn installation, artificial turf, fencing, railings, soft & hard pressure washing, painting. We do anything exterior. Call (724) 541-2535 or (813) 485-6661 for a 25% discount on labor & materials. NTLC Property Maintenance. Residential & Commercial lawn maintenance for New Tampa & Wesley Chapel. Sprinkler repairs, tree trimming, mulching, landscaping & clean-ups also available. Licensed & Insured. CALL BILL @ (813) 973-3825.

A.T.B. Landscaping & Lawn Service. Licensed & insured, serving the Tampa Bay area over 20 years. Family owned & operated. Quality work at affordable prices. We provide gutter clean-out, screen repair, pressure washing & sprinkler repair. Landscaping & property maintenance including: sod, tree & hedge trimming & clean ups. Other services are available. CALL 813-907-LAWN (5296). Jasmine Landscaping, Inc. Complete lawn maintenance: Tree, palm & hedge trimming, planting, mulching, stones, sod replacement. Gutter cleaning, leaf removal & more. Cited by your HOA? Ask about our HOA Compliance Special, our Fall/Spring Special & FREE ESTIMATE! Licensed & insured. Accepting new residential & commercial accounts. We accept Visa, MC, PayPal, Zelle, AmExp. Call or text 813-420-4465. Now hiring full-time workers. HEAVY HITTER LAWN CARE: Veteran owned & operated lawn care maintenance service, focused on lawn mowing, trimming, edging and blowing (flexible with extra services). Well maintained & professional laborer ensuring customer satisfaction & on-time cuts. Rain or shine, the quality & schedule will be kept. Licensed & Insured. Call or text 678673-7856 for your FREE ESTIMATE.

COMPUTER/BUSINESS SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL TECH SUPPORT in your home or small business. A+, Certified computer tech w/20 years exp. Maintenance & Repairs, Upgrades & Tutoring. More affordable than large chains! Friendly, personalized service. Technical jargon explained. Remote assistance avail. References avail. Call (813) 957-8342 for a free estimate or see our ad on pg. 37. DO YOU HATE YOUR COMPUTER?!? WE CAN HELP YOU! Troubleshooting, Installation, Networking & Virus Removal. WE COME TO YOU! Residences & Businesses, more than 25-Years Experience. Contact Jeffrey Blank at 813-973-4507, visit WSICA.COM or email Wsica@wsica.com.

TREE SERVICE

FITZPATRICK’s TREE SERVICE. 25-years of Professional Service. Licensed & Insured. Free Estimates. Tree Trimming & Tree Removal. Stump Grinding. Dead-Wood Removal. Affordable Rates. 24-Hour Emergency Storm Service. Free Mulch. Call 813-495-9541 or 813-788-TREE.

__ESTATE SALE

Sat. & Sun, March 6-7, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Everything must go! Furniture, dishes, cookware, tools, home decor and much more! 37609 New Horizon Blvd., in Grand Horizons, Zephyrhills, FL 33541

POOL SERVICES

ALLSTARPOOLSOFTAMPABAY.COM. Pool cleanups, & acid washing of old pool finishes. Marcite, quartz & pebble finishes from $3K. We offer cool decking, Eurocrete & paver decking options. Paver, river rock sealing, leak detection & in-ground vinyl liner replacements avail. We sell quality salt & ozone generators, pumps, motors & filters. Mention this ad for a $79 pool service (restrictions apply). Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel since 1990. Call/text 813244-7077 or visit AllStarPoolsofTampaBay.com. TRANQUILITY POOL SERVICE. New Tampa owned & operated. Great Pricing with outstanding customer service! LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED. See why we are New Tampa and Wesley Chapel’s #1 Choice!! Call or Text Chris today @ 813-8575400 or visit TranquilityPoolService.com. New customers get ONE MONTH FREE! AQUATEC POOL SERVICE has been keeping pools clear & swim-safe since 1994. WE DO POOLS RIGHT! Commercial & Residential. CPO #33-303052 Licensed & Insured. Service guarantee. Call 813-312-5694 TODAY and get ONE MONTH OF QUALITY SERVICE FREE. www.aquatecpool.com. NEIGHBORHOOD POOLS Wesley Chapel owned & operated since 1999. Weekly service. No long term contracts. Mention this AD for one-month Free service. Call 813-907-7322 for details or text Joe at 813-758-7608.

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHER AVAILABLE! Retired Professional Photographer (45+ years experience) in the Tampa Bay area. Corporate Events, Personal Occasions, Portraiture, Pets, Commercial Photography & Real Estate. Reasonable rates. Ask me about “Front Porch Portraits,” taken from the safety of your front porch, FREE OF CHARGE! Great for Families, Children, Pets & more! Call or Text (813) 748-3901 or Visit: russellleprephotography.com.

FITNESS & WELL BEING

YOGA, PERSONAL TRAINING, NUTRITION & PHYSICAL THERAPY w/DR. LAUREN LEIVA, DPT! Phys Ed for everyone, including all children, w/a certified personal trainer who also is a degreed Dr. of Physical Therapy. Ask Dr. Leiva about her PE4ME sliding scale pay program! For more info, visit TheExerscienceCenter.com, call 813.464.0313 or see the ad on pg. 6 of this issue.

Break It Down Productions. Customized Private Yoga Sessions w/Susanna Jones. Develop strength & flexibility, while learning how to breathe & relax. I specialize in working w/beginners and those requiring a more gentle approach than most group Yoga classes. I explain everything, and provide variations so that you actually feel good in the stretch instead of strained. Gift certificates available. www. breakitdownproductions.com or Call (813) 802-8393.

Specialist in Kitchens & Bathrooms with 30 Years of Experience! All interior work, including drywall, texture painting & more. Use us once & you won’t need to look elsewhere! Google us to see all of our 5-Star Reviews & more pictures:

Wesley Chapel Ambler Enterprises 40

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 4 • February 16, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

Neighborhood News

___

@NTWCNews

• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly scheduling • As needed, Deep Cleanning & Spring Cleaning • Realtor, investor & REO Clean-ups

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Protect your children and pets with Tampa Bay’s only organic monthly fertilization and pest control • Courteous, friendly customer service • Monthly service from $40 per month • State licensed spray technicians • Organic/natural fertilizers • On-time service • Amazing results • No contracts • Special discounts on irrigation repairs and inspections

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Neighborhood News

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 4 • February 16, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

GARY’S TOP-25 NEW TAMPA FAVES

GARY’S NEXT 25 NEW TAMPA FAVES

(in 2020, in numerical order)

Despite the pandemic, New Tampa also had a good year for new restaurant openings and below are my top-25 favorites, new and existing, for 2020. Just as in Wesley Chapel, all 25 of these are actually pretty great, in my opinion, so being #25 on this list is still impressive, as I sampled close to 80 eateries in New Tampa alone. — GN 1. Stonewood Grill & Tavern 2. Via Italia 3. The Fat Rabbit 4. Lima Pruvian Cuisine 5. Cali-Tampa Palms (née Ciccio Cali) 6. Las Palmas Latin Grill 7. Liang’s Bistro Asian Cuisine 8. Oronzo Honest Italian 9. Acropolis Greek Taverna 10. Bayscape Bistro (Heritage Isles GC) 11. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse 12. Thai Ruby 13.Frammi (formerly Oakley’s Grille)

14. Michi Ramen 15. Mahana Fresh 16. Full Circle Pizza 17. Sushi Café 18. Woodfired Pizza & Wine Bar (Bearss Ave) 19. Glory Days Grill 20. Island Fin Poké Co. 21. Mr. Dunderbak’s 22. The Little Greek 23. Thai Lanna & Sushi 24. Peabody’s 25. The Brunchery

GARY’S TOP-12 BARS/TAVERNS (in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel)

Whether or not they also serve food, before the pandemic hit, Jannah and I spent a lot of time at these local bars, whether to watch the Lightning or the Bucs or to sing karaoke or check out live music. And, although Covid-19 has been tough on everyone, there’s no doubt that the bar business at all of these places has been hit especially hard. — GN 1. Joe Whiskey’s (see ad below) 2. Rock & Brews 3. Top Shelf Sports Lounge 4. The Brass Tap 5. Bubba’s 33 6. The Fat Rabbit (NT)

7. Stonewood Grill & Tavern (NT) 8. Grillsmith 9. O’Brien’s IrishPub 10. Chuck Lager America’s Tavern 11. Glory Days Grill 12. Bonefish Grill

(in alphabetical order)

All of these restaurants also are good, just not good enough (in my opinion) to make my Top-25 in New Tampa. I’m even admitting to liking some “fast food” places.-GN Al-Sham Palace Hunter’s Green Country Club Aroy Thai India Gate Restaurant Koizi Endless Hibachi Bearss Tavern & Tap Minerva Indian Restaurant Burger 21 Cantina Mexican Grill Mulligans Irish Pub (at PCGC) Cappy’s Pizza Olive Garden Capri Pizza Palm Thai Deano’s Pizza & Pasta PJ Dolan’s Irish Pub Don Julio’s Authentic Mexican Saffron Indian Cuisine Sushi Avenue Five Guys Burgers & Fries Ginza Endless Sushi & Hibachi Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club Ho King Taste of NY Pizza Hummingbird Jerk House

GARY’S TOP-10 NY PIZZA PLACES (in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel)

I also love Neapolitan-style pizza from Via Italia (which also has Roman-style and other unique options), Woodfired Pizza (Bearss Ave.), Oronzo and Cali-Tampa Palms, as well as Chicago-style pizza from Full Circle Pizza and Cappy’s, but as a native New Yawka, I’m happy to have access to all of these NY/NJ-style options in our two distribution areas. — GN 6. Best NY Pizza 1. NY NY Pizza 2. Amici Pizza & Pasta 7. Peabody’s (NT) 3. 900º Woodfired Pizza 8. PizzaMania 4. Fratelli’s Pizza & Café 9. Pomodoro Pizza 5. Taste of NY Pizza (NT) 10. Capri Pizza (NT)

GARY’S TOP-10 PLACES FOR STEAK (in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel)

There’s nothing like a tender, juicy filet, NY strip or bone-in ribeye and these are all excellent options (most don’t offer all three of my faves, but still) in our two distribution areas. — GN 1. Tropics at Saddlebrook (Dempsey’s steak) 6. Outback Steak House 2. Treble Makers 7. Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (NT) 3. Stonewood Grill & Tavern (NT) 8. Bubba’s 33 4. Longhorn Steakhouse 9. Liang’s Bistro (NT) 5. Grillsmith 10. Yamato Japanese Steakhouse

GARY’S TOP-10 DESSERT PLACES (in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel)

Even though Jannah and I are (mostly) sticking to our diets, I couldn’t let a year pass without giving my favorite dessert places — not restaurants serving dessert, but mainly dessert places. 1. Ice Dreammm Shop (SR 54, Lutz) 6. Cold Stone Creamery (NT) 2. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream (NT) 7. The Cake Girl (Lutz) 3. Nothing Bundt Cakes 8. Menchie’s Frozen YogurtCafé 4. Crumbl Cookie 9. Batter & Dough 5. 35 Below (NT & WC) 10. The Cake Shop NT)

......iaila

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 4 • February 16, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

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12/29/20 9:57 AM

Is Right Now the Right Time to Sell? If you’re on the fence about selling your house, now is a great time to take advantage of today’s sky-high demand, low supply, and fierce buyer competition.

HOME SHOWINGS

INVENTORY OF HOUSES FOR SALE

BIDDING WARS

compared to last year

low supply = high demand

offers received on average

47.2%

43%

List your house NOW before everyone else does! Contact me and visit www.ChrisHenryRealty.com SCAN WITH YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

Making Every Moment Count (813) 917-1523 / Chris@ChrisHenryRealty.com