Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, Volume 29. Issue 2, January 19, 2021

WESLEY CHAPEL

Volume 29

Inside:

Which Were The Best New Restaurants To Open Here In 2020?

See pages 30-31!

Issue 2

NEWS

January 19, 2021

Like No Other?

The All-New Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment Is Opening Soon & You Definitely Need To Check It Out!

By GARY NAGER

If you’re looking for the most comfortable reclining theater chairs in the business, Mark Gold says the all-new Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment has you covered. (Photo by Charmaine George)

When you’ve been in the local news business as long as I have, you hear a lot of people do a lot of talking, but very few back up their words with solid action.

Considering that developer Mark Gold of Mishorim Gold Properties has only owned The Grove shopping center development for about a year, you’d think there’d be no way he could back up everything he promised to do when he spent more than $64 million to buy The Grove in late 2019.

And you’d be wrong.

Since then, during the worst pandemic of our lifetimes, Gold has turned The Grove area he calls “The Village” from a mostly vacant mess into a vibrant new destination anchored by Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant and Double Branch Artisanal Ales, with much more to come.

Closer to the Outback Steak

House, Gold already has begun delivering on another promise — to create a container park that will dwarf Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa by sometime this year.

But now, Gold has done something that certainly seemed impossible when he took over the former Cobb 16 Theater at The Grove towards the end of last summer — he’s not only ready to reopen it, he’s completely transformed it into The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment — and he promises the formerly failed movie theater he and his team have totally overhauled in less than six months will be a safe, family-friendly experience that will attract visitors from far beyond the borders of Wesley Chapel.

“South Tampa will come here to see this,” Gold promises. “There’s nothing else like this in the U.S.” Before you doubt him, I invite you to keep reading.

See “The Grove Theater” on page 4!

Feel Like Something Tropical Without Getting On A Plane? See pages 34-35.

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It’s All About Giving Back For The Olympus Pools Family!

An editorial by Gary Nager

When I last owned a home, which was a dozen years ago, most of my neighbors in Hunter’s Green had pools behind their homes.

The lot I raised my boys on was plenty big enough for a pool, but we had two big dogs and our yard was used more for throwing around footballs and baseballs than anything else — and I did my lap swimming at the New Tampa Family YMCA in Tampa Palms.

But, one thing I know for sure. If Olympus Pools was around and had the kind of technology they do now that would allow me to build the lap pool of my dreams (with an outdoor grill kitchen for me and a hot tub and maybe a waterfall for the family) closer to when we first moved into that house in 1995, I might have forgotten all about using our yard as a football field.

But, even though Olympus Pools owner James Staten and his family hadn’t yet opened what today is the #1 pool builder in the entire Tampa Bay area (more on that below) that long ago and didn’t start advertising in the Neighborhood News until 2015, there also is no doubt that no company has built more pools in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel since that time than Olympus. I’m also certain that no other swimming pool contractor has ever given back — and/or continues to give back — more to the communities they serve than the Statens.

New I-75 interchange is part of a major congestion overhaul for Wesley Chapel.

Page 6

Our friend Jennifer Murtha had nothing but nice things to say about her family’s pool — which was built & completed during the pandemic in time for the 4th of July by Olympus Pools.

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Page 10

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So, Why Am I Telling You This?

In the 5-6 years I’ve known the Staten family, all I had ever heard from people in both of our distribution areas was that they 1) had found out about Olympus from the ads and stories about the company in the Neighborhood News and 2) that they loved the pool Olympus built for their family.

That is, until this year, when a few people in a local online community expressed their displeasure with the amount of time it was taking to get their pools built by Olympus, with a couple of them saying to, “use anyone else but Olympus Pools.”

I was stunned and dismayed to see people turn on this wonderful family and their company, especially since it was so soon after my friend Jennifer Murtha had just posted such glowing reviews on the same Facebook community of not only the final result (photos) of her family’s Olympus-built pool, but also the entire process from start to finish.

Of course, I called the Statens first to find out what was going on but I also looked into how the pandemic had affected the swimming pool business not only locally but in warmer-weather markets across the U.S. In a year when almost every industry has taken a major hit from Covid-19, the pool contracting business is up by 38%, which has caused the wait times to get pools built to increase by 50% or more, with few exceptions.

“There are many problems people in our industry have all been dealing with,” James says, “from entire teams of contractors having to quarantine because of Covid, to the shutdown of most government agencies, including those responsible for construction permits, to a shortage of concrete and other See “Olympus Pools” on pg. 38 Neighborhood News

INSIDE:

Our editor picks the best restaurants to open in our area in 2020.

Pages 30-31

Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News

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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 4, of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News is Monday, February 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.

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

3

‘The Grove Theater’ Continued from page 1.

I’ll admit I was excited when Mark Gold and his team took us on an exclusive tour of all of the unique entertainment options that will be available right here in Wesley Chapel when The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment opens to the public sometime after this issue reaches your mailbox.

The Grove Theater will have 12 new-release movie theaters, including six VIP sections upstairs, with literally the most comfortable reclining theater seats you’ll find anywhere. But, that’s just the beginning.

In addition to a huge arcade stocked with 43 giant-sized video games near the entrance, The Grove also has one theater that will be solely for children in a safe, supervised environment.

“It’s going to be like a nanny room,” Mark says. “Parents can feel comfortable leaving their kids while they have dinner or watch their own movie.”

Another will be home to a “Spin Theater,” equipped with competition-style stationary bikes, both for top athletes to use for training and for those who want to exercise while watching a movie. There will be instructor-led classes, as well as open spin classes.

Still another theater will be available for rent for private parties and events. “For a birthday party, you can rent the theater for $300-$400, pick whatever movie you want and we’ll screen it just for you,” Mark says.

Plus, yet another theater will be offering Broadway and other professionally produced shows that Mark says will be brought in by a professional theatre company.

And finally, as we announced in our Sept. 29, 2020, issue, one theater will be the concert-style-seating home of SideSplitters Comedy Club. There’s even a SideSplitters reception area near the completely reconfigured movie concession stand. SideSplitters, of course, has a popular location on N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood, where top-level comics, as well as yours truly and members of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel have performed.

A True Dining Experience

But, best of all, Gold also has transformed the theater’s second-floor dining and bar area into a legitimate high-end bistro, complete with a sushi bar and Italian-trained

4

(Above left, top row) Viviane (left) & Mark Gold and (bottom row) Matheus Gold (left) and Tom Peck took the Neighborhood News on an exclusive guided preview tour of the completely revamped Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment on Jan. 6. (Above right) About half of The Grove Theater’s huge arcade of 43 video games for kids of all ages were delivered shortly before our tour. (Photos by Charmaine George) Head Chef Wissam (“Sam”) Itani.

“It’s a chef-driven concept,” says Grove Theater manager Tom Peck. “We’ll have everything from Mediterranean items like chicken shawarma, steaks, salmon, you name it.”

Peck adds that the whole concept is to keep guests at the Grove Theater for longer than the average 2-1/2 hours (Above left) The new seating area for The Bistro at The Grove Theater will feature high-end cuisine by Italian-trained spent at most theaters Head Chef Wissam (“Sam”) Itani (right), plus a sushi bar (below left). The “Spin Theater” bikes are being rearranged by the average movie- to allow attendees to watch a movie while cycling or prepare for upcoming races by seeing different terrain on-screen. goer. “We’re not just a & Entertainment. movie theater,,” Peck There’s literally nothsays. “We’re both a great restaurant and the ing else like it. greatest entertainment experience ever.”

“This is a totally Concerned about safety these days? new concept that is Who isn’t? But, Gold and his team have the future of movie that covered, too! theaters in the U.S.,” “I think we’re #1 in safety out of all the movie theaters in the country,” says VP Mark says. “Everyone of operations Matheus Gold. “We have fog really needs to come machines sanitizing each theater after every see this place.”

For more info movie, disinfecting UV lights, temperature about The Grove and mask checks when you enter and hand Theater, Bistro & sanitizing stations everywhere.”

Entertainment, In other words, if you live anywhere visit GroveShopnear Wesley Chapel, you should definitely check out the all-new Grove Theater, Bistro ping.com.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

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Big Year For The Grove Kicks Off With NYE Party We’re looking forward to meeting you at The Grove!

— Katherine & Lead Pastor Garrett Hamblen

Brand new, life-giving, community-focused church launching January 24th!

At The Grove Theater

Help us light a new SPARK in Wesley Chapel!

More than 1,400 people attended The Grove’s New Year’s Eve pary, which developer Mark Gold says is only the beginning of socially distanced events planned for his property. (Photos: Don Idio Visuals)

For more information and to join our launch team, visit SparkPasco.com

By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com So, The Grove is kicking off 2021 with a new a new theater, bistro and entertainment center, a mini-golf course and a potential water park and also will launch KRATE — a highly-anticipated one-of-a-kind container park — this year, so it was only fitting to kick off 2021 with a large fireworks display.

A New Year’s Eve celebration at The Grove drew more than 1,500 people in a socially-distanced, outdoor venue where party goers enjoyed food, drinks and entertainment, capped by a 15-minute display of fireworks to welcome in what will be a monumental year for the property.

The event was held in the outdoor space next to the new Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment (see pages 1 & 4), which was expected to open just before this issue reached your mailbox.

New Year’s Eve Guests sat at tables distanced more than six feet apart and under outdoor strings of lights. They danced to the live sounds of Tampa vocalist Samantha Leigh.

VIP guests had access to a sneak peak inside the theater, where violinist Cal Morris serenaded the guests as aerial artists from Aerial Dragons Studios twirled in the air. They also enjoyed drinks at the open bar and appetizers.

“We are excited to be able to provide an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate in a safe yet fun environment,” said Mark Gold, the developer and landlord at The Grove of Wesley Chapel. “It was an amazing event that showcased the high level of entertainment The Grove has to offer.”

Gold said the event was just the first of many he hopes to hold in 2021.

Neighborhood News

(Above) The Grove developer Mark Gold and wife Viviane ring in 2021, while (below) a juggler was part of the NYE entertainment that also included live bands and a deejay.

“As we open up our movie theater of the future and our unique Krate container park, we will hold events just like what we did for New Year’s Eve to complete The Grove’s transformation as a destination and an experience,” he said.

New Tampa-based MFT Events was the company that put on the celebration.

This was their first event at the Grove, and they hope not their last.

“The Wesley Chapel community came out with energy like no other,” said Brian Thomas, president of MFT Events and a 2009 graduate of New Tampa’s Wharton High. “We can’t wait to show what we have in store for 2021.” @NTWCNews

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

5

I-75 At Overpass Rd. The Latest To Get Under Way

By JOHN C. COTEY john@neighborhoodnews.com Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore says one of the most common complaints he receives from his constituents is about the traffic, especially here in Wesley Chapel.

Before too long, however, he says many of those complaints will go away.

“There’s a lot going on, and a lot of (transportation) projects are kind of coming together at once and are going to make an enormous and immediate impact,” Moore says.

Three major local road projects, totalling nearly $150 million combined, are under way right now. The projects — the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at S.R. 56 and I-75, the widening of S.R. 54 to past Morris Bridge Rd., and a new I-75 interchange at Overpass Rd. — will provide a large measure of relief to our area.

The $33-million DDI (which we’ve updated for you quite a bit recently) and the $42.5-million widening project — which will widen S.R. 54 from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with medians, and include a sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot

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Overpass Rd., similar to the one in New Tampa at the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. Exit 270 off I-75. The Overpass Rd. interchange will be Pasco County’s first flyover.

The existing Overpass Rd. bridge over I-75 is being torn down and will be replaced by two bridges, one each for eastbound and westbound traffic on Overpass Rd. “You could say incorporating that particular design The rendering above shows the planned flyover entrance to I-75 at the new Overpass Rd. interchange (Exit 282), is the wave of the which began construction in October and is expected to be completed by 2023. (Rendering: FDOT) future,” Moore says.

“We’re not going drainage work in the southwest corner wide multi-use trail on the south side have to have to go back and fix someof the planned interchange.

— are both well under way.

Meanwhile, the $70-million OverInstead of a traditional interchange, thing like what’s going on with S.R. 56 and I-75. With that interchange, it’s pass Rd. interchange will be located or even another DDI (which was just going to be general maintenance.” approximately halfway between the considered), the Florida Department FDOT’s John McShaffrey says the S.R. 54 and S.R. 52 exits (which are six of Transportation (FDOT) and Pasco flyover configuration was selected “primiles apart), and work began on the County have settled on a flyover ramp project in October, with local road and onto southbound I-75 from westbound marily because this alternative provides

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widening of Overpass Rd. from two lanes to four lanes between the interstate and Old Pasco Rd., and from two lanes to six lanes between the interstate and Boyette Rd. The interchange is being constructed by the Middlesex Corporation, and is expected to have a major effect on the adjacent interchanges. It was the best choice to accommodate the traffic from future development coming to the east side of the county, primarily from the Epperson Ranch and Pasadena Hills communities.

this growing area of the county, and is identified as a needed improvement to accommodate the Villages of Pasadena Hills development and the Connected Cities development. * Will improve access to I-75 for businesses that will be located at the approved Overpass Business Center, and will provide a direct route for businesses that are/will be located along the entire length of Overpass Rd., as it develops eastbound towards U.S. 301. * FDOT and the county both acknowledge that the existing system, even with reasonable improvements, is incapable of satisfactorily accommodating future traffic demands. The location of this

new Exit 282 Overpass Rd. interchange is ideal in terms of placement (approximately 3 miles from both Exit 285, or SR 52, and Exit 279, or SR 54).

The estimated completion time of the Overpass Rd./I-75 interchange is summer 2023. The DDI and widening of S.R. 54 could be completed by the end of this year.

“I’m excited as a resident and as someone who has a wife and daughter that drive,” Moore says. “We see the effects the traffic has. But, also as an economic impact, too. When companies are looking to grow or relocate, they are looking for areas that have a great transportation infrastructure.”

Other benefits of the I-75/ Overpass Rd.) interchange, according to FDOT: * It will substantially reduce traffic at the adjacent interchanges (SR 54 & SR 52), thus improving the traffic flow at both The widening of S.R. 54 (pictured here is the inter- of these interchanges (reducing section of SR 54 and Meadow Pointe Blvd., as of De- delays and improving safety). cember 13, 2020) is one of three major road projects, * It will provide a detour along with Overpass Rd. and the DDI, currently route for traffic on I-75, quicker under construction in Wesley Chapel. (Photo: FDOT) access for first responders servicing this area of I-75, and another the most capacity to handle anticipated access point to I-75 for evacuees during future traffic demands for the westemergency evacuations. bound Overpass Rd. to southbound * It is an integral part of the transI-75 traffic movement.” portation network being developed in The project also will include the

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

7

‘Sports Tourism’ To Bring Visitors Back To Pasco County

By JOHN C. COTEY

john@ntneighborhoodnews.

If tourism is going to bounce back from the Covid-19-ravaged 2020, a series of spikes, dunks, cheers and racquet sports will have a lot to do with it.

At least that’s how it looks to Pasco County tourism director Adam Thomas, who says that after a tough year for tourism around the world, events are returning to Pasco’s “sports tourism” sites, including the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, Advent Health Center Ice and the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis Center — all part of the county’s “Florida’s Sports Coast” branding.

Thomas says the three facilities have 14 events scheduled for the first two months of the year, with many more to come, as national governing bodies like USA Volleyball, USA Wrestling, USA Powerlifting and others look to take advantage of Florida’s open-for-business status and have eyed the Wesley Chapelarea to hold events.

“We are just now getting back to normalcy,” Thomas says, despite rising Covid numbers in Pasco, in Florida and around the nation. “We are looking at sports tourism in 2021 to really get us back to where we need to be.”

One event that won’t provide as

8

(Left) Club volleyball has been keeping the January calendar full at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County. (Right) The SVB Tennis Center in Zephyrhills is attracting sports tourism with growing sports like padel (photo) and pickleball.

much help as originally expected is Super Bowl LV, which is being played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 7. Generally, a huge event like the Super Bowl would have a major economic impact on nearby Wesley Chapel, with visitors staying in local hotels and eating and shopping at local restaurants and stores.

But, Covid-19 protocols will limit the crowd at Raymond James Stadium, which can hold 65,890 fans. At just 20 percent, that means an estimated crowd of only 13,000 for the Big Game.

Thomas thinks Wesley Chapel will

still enjoy some benefit from the Super Bowl, but in October, Pasco backed out of plans to spend $250,000 on a Super Bowl sponsorship and instead use that money for something more likely to bring a bigger return to the county.

So, while the Big Game won’t make as much of an impact, hundreds of little ones will — and that’s fine with Richard Blalock, the CEO of RADDSports, which runs the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, thanks to a public-private partnership between Pasco and RADD Sports.

The 98,000-sq.ft. AdventHealth

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

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Sports Arena will host a variety of club sporting events in 2021, bringing hundreds of teams and players and their parents’ wallets to Wesley Chapel.

The January calendar was filled with volleyball tournaments and gymnastics meets. Volleyball and gymnastics club seasons will roll into a basketball club season in the spring, and then the camp season over the summer. The Sports Campus is already proving to be responsible for a lot of hotel room nights and money spent at Wesley Chapel restaurants, malls and shopping centers, as nearly every weekend is booked through August and even Covidplagued 2020 proved to be a success.

“We are not one-sport-specific, and that helps us,” Blalock says. “We made that decision by design. We can run a multitude of events here. As one season ends, another is starting.”

Blalock says in August and September of 2020, the first six weeks the Sports Campus was open, its events were responsible for 1,800 hotel room nights and just over $150,000 in sales, resulting in a $1.2-million indirect impact on the local economy.

He doesn’t have numbers yet for the rest of 2020, but Blalock says he expects to exceed those numbers in 2021.

He says this while staring out his office

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window at construction workers laying masonry blocks on the fourth floor of the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, which is being built adjacent to the arena on the Spots Campus site and is expected to open around the first week in August.

But, 2021 also is planned to include an NFL-style combine for pro football hopefuls, organized by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Yo Murphy, as well as the possibility of European soccer teams camping here prior to their fall 2021 seasons.

Hockey Tourism, Too

Thomas says the Sports Campus isn’t the only local venue to have a slew of events booked to meet pent up demand. AHCI currently is hosting a six-week United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) camp — a college and pro showcase with hundreds of players staying at Saddlebrook Resort and playing games at AHCI — as well as in Ellenton and Brandon.

The USPHL’s Hub City concept is designed in part to make up for the loss of games and exposure events for players last year, especially from hockey areas hit particularly hard by Covid-19, like the northeastern U.S. Because so many events were cancelled last year and so many seasons went unfinished, Thomas anticipates eager event organizers to be heading our way.

“Our event calendar looks pretty promising,” he says.

The county won’t recover in one year, Thomas adds. He believes the Covid-19 vaccine will help make people more comfortable when it comes to travel and attending larger events, but that change will take a while. While 2021 is expected to put the Florida Sports Coast back on track, Thomas says the tourism industry is looking at 2023 before a full recovery can probably be expected.

“It’s going to take some time,” he says. “We’re still licking our wounds.”

When the pandemic hit last year, the county was coming off a record-setting February. March began the nosedive, and when the state was shut down for much of April, the county saw its tourist tax revenue drop to below $100,000 for the month, down from $430,000 in tourist tax collected in April 2019.

There is some good news, even if it is anecdotal — Thomas says the last weekend of 2020 saw 6.2 -percent growth, with almost 40 percent hotel occupancy.

“We had a really good week,” he says.

“Hopefully we’ll continue to see that.”

In fact, Lisa Moore, the market director of sales for the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel on S.R. 56 says, “We’ve been at or near 100% occupancy every weekend since the Sports Campus opened. It (2020) was a tough year, but things are looking better now.”

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For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

9

RADDSports Community Open House A Socially Distanced Success!

By Gary Nager; Photos by Charmaine George The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is doing more than just helping drive sports tourism in Pasco (see pages 8-9). It is providing a unique venue for locals, both children and adults, to enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor sports. On Jan. 3, the Sports Campus hosted a Community Open House inside the AdventHealth Sports Arena, which introduced mask-wearing, socially distant locals to these programs. And yes, it was a great success.

“We signed up more than 40 new people, mostly kids, from the event,” says RADDSports director of marketing Jannah Nager. “The event also introduced people who attended to our Sports Campus sponsors.”

RADD Sports is the private company providing the programs and managing the Sports Campus through a public-private partnership between RADD and the county.

RADD Sports founder and CEO Richard Blalock says that although the Sports Campus is already proving to be popular for both locals and competitive tournaments in the “core” sports being offered — basketball, volleyball, cheerleading and soccer (both in and outside of the AdventHealth Sports Arena) — “Events like the Open House allow more local residents the opportunity to check us out and see everything we have to offer.”

Among the sponsors with booths at the Open House were Island Fin Poké Co. (see story on pgs. 34-35), Abdoney Orthodontics, Glory Days Grill, Culver’s, Urban Air Adventure Park, the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel, the Hampton Inn and the Neighborhood News.

For more info about programs at the Sports Campus, see the ad on pg. 9 or call (833) TEAM-RADD. For sponsorships, email Jannah@RADDSports.com.

10

(Clockwise from above) At the Jan. 3 Community Open House for the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, every attendee was temperature checked. The USF Bulls cheer squad held a practice inside the AdventHealth Sports Arena at the Sports Campus. Attendees got to meet the Sports Campus sponsors, including Abdoney Orthodontics, which provided a putting green, and Island Fin Poké Co., which had people hula-hooping.

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

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12/29/20 9:57 AM

Feel The Thunder At The Wesley Chapel District Park!

By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

The Wesley Chapel District Park (WCDP) on Boyette Rd. may not be as large as the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus a few miles to its south (see pgs.

8-10), but its own little mini-sports campus is rounding into shape nicely.

The latest addition is a new Tampa Bay Lightning-sponsored street, or ball, hockey rink, which officially opened a few days before Christmas. It was constructed just a few steps away from WCDP’s new 17,800-sq.-ft. indoor basketball facility, which broke ground in July and is expected to open by late summer 2021.

“It’s nice to see the park growing and offering more and more opportunities for kids to play different sports,” said District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who has coached a variety of youth teams at WCDP, but the only basketball and volleyball offered at the park has previously been only outdoors.

In a public-private partnership between the Stanley Cup champion Lighting and Pasco County, two street hockey rinks were built in Pasco — one in Holiday, at the J. Ben Harrill Recreation Center, and the other at WCDP. The virtually-held ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rinks were held in Holiday and were attended by Tampa Bay Lightning CEO Steve Griggs, former Lightning general manager and 2004 Stanley Cup Champion Jay Feaster, former Lightning defenseman Jassen Cullimore and Stanley Cup captain Dave Andreychuk.

“We are very proud to open these two rinks today as part of our pledge to build 10 ball hockey rinks across the Tampa Bay area,” said Griggs. “These two rinks that we opened will give local youth the opportunity to get outside and play the great game of hockey. The Lightning would like to thank Pasco

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The latest addition to the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. in Wesley Chapel is a street hockey rink, which New Tampa resident Joe Rao drove up to try out one day recently. The rink, part of a partnership between the Tampa Bay Lighting and Pasco County, will host leagues this spring, whenever Covid-19 allows. (Photos: Charmaine George)

County for their enthusiasm and support in helping us make this a reality for everyone in Pasco County.”

The other rinks the Lightning have opened in the Tampa Bay area are in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Polk counties. They are of the Lightning’s Build The Thunder 2.0 and Connect the Thunder outreach programs.

In 2015, through the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) Industry Growth Fund, the Lightning announced a $6 million grass roots hockey development initiative to be delivered to young people throughout the Bay area.

The NHL club finalized its agreement to build the two rinks in Pasco County last January.

Wesley Chapel already has the popular AdventHealth Center Ice — the largest indoor ice skating/hockey facility south of New York in the United States — so Pasco County was an ideal location, says Josh Dreith, the Lightning’s community manager.

“I love Pasco County,” he said.

“There is a ton of Lightning fans in Pasco, and a ton of engaged kids as well.”

The county supplied the land and built the pads the rink is built on, and the Lightning built the actual rink, which is 120 feet long by 60 feet wide, has a full dasher-board system and a scoreboard. The Lightning also is providing the equipment, and will host a series of

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clinics to get the program going.

The county and Lightning will then coordinate actual league play, which could begin as early as March 2021, but will be dictated by Covid-19 conditions.

The rink also will offer plenty of free play time to the public.

For more information, visit LightningMadeHockey.com.

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Pebble Creek Golf Course Not Designated ‘Brownfield’ Site

By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com

The plan to have the Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) designated as a “brownfield” site has failed, saving the property value of many of the homes that surround the golf course.

Bill Place, whose Ace Golf Inc. owns the PCGC and has been trying to sell it for years now, said he will still go ahead with plans to decontaminate and sell the golf course to developers.

Place had been seeking the brownfield site designation, which carries with it a state tax credit equal to roughly 75% of the cleanup costs, for the golf course.

A brownfield site is a property that is contaminated, thus hindering efforts to expand or redevelop it. In 1995, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created a tax-credit program to help clean such properties up, so it could be reinvested in, helping the local economy as well as the local environment. The EPA estimates there are more than 450,000 brownfield sites in the U.S. However, the word “brownfield” carries with it a negative connotation, especially in regards to a “green” golf course, causing Pebble Creek residents to rally together to fight against the course receiving the designation. There were petitions signed, a meeting on Nov. 30, and there were public hearings before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on Dec. 9 and Dec. 16, prior to the Board’s vote to deny it.

The message from the residents was clear — the brownfield site designation wasn’t deserved, carried with it a stigma and that they wanted the golf course to remain a golf course.

While at least one Pebble Creek resident registered support to doing what was necessary to get the course cleaned up — “the cat is out of the bag,” said Pamela Jo Hatley — the overwhelming majority were opposed to using the brownfield site designation to do so.

Michael Jacobson, the president of the Pebble Creek Homeowners As-

sociation, said that the contamination was mostly concentrated around the tee boxes and greens, and that the brownfield designation would suggest that all of the 150 acres were contaminated, having as much as a $62-million impact on property values in Pebble Creek.

Jacobson was one of 14 speakers registered at the BOCC meeting on Dec. 16 to voice their disapproval of the designation.

Following 30 minutes of public comments, the commissioners voted unanimously against the 150-acre property being declared a brownfield.

“I’ve represented North Hillsborough for a long time and, candidly, I do not believe I’ve ever seen a neighborhood more engaged and unified in opposition to an issue,” said County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who District 2 includes Pebble Creek. “This is evidenced by the over 300 emails, 150 letters and 450 residents who signed an online petition and — with the exception of (one) — 100 percent being in opposition to the brownfield designation request for the Pebble Creek Golf Course.

I want to deny that request today.”

While admitting that the future of the PCGC was “uncertain,” Hagan cited a number of concerns. First, the loss of 30 jobs that would result if the designation was granted and not meeting the economic productivity threshold that is required.

Also, the county has never before designated an active golf course as a brownfield site, and that all recent brownfield approvals have been zoned for their intended uses in advance of the brownfield request, which did not happen in this case. “Not only is this request putting the cart in front of the horse,” Hagan said, “but it would potentially be precedent setting.”

Place was disappointed in the decision, but said that he understood. He had even offered to pull his request for the designation, but it was too late.

“I didn’t expect the pushback when I started this,” Place said afterwards. “I realized as we got into it that it is a poorly named program. It conjures up images of the superfund industrial sites (which are designated as polluted locations that

require a longterm response to clean up hazardous material contaminations). The reality is, brownfield is used across the country in a number of locations, including golf courses. But, I get it. I understand.

If I lived there, and someone told me The Hillsborough County Commission voted against giving the Pebble Creek it was gonna be a Golf Club a “brownfield” site designation after the community rallied brownfield, I’d be against course owner Bill Place’s request. (Photo: Charmaine George) concerned, too.”

Floor will concurrently start a rezoning So what now? effort. While it is likely to meet some Place says he will pay for the testing, resistance, 13th Floor has already held which will take place over the next few a number of meetings with the Pebble months.

Creek HOA, as well as with residents.

DR Horton, one of the original While the property could accominterested buyers of the PCGC, had done modate as many as 600 homes on it, 13th preliminary testing two years ago and disFloor has already agreed to build fewer covered contaminants on the golf course than 300. Place says that number is now before withdrawing its interest. South projected to be between 220-250.

Florida developer 13th Floor, however, Place also said that 13th Floor has remains interested. agreed to other concessions requested by Place said that after DR Horton did residents as well. its “very preliminary” testing of the golf “I certainly expect there will be people course, he paid $50,000 to a company that opposed to this being anything but a golf did more extensive testing. High levels of course,” Place said. “But there’s also people arsenic and dieldrin were discovered, from insecticide applications before he owned the that realize that if it’s a certainty that the golf course is going away, why don’t we try property, Place says. He added that those and get as much as we possibly can from chemicals were banned prior to 2000, and the developers to make this as good a situahe bought the course in 2005. tion as we possibly can?”

“The company told me this is not There are only 20 golf club members unlike what they have seen on golf among the residents in the 1,400 or so courses this age,” Place says. “It’s not as homes in Pebble Creek. Place said he excessive as some they have seen, but yes, spends $500,000 every year on labor and it’s contaminated beyond state levels and fertilizers. The 53-year-old course, which we’ll have to clean it up before anything opened in 1967, still has its original irelse can be done with the property.” rigation system.

Place estimates the potential cleanup “We’ve just been band-aiding it and could cost $1 million, although 13th band-aiding it,” Place said. “It would cost Floor has told him it could cost as much a half-a-million dollars to put a new one as $2 million. Without the tax credit from in. The golf course is not viable going the brownfield designation, which would forward. It’s just not paying the bills. We have covered three-fourths of that cost, don’t see another way. You can only operPlace will have to foot the entire bill. ate a losing operation for so long before He also said that while the remediayou’re like, ‘Okay, why am I doing this?’” tion of the contamination begins, 13th

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Nerds To Go Brings Technology Solutions To You

By MIKE CAMUNAS Mike Varnadore has a need for speed — on computers.

The former Master Sergeant, who spent 20 years in the Air Force, is now the local franchise owner of the Nerds To Go Computer Services franchise in the Pebble Creek Collection plaza on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa. Nerds To Go offers in-home computer repair and services, as well as a wide variety of IT and other technological needs.

“Computers are my first love,” Varnadore says. “Not my only love — I love my wife and kids — but my first passion was computers and that’s because they are always teaching you new things. You never get bored because it’s always changing and getting better and faster.”

And, everyone wants their computer to be as fast as possible.

“That’s what we can do,” Varnadore says. “We can take an older, slower computer and get it running faster. We can get all of your devices updated and all of your Wi-Fi cloud services up and running and we can remedy any tech issues. And quickly, because we do it all by coming to you.”

And certainly, given the state of how much business is being done virtually right now, and with most people, and small busi-

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The team at Nerds To Go in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa is ready to bring a tune-up to your home computer. nesses, working from home — Varnadore’s home computers for this kind of purpose, Nerds To Go franchise, which he opened in so we were getting a lot of calls about apps not working or older computers that were August 2019, has been in high demand.

“Around February in 2020, the very slow — everyone needed a lot of upworld changed,” Varnadore said. “(Con- dates and upgrades.” ducting business) became a different Luckily for Varnadore, Nerds To Go model, and everybody shifted to a virtual was declared an essential business during model with Zoom and the need for better the pandemic and could stay open. home Wi-Fi. People were also not using “We’re so thankful for that because I

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don’t know how we would have survived,” Varnadore says. “At the beginning of the lockdown, we were extremely busy, but now it has settled into a regular routine again and, obviously, there are still plenty of technology services in high demand.”

Varnadore says there is a corny story about how his life led to being a “Nerd to Go.” And even though it was never his plan to work with computers for nearly 40 years and counting, it’s still an interesting story to hear.

In 1983, Varnadore was just a 20-year-old kid in the Air Force with no direction as to what he wanted to do. With no college education yet, his duties really just involved guarding planes on base in Virginia. Then, his roommate at the time bought an Apple IIe computer, something he’d never seen before.

“It was a small little thing,” he says, “and he shows me how it can write programs to do stuff, and, wow, something just clicked and it left a lasting impression on me.”

So, a year later, after doing a little research of his own, Varnadore bought his first computer: a Commodore 64, which led to him taking more classes on computers and technology. All of this led to his first Information Technology (IT) role for the Air Force.

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“We have hardware repair for every device and the ability to support small and medium businesses, their network, cloud services and also manage their devices,” Varnadore said. “It gives me the opportunity to do all the things I love about IT.”

Your Local Nerds

Varnadore’s Nerds To Go business provides services to several areas in Tampa, but specifically in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Carrollwood, University and even out to Brandon.

And, while Nerds To Go offers a wide variety of customers from mom-and-pop shops to law firms to asphalt experts — even the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News! — Varnadore says his franchise recently has landed education-related customers. Those include Livingstone Academy’s four locations in the Brandon area, but also Ridge Manor Christian Academy, which just implemented a school-wide tablet system of up to 100 iPads.

“That’s how they download videos and lesson plans and do a lot of learning techniques,” Varnadore says. “We support that network, which is all in one building and it’s been running just a few weeks now, but running smoothly with no problems.”

And, as mentioned before, Nerds To Go even supports and services all of the IT and technology needs of the Neighborhood News. “We helped you all with an office

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When the base got its first computer — a Zenith Z-100 — his commander asked his squadron if anyone knew “how to do things with this” device, and Varnadore said he could, “so he was like, ‘Well, I guess that makes you the IT guy.’”

After that, Varnadore became a programmer and went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Hawaii Pacific University and a doctorate from the University of Phoenix, all in IT Systems Management.

After 20 years in the Air Force in charge of computer labs and maintaining all the simulation devices and technology, he retired to civilian life, but then spent 15 years working in corporate IT for a global aerospace and defense technology company, Northrop Grumman, in Virginia.

However, Varnadore still held a strong desire to run his own business. So in 2015, he moved to Florida because he “always wanted to retire there someday.”

He kept working remotely for roughly three years for Northrop Grumman and also started teaching IT and technology classes online for the University of Maryland as well as at Hillsborough Community College, and still teaches today.

Eventually, his business research led him to the Nerds To Go franchise because he liked the business model and there were no locations yet in Florida. Today, there is another Nerds location in Bonita Springs and fewer than 30 locations in 17 U.S. states.

move not too long ago,” Varnadore said, “and I’m pretty sure you’re all very happy with how that went.”

Our publisher, Gary Nager, most definitely agrees. “Without Nerds To Go, there’s no way our computers and network could have been taken down at our old office and set up at our new office without missing a beat,” Nager says. “I’m so glad we found Mike and his crew.”

Moving forward, Varnadore realizes that the landscape in technology is always changing, that computers can get passed by pretty quickly. That’s why the biggest seller Nerds To Go sees is taking an old computer and refurbishing — replacing the hard drive so it runs fast again. The Solid State

Drive Bundle starts at $149 and includes a full data transfer. Varnadore compares it to upgrading your vehicle because all computer users have the need for speed.

“We can take an old computer, like an old car, and turn it into a new computer,” he said. “Depending on what you get, we can have your slow computer running like a Porsche in no time.”

Nerds To Go Tampa, which also repairs and stocks supplies for mobile phones, is located at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite C6, in Tampa. For more information, visit NerdsToGo. com/location/tampa-fl, call (813) 3211700 or check out the ad on page 27 of this issue.

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Samantha Taylor Fitness Continues To Help Women Look & Feel Their Best

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN When the Covid-19 pandemic forced gyms to close in March, it took Samantha Taylor Fitness just 48 hours to completely pivot its method of delivery so that clients of the private training studios could continue their workouts virtually.

“We were doing 13 virtual workouts a week within two days,” says Samantha, the CEO who began her career in the fitness industry 28 years ago and launched her own business more than 20 years ago.

Today, there are four Bay-area Samantha Taylor Fitness studios, including Wesley Chapel, Land O’Lakes, Carrollwood and Palm Harbor.

But now, the fitness studios have reopened and clients are given many options to work out safely, whether it’s in person or online. “During this difficult time, one thing you don’t want to do is put your health and fitness on the back burner,” says Samantha. “That’s not going to help you reduce your risk.”

She says that the CDC website lists obesity as one of the highest risk factors for not only contracting Covid-19, but also for having increased complications.

“Everyone’s body responds differently, but you have a better chance of it not affecting you as much if you’re healthier

Small, socially distanced classes at all of the Samantha Taylor Fitness studios are just one way the studio is making accommodations in response to Covid-19.

and have balanced blood sugar,” Samantha explains. “Statistically, if you’re healthy, even if you do get Covid-19, you’re more likely to get over it easier.”

Samantha says she understands that some people still may be fearful of going to a gym in person and if so, Samantha Taylor Fitness continues to offer virtual options, including recorded workouts that can be followed at home or virtual workouts with a private trainer via Zoom.

But, she’s quick to point out that a

recent study of 2,873 gyms by the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) analyzed millions of gym check-ins to determine that only 0.002% of the active gym members studied had contracted Covid-19.

“Some people might think gyms are a place Covid-19 is spreading, but it’s not,” says Samantha, likely in part because people coming to the gym are not as high-risk (because high-risk people are choosing to stay home) and have stronger immune sys-

tems as a result of being generally healthy.

She encourages anyone concerned about coronavirus transmission to visit her website at SamanthaTaylorFitness. com to see a comprehensive list of how the studios are responding to Covid-19, including protocols such as limited class size, social distancing within classes, and sanitizing equipment between each class.

“Samantha Taylor Fitness centers are private studios,” she explains, “not overcrowded gyms. We have plenty of space to spread out in all four of our studios.”

The Wesley Chapel location has its own standalone building off of S.R. 56, near I-75, in the Cypress Ridge Professional Center. Samantha moved the studio there in 2018 from its former location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. The new studio is bigger, with a larger personal training room, specialty rubber floors, and a private, first-floor entrance.

For Women Only!

All of the Samantha Taylor Fitness studios offer a women-only environment where clients can choose personal training in the form of 1-on-1 private training, group training, semi-private personal training or “fitness boot camp” classes. All workouts last just 30 minutes.

Before choosing between the programs at Samantha Taylor Fitness, a poten-

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(L.-r) Samantha Taylor has helped thousands of women like 80-year-old Lynn Smith get into the best shape of their lives. A recent “Cooking with Emi” segment had Samantha Taylor Fitness private chef Emi Covone teaching members of Samantha’s online community how to make cauliflower waffles.

tial client is invited to participate in a body transformation analysis, where you meet with a membership specialist in person, on the phone or via Zoom, to go over the many options available at the fitness studio.

But, it’s not just about working out.

“The only way to make lifelong, lasting changes is to learn how to eat,” explains Samantha. “It’s not about being on a diet or starving yourself, but figuring out how to eat in a way that you really enjoy that is simple and maintainable (for you).”

She says people can diet temporarily, but if they don’t learn to eat in a way that’s realistic and sustainable for them, they won’t stick to it.

She adds that the pandemic has led to many people complaining about weight gain, and it hasn’t slowed.

“The ‘Quarantine 15’ has now turned in to the ‘Quarantine 20 or 25,’” says Samantha. “If you don’t start making changes in the new year, that could possibly continue to increase, and you’ve increased your risk factors for Covid-19 even more.”

To help with teaching you how to eat, Samantha Taylor Fitness offers online cooking classes with in-house chef Emi Covone every week on its private, members-only webpage. Every week, a new, healthy recipe that has been approved by Samantha Taylor Fitness’ licensed dietitian Shannon Barker is shared with members.

In the new year, cooking classes will continue, along with other events and programs, and even free webinars.

To see what new programs are coming up, visit SamanthaTaylorFitness.com.

A Supportive Community

At Samantha Taylor Fitness, women also find a supportive community, which Samantha says makes it fun and helps women stay on track. And, while her 2020 six-week weight-loss challenge and awards banquets highlighting the studios’ success stories were virtual, Samantha says to check Neighborhood News

the website for updates for 2021.

At 80 years old, Lynn Smith is a Realtor who doesn’t yet have an eye towards retirement. She has been working out with Samantha for nearly a dozen years. When she first started, she had never exercised in her entire life. “I want to live to be 100,” Lynn says, “so I figured I’d better do something about my health.”

Lynn adds that those early days were extremely hard. “I had no muscle strength,” she says. And, while she wasn’t obese and didn’t have a lot of weight she needed to lose, she says she lost about 10-12 pounds and kept the weight off. “Samantha taught me the importance of muscle strength.”

She says now it’s easy, and even fun.

“I go three times a week, and the trainers challenge us every day,” Lynn says. “I look forward to it. The sessions are nonstop for 30 minutes, which is doable for just about anybody.”

Lynn likes that she works out in a very small group and that it’s for women only. “The trainers are very experienced and compassionate,” she says. “They want everyone to be successful.”

When she faced personal tragedy when her husband of 48 years suddenly passed away in August, Lynn says, “It was a big loss in my life. I’m so grateful that I have Samantha Taylor Fitness and that family to count on. I never really stopped going from the time my husband passed away. Everyone was very encouraging. Of course, you can’t wrap your arms around somebody like you could in the past but they’re there for me.”

Lynn adds, “I’m very proud to be where I am at my age. It’s never too late to start. I encourage anyone reading this to get started at whatever age they are.”

The Wesley Chapel Samantha Taylor Fitness Studio is located is at 26908 Ridgebrook Dr. For more information, visit SamanthaTaylorFitness.com, call (813) 377-3739, or see the ad on page 25. @NTWCNews

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23

WESLEY CHAPEL’S OUTSTANDING SENIORS

The Outstanding Senior Award is given to one senior each year in Pasco County on the basis of academic record, service, leadership, citizenship, and evidence of commitment to school and community. The award is selected by a panel of School Board employees and community members. Congratulations to this year’s Wesley Chapel representatives.

MATTHEW RAVENNA CYPRESS CREEK HIGH

LYNN ASARE-BEDIAKO WIREGRASS RANCH HIGH

SYDNEY BAUER WESLEY CHAPEL HIGH

Extracurricular Activities: Varsity Basketball, Student Government Treasurer, National English Honor Society, Creative Photography for Conservatory of the Arts and Painting.

Scholarship: I consider myself scholarly because I have been on the “A” (Principal’s) Honor Roll since I can remember. I have dedicated many hours of studying to prove to my teachers that they are doing a great job. I have always wanted to make sure that each teacher understood that I cared about their class and wanted to excel. I have enjoyed being able to teach my peers if they needed help and conversing with my parents about my accomplishments.

Service: I volunteer for numerous organizations because I believe it is necessary to give back to your community. I genuinely care for those in need.

With more than 165 volunteer hours, I have worked many sporting events, delivered beds to ABC families, parked cars for fund raisers, worked basketball camps for fund raisers, helped with Special Olympics, provided photography for football team videos and assisted students with classwork and homework as a Pack Leader for two years.

Citizenship: I strive to be an outstanding citizen by being a positive role model for my peers. In basketball, church, friend gatherings, or school, I present myself in a respectful manner, which many of my coaches and teachers have acknowledged. In fact, if I needed assistance from any of my previous coaches or teachers, they would be there with open arms; as I have done the same through respect, and an open mind—ready to learn.

Extracurricular Activities: Band (percussionist), Orchestra (violinist), Unity Club, National Honor Society and Key Club.

Scholarship: Currently ranked 2nd in my class, I have a weighted GPA of 4.65. I received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award for passing my AP exams with a score of a 4 or higher.

I will be graduating with my Associate in Arts college degree as a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and an AP Capstone diploma. I also placed 2nd in Engineering at Pasco’s Regional Science Fair for my sound engineering project.

Service: With 200 volunteer hours, I regularly engage with nonprofit organizations that help serve low-income communities, elderly communities, and raise awareness and profits for our local arts programs. I play violin during the holidays for Metropolitan Ministries, (participate in) gift-wrapping events, and perform at memorials, funerals, festivals and celebrations at my church. I also volunteer at Feeding Tampa Bay and at numerous other events annually through Key Club.

Citizenship: Through Unity Club, I strive to be respectful to all and help others in need through our anti-bullying and mental health awareness campaigns. Honesty, responsibility, and civility have been instilled in me by my mother and through the pillars of our disciplined band etiquette.

As a first-generation American, I understand the privileges that come with being a citizen and I always aim to be an active and upstanding one.

Extracurricular Activities: National Honor Society, Varsity Girls Soccer Captain, Yearbook Editor-in-Chief, Pack Leader and Positive Coaching Alliance.

Scholarship: Being a good student means completing assigned work on time and being willing to mentor and help my peers. As a pack leader, I tutor underclassmen and provide them with the tools that have helped me get to where I am today.

Success in the classroom has always been something I have been willing to work hard for. I believe that with hard work, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Service: Service builds character and allows one to be more aware of their surroundings. Service provides opportunities to experience life through another point of view. While providing service, a huge goal of mine is to inspire those I am helping. I dedicate a lot of my time working with younger students by tutoring, motivating, and driving them to greater achievements. Knowledge and success lead directly to growth in and out of the classroom.

Citizenship: Over the last four years of high school, I have been an active journalism member, editor-in-chief, a member of National Honor Society, and an active Positive Coaching Alliance member. Through my participation in all extracurricular activities and philanthropy, I have been able to share my knowledge and experience to those around me.

A key factor to my contributions to the community and the classroom starts and ends with providing service to others.

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Pasco’s AP Of The Year Now Leading Watergrass Elem.

By CELESTE McLAUGHLIN

When students at Watergrass Elementary went back to school after the winter break, they welcomed a new principal, Andrea Altman, who replaced the retired Scott Mitchell.

Altman was previously the assistant principal at Quail Hollow Elementary (QHE), where she had worked since February of 2019.

The day before she was notified that she had been tapped for the Watergrass job, Altman was surprised with another announcement: Her peers had voted her as Pasco County’s Assistant Principal of the Year.

Along with that title, Altman is now in the running for the Florida Department of Education’s Outstanding Assistant Principal Achievement Award, which is presented to a single statewide winner each year, typically in August.

“It was an exciting week,” she says.

Prior to working at QHE, Altman had been the assistant principal at Stewart Middle School in Zephyrhills since 2016.

While she says she enjoyed her time at Stewart, where she worked on inter-

Neighborhood News

Andrea Altman is the new principal at Watergrass Elementary.

vention teams to help students who were behind in school, Altman says she wanted to return to elementary school and also participated in the District’s principal preparation program.

A position as an elementary school principal was exactly her goal.

“I’m most looking forward to

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building relationships with the staff, students and community,” she says.

“I’m excited to learn about the traditions that make Watergrass a special place to learn and work.”

Altman started in Pasco County schools in 2008 as a classroom teacher, when her family moved to Florida and she began teaching at Veterans Elementary in Wesley Chapel. She was later hired as a literacy coach at Woodland Elementary in Zephyrhills, then returned to Veterans Elementary as a literacy coach. She held that position until moving into administration at Stewart Middle School.

At Watergrass, like other local schools, parents have been given the choice to send their children back to school in person or do online learning, so Altman will be responsible for students being taught both ways.

While she says that’s a challenge, she has seen that some children really thrive with online learning.

“I see it as an opportunity to reach some children who may learn best that way,” says Altman. “I see it as an opportunity to be impactful.”

Altman says she enjoys spending time with her husband, Eric, and her

two kids, a nine-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.

Since most of her time in Pasco County has been in the Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills areas, she is pleased to be able to continue to contribute to this community.

“In elementary school you have the opportunity to build the foundation for children,” she says. “They will grow up here, work here, and give back to the community here, so I really want to be a part of that.”

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25

Wiregrass Ranch High Wrestling Has Its Best Team

By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) wrestling coach Edward Ketler has the best team he has had in three seasons as the program’s leader.

He returned a strong core from last season, added a handful of new contributors and has the team off to a 5-3 start, including a third-place finish at their most recent tournament, which was held in Bradenton.

The coach’s expectations are high.

“We’ve done well and we’ve beaten some pretty good teams,” Ketler says. “I really think we’re going to be a contender at the (Sunshine Athletic) Conference meet on February 9.”

It has been the kind of the season that Ketler expected the Bulls would have. But, not necessarily with the exact same cast of characters.

Covid-19 has had a major effect on every high school sport in Pasco County, and the WRH wrestling team is no different. Even before the season started, Ketler lost two of his best wrestlers, who opted out of the season due to coronavirus concerns.

Both wrestlers — senior Chad Diaz and sophomore Deshawn Creary — were almost certain to be state qualifiers. Diaz, who wrestled at 152 pounds last year, was “100 percent” going to compete at state, and Creary was second at the SAC meet at 112 lbs. last year and was the Bulls’ Freshman of the Year.

Another key performer at 220 lbs., Andrew Martin, who was one of the top wrestlers in the state prior to missing almost all of last year with an ACL injury, decided not to return but not because of Covid-19.

“I was banking on a lot of my returning kids coming back,” Ketler says. “We’re good now, but we could have been a heckuva lot better.”

(Left) The Wiregrass Ranch High Bulls wrestling team has been able to overcome the loss of some key grapplers to compete with the best teams it has faced this year, and has its sights set on strong conference and district finishes. (Right) Micaiah Keim is one of the wrestlers who could earn a State berth, have putting on 40 pounds of muscle since his freshman year. (Photos: Charmaine George).

Returnees & Newcomers

The Bulls are good now due to the continued success of returning wrestlers like Donovan Eury (106 lbs.), last year’s team MVP, plus Devin Lanier at 112 lbs. and 132-pounder Roman Sanchez.

“Donovan has been on fire,” Ketler says. “And, Devin hasn’t looked back since the beginning of the season. Both have been great.”

Ketler says the return of Micaiah Keim, who was the team’s Freshman of the Year in 2018-19 before taking last year off, and the addition of his brother, freshman Josiah Kiem, has given the team an extra dose of toughness.

Josiah “is a little pitbull” at 132 pounds, and Micaiah wrestled at 152 as a freshman but is competing at 195 pounds this season.

“That’s about 40 pounds of muscle he has put on,” Ketler says.

Matt Sosa, who is 5” tall at 120 pounds, and 138-pounder Christian

Schlobolm, who Ketler says has an extensive jiu-jitsu background and has competed at high-level grappling tournaments, are two sophomores, and Josh Pollard also is joining varsity for the first time. The Bulls have four girls on the roster as well, including returning State qualifier Madyson Harris, and newcomer Jamie Sirianni.

□�

Ketler says Pasco High is still the team to beat at conference, but thinks his team might be the one to do it.

And, while his Bulls ranked last in the district two years ago and seventh this year, “I think we are underrated,” he says. “We have a good squad at all the weights and I think we’re more like top four. or five.”

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Here Are The 10 Best Restaurants To Open In Our Areas In 2020!

By GARY NAGER

With the possible exception of the hotel/tourism industry, there’s little doubt that the restaurant business was among the most Covid-affected industry sectors in Florida in 2020.

And, although many of the new eateries that opened in Wesley Chapel in 2020 were delayed by the pandemic, the past year was still one of the busiest for new restaurant openings in both Wesley Chapel and New Tampa.

Among the new eateries that opened in 2020 in (and adjacent to) Wesley Chapel and New Tampa were the following and please note that ALL of these restaurants will make my list of “Gary’s Favorites” in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for 2020 in our next issue: 1. Treble Makers — The dueling piano entertainment venue that opened in The Grove at Wesley Chapel during the early stages of Florida’s restaurant re-openings, Treble Makers was one of the few newcomers to register more than a blip with our readers, finishing as the 4th Favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel and Favorite American Restaurant in both of our distribution areas in our 2020 Reader Dining Survey & Contest.

If you haven’t tasted chef Kevin Maggard’s coconut curry grouper, fried calamari or grilled filet mignon, you owe it to yourself to check out Treble Makers for a dueling piano show on Friday or Saturday night‚ or anytime! (See the ad on pg. 33.)

2. Via Italia — With so many different kinds of pizza on the menu, you might think that Via Italia, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa was “just” a pizza place. All of the different styles of woodfired pizza are great, but try any of Via Italia’s fresh pasta dishes. Owner Roberto Maganuco has both pesto Genovese and pesto Siciliano dishes (which are amazing), but don’t wait as long as I did to try the linguine with white clam sauce — it’s the best I’ve ever had in Florida. Via Italia was voted the #9 Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa by our readers, but it surely would have finished higher (see list on pg. 33) had it been open longer...or in a normal year.

3. Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill — Again, Zukku-San (see ad on pg. 32)

opened too late to get any reader votes this year, but it is a beautiful new restaurant with a full liquor bar, great sushi and Japanese specialties (including the best tempura and chicken teriyaki we’ve had in years) and a true South Tampa vibe. Look for Zukku-San to register with our readers in 2021, too.

4. Rock & Brews — Considering how packed the place has been (even with social distancing) inside and out since the moment it opened, we were a little surprised that the first Tampa Bay link in this small chain (on S.R. 56) — inspired and owned in part

by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS — didn’t get any votes at all from our readers, until we realized that it didn’t open until a week before we shut down the voting. With great live music on the weekends and everything from unique bruschetta to sweet heat fried chicken and even pizzas on the menu, Rock & Brews will likely make our 2021 top-10.

5. Lima Peruvian Chicken — Anyone who looks up “Peruvian cuisine” online will find out that it is considered the #1 Latin cuisine and top two or three in the entire world — and Lima has authentic Peruvian rotisserie chicken, fish and seafood ceviches, baked scallops and so much more that it’s a shame some people thought it was another Mexican place that replaced El Pescador in mid-2020 in the New Tampa Center plaza on BBD. When I announce my favorite restaurants (new or existing) in New Tampa next issue, Lima will be in the top-5. (See ad on pg. 31.)

6. Florida Ave. Brewing Co. — Another hotly-anticipated entry that opened too late to receive reader votes this year, the former location of Sports & Field on S.R. 56 has a unique menu, with items like bibimbap bowls, Chinese sticky ribs and smoked gouda lobster mac & cheese, to go with more typical sports bar fare, an amazing craft beer selection, full liquor bar and private tasting rooms.

(See ad on pg. 31.)

7. Oronzo Honest Italian — One of two fast-casual Italian places in our area to make this list, owner Dan Bavaro (who also owns Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletano in South Tampa)’s Oronzo serves house-made pasta with delicious sauces and toppings, as well as pizza-style flatbreads, unique piadina sandwiches, plus salads, desserts and more — and

Gary Nager Ranks The Ten Best New Restaurants To Open In New Tampa & Wesley Chapel In 2020

1. Treble Makers 2. Via Italia 3. Zukku-San Sushi 4. Rock & Brews 5. Lima Peruvian Cuisine 6. Florida Ave. Brewing Co. 7. Oronzo Honest Italian 8. Aussie Grill 9. Pasta di Guy 10. (tie) Chuck Lager America’s Tavern 10. (tie) Mahana Fresh Special Mention: Bonefish Grill & Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market

The crispy, sweet & spicy calamari at Treble Makers is one of Gary’s favorite dishes at his favorite local eatery to open in 2020.

now serving beer and wine! Located on BBD in New Tampa, it’s worth the drive to check out Oronzo, a truly unique concept.

8. Aussie Grill — Although I’ve always enjoyed the Outback Steak House, here is another unique fast casual concept, this one from the folks at Bloomin’ Brands, that I really love — and not just because Jannah and I live across the street from its S.R. 56 location.

We definitely give thumbs-up to the bacon burgers and the topped grilled chicken and the order-ahead system is outstanding.

9. Pasta di Guy — Although he didn’t need to add his yummy (love the cheese!) oven-baked pizzas (see photo, right & ad below) for me to be a fan, Cordon Bleu (London)-trained chef and owner Guy Carmeli keeps making this already-popular fast casual Italian eatery better and promises to keep adding new house-made pastas like fresh spaghetti (but, the strozzapreti is still my favorite) and probably more appetizers.

I love the creamy pesto, vodka (1/2 Alfredo & 1/2 marinara), aglio e olio (garlic & oil) and beef bolognese (which does carry a $2.50 upcharge) sauces and I pretty much add Guy’s fresh sausage to everything.

10. (tie) Chuck Lager America’s Tavern — Jannah and I love the atmosphere

and many of the dishes at this third link in the U.S. of a new chain with a menu created by celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani. With a little more diverse menu and some better fish options, Chuck Lager could climb on at least my list of favorites for 2021.

10. (tie) Mahana Fresh — This second location (the original is in Bradenton) fast casual concept on BBD in New Tampa is different than most other “bowl culture” places because it offers not only three different kinds of grilled chicken, but also tender grilled steak as a protein option. There also are multiple kinds of rice and spinach salad as a base, but I’m kind of addicted to the kale crunch salad, as well as the sesame ginger broccoli, garlicky cilantro green beans and Mediterranean tomatoes.

Other new restaurants that opened in 2020 that I considered for this list: Michi Ramen (New Tampa) — When Michi Ramen opened before Oronzo on BBD in New Tampa, it was set up beautifully as a takeout-only, so I was stunned when I saw what a gorgeous restaurant it is inside, once it opened up during Covid.

The pan-seared Japanese-style gyoza (pork dumplings), tempura-style soft-shell crab, and popcorn-style fried chicken with spicy mayo are my favorite appetizers. I’m not the biggest ramen fan, or Michi Ramen would surely have made my top-10 favorite newbies.

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than “just” a restaurant, but Main Event did host one of the first North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pandemic-caused shutdown of just about everything here in the Sunshine State.

Double Branch Artisanal Ales — Again, Double Branch, located in The Village at The Grove of Wesley Chapel, doesn’t yet qualify as a “restaurant” — at least not until its kitchen opens — but it has offered pizzas from a food truck outside the craft beer brewery and should open a kitchen inside in 2021. Even so, enough of Wesley Chapel’s craft beer-crazed residents voted for it as their Favorite Bar in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel for it to finish in this year’s top-5 in that category.

Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. — As a transplanted native New Yorker, I appreciate the “legit” kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels and “Brooklynized” water used for the bagels and coffee at this new favorite on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, which could contend for “Favorite Breakfast” in our distribution areas with our readers next year and already scored with yours truly this year.

Crumbl Cookie — Although it also opened too late to make a splash in this year’s Reader Survey, not since Nothing Bundt Cakes opened in the Shops at Wiregrass has any new dessert-only place created such a stir in our community. The decadent churro and s’mores cookies are our favorites of Crumbl Cookie’s rotating flavors so far and the flavors of creamy ice

cream also are rotated weekly.

Arepa Mia (Lutz) — Located in the Grand Oaks Plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd., this authentic Venezuelan eatery offers a variety of meat-filled arepas and empanadas, as well as tequeños, chicken wings and even Venezuelan soups. Everything definitely looks, smells and tastes homemade, so I would love to see this menu expanded.

Gu Wei Noodle House (New Tampa) — This super-authentic Chinese-style (definitely not New York-style) Chinese restaurant opened late in 2020 at the former location of Sukhothai off BBD (near the AMC 20 Movie Theater). Noodles are Gu Wei’s specialty but I prefer the stir-fried rice with my dishes. Even so, I have enjoyed the pan-sautéed pork dumplings, the beef with broccoli, which is mild on the menu, but I ordered it spicy — and it was.

Special Mentions — Although there has been a Bonefish Grill in Wesley Chapel for years, Jannah and I love the new S.R. 56 location, which has lots more parking as well as seating at the bar. Yes, the menu is the same as always, but again, Jannah and I live across the street from Bonefish now.

And, even though Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market opened only nine days before the end of 2020 and doesn’t have dine-in restaurant seating, what this new gourmet shop does have are prepared foods as good or better than most restaurant fare.

Let me know if I missed any that opened last year that you love!

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31

S

tonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms has been either the #1 or #2 favorite restaurant in New Tampa every year since it opened and this year was no exception under new managing partner Matt Passardi.

For anyone who has never tried Stonewood, it combines fresh fish and seafood, perhaps the best variety of hand-cut steaks (like

in New Tampa

2

C

the tender, boneless ribeye shown here) of any restaurant in either of our distribution areas (Longhorn and Outback are the only ones even close), and the addition of lunch a couple of years ago definitely enhanced its standing as New Tampa’s favorite place for a great, more-upscale meal out, whether for lunch, dinner or even Sunday brunch.

3

ali-Tampa Palms (nee Ciccio Cali) The name has changed, but Cali was the first to bring “bowl culture” to New Tampa and still has some of the best wrap sandwiches, stir-fry dishes and thincrust pizzas in our area.

M

r. Dunderbak’s may have originally been located in the University Mall, but it has been New Tampa’s favorite German eatery since its move more than a decade ago to the Oak Ramble plaza south of Tampa Palms.

Yes, Stonewood now offers “bottomless bubbles” (for just $12 per person), along with unique brunch items like a crab cake or prime rib “Benny,” creme brulée French toast and shrimp and grits on Sundays, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

And yes, Stonewood also may have New Tampa’s favorite upscale bar scene, even though it didn’t make the top-10 in this year’s Survey.

5

4

T

he Fat Rabbit has only been

open for a few years in Tampa Palms, but it has made its mark on not only our readers but our staff as well — especially since it added a fresh catch entrée to its more upscale sports bar fare (amazing wings & burgers!).

L

iang’s Bistro has been among the top-10 in New Tampa with our readers every year since it opened and continues to be our readers’ favorite Asian restaurant in our area — for good reason. Our faves are the NY-style appetizers.

The entire list of our readers’ Top 20 Favorite restaurants in New Tampa appears on the next page!

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32

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FREE DOLE WHIP

WITH PURCHASE OF A BOWL* 6417 E. County Line Rd., #101 Tampa, FL 33647 | 813.575.8002 Located between LA Fitness and Winn Dixie

I S L A N D F I N P O K E .C OM *Limit one per coupon. Dine in or take out only. May not be combined with any other offer. Exp. 2/28/21.

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33

Island Fin Poke Co. Wants To Help You Live Healthier

By GARY NAGER

When Island Fin Poké Co. opened last November next to LA Fitness (south of County Line Rd. and west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd.), owners Jeff, Brenda and Jason Sproat never could have anticipated what came four months later (in March).

“Fortunately, we were able to remain open and were set up for all the pandemic concerns and restrictions,” Jeff says. “We have a very clean environment and quick service for takeout or delivery, while being affordable and healthy. We added on-line ordering with a curbside pickup option for convenience and safety.”

Jason, Island Fin’s general manager, says that he has seen many pre-Covid regulars starting to return recently.

“More of our guests are dining in and many long-time guests are coming in multiple times per week again,” Jason says.

Island Fin Poke Co. provides guests with “boat to bowl,” locally and responsibly sourced ingredients for each individual to create their own perfect poké bowl. With eight proteins, more than 25 toppings, a variety of house-made sauces and specialty mix-ins, the endless possibilities allow guests to get creative and try something new every visit. The restaurant’s comfortable beach shack environment brings residents on a short trip to Hawaii as they enjoy delicious, fresh and healthy, immune-boosting meals.

“Sushi lovers love our spicy tuna, salmon and ahi tuna,” Jason says, “while those who are not sushi fans or are hesitant about consuming raw seafood, can choose cooked chicken, shrimp or even octopus for their proteins.” And, Brenda says that the house-made sauces are what separate Island Fin from all others and the friendly, knowledgeable team helps you customize your perfect bowl.

Island Fin’s regular poké bowls typically provide 40g of protein and up to 90g in a double-protein bowl. Gym members, trainers and health professionals love it! Bowls that are perfect for Keto diets, and vegetarian and even vegan options also are available.

And Now, The Food!

I have been an Island Fin fan from

34

(Above left, l.-r.) Jeff, Jason and Brenda Sproat invite you to their Island Fin Poke Co. location next to LA Fitness off County Line Rd. at Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (Above right & below) It’s easy to create your bowl your way by adding your base, proteins, toppings and finishing sauces & crunchy toppings. (Top photos by Charmaine George)

Day One, especially since I can choose from spicy or regular tuna, or even have a scoop of each, in my bowl. Other proteins I didn’t mention before include salmon, Spam and tofu.

I try to stay away from both brown and white rice as my base, so I usually just choose the spring mix lettuce.

I love Island Fin’s mix-ins, although I

keep telling Brenda I wish there were even more veggies to choose from, but my faves are the OG (see below) veggies, the spicy pickled veggies, edamame and corn. There’s also sweet onions and jalapeños available.

The marinating sauces include Shoyu (gluten-free soy), Ponzu (soy with fresh orange, lemon and lime juices), Island Fin Fire (pineapple, habanero peppers, cilantro, wildflower honey & soy), Wicked Wahine (hot and sweet) and my favorite, the OG Sauce (sweet onions & fresh jalapeños, with soy, olive oil and rice vinegar). I avoid most of the crunchy toppings (like crispy onions, garlic, wontons and tempura crisps), but love adding sesame seeds, seaweed salad, cucumbers and pickled veggies.

I also don’t usually get a finishing sauce, but available options include avocado cream, wasabi cream, Togarashi and Jamaican cream, but I will probably try the new vegan Ono Ono sauce (sweet Thai chili, fresh cilantro and scallions and chili and ginger paste) in the future.

I love the Surimi (crab) premium topping. Other premium toppers include

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 29, Issue 2 • January 19, 2021 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net

Neighborhood News

avocado, masago (fish eggs) and macadamia nuts, and they all cost you $1 extra per bowl.

Coming soon will be a Stubborn soda fountain drink machine. Stubborn sodas have unique and “healthier” options using pure cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup or processed sugar.

But, speaking of sugar, I also love Island Fin’s cool & creamy Dole Whip desserts, available in rotating flavors. My favorite so far is the strawberry-vanilla swirl.

Community-Minded!

Island Fin has been active in the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa community.

During the pandemic, the restaurant provided bowls and Dole Whips for front line workers at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, participated in community events at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County and recently sponsored a food drive with donations going to the Make A Difference organization.

As a family-owned business, Brenda, Jason and Jeff are most proud of the comments, reviews and ratings from the community.

“Seeing happy faces and hearing @NTWCNews

SARAH VANDE BERG TENNIS & WELLNESS CENTER

(Above left) Brenda says that visiting local gyms, like Crunch Fitness in Tampa Palms, instantly translates into new customers for Island Fin. (Photo provided by Island Fin Poke Co.) wonderful comments, along with 4.9 and behind us, Island Fin does offer gift cards, 5.0 ratings on Facebook, Google, Yelp and both Classic (plastic card) and E-cards UberEats, make all the hard work worth(send by text or email). Island Fin gift cards while,” Brenda says. “Guests realize that make great gifts for your dog sitter, cothey can safely have really delicious tasting worker or anyone who makes your day! food that’s actually boosting their immune Island Fin Poké Co. is located at systems and is super fresh and healthy, too.”

6417 E. County Line Rd., just south of One of the things Brenda says she the Pasco County line in New Tampa, loves to do is to bring mini-bowl samples and is open every day, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., of Island Fin’s delicious food to area gyms, for dine-in (socially distanced), take fitness centers and health clubs, because, “it out, online ordering with curbside instantly translates into new customers for delivery and all major delivery services. us! People who are working out and eating For more information, call (813) 575healthy really love our bowls!”

8002, visit IslandFinPoke.com or see And, even though Christmas 2020 is the ad on pg. 33.

Great News!

“The SVB family is proud and happy to join forces with BG Tennis; we look forward to helping children grow through tennis in Wesley Chapel’s subdivisions.

Together, SVB and BG Tennis will offer the best customizable programs in the world.”

— Pascal Collard, Owner & CEO, SVB Contact BG Tennis at 813.476.5787 for additional information.

• SVB Tennis & Wellness Center offers a wide variety of junior tennis program to fit the needs of all age groups and ability levels.

• Featuring a full service High Performance Academy, SVB boasts world class tennis coaches and elite fitness programs.

• We offer full day and after school programs for juniors 4-18 years old.

Contact info@svbtenniscenter.com for more information.

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35

New Tampa & wesley Chapel Classifieds

LAWN & LANDSCAPING

_

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We do anything exterior. Call (724) 541-2535 or (813) Repairs for sale/rent. Hang flatscreen TVs. Setup wifi & ing starts at $150 for 1-story home & $199 for 2-story home. Need an instant quote? Text me a picture of the home theater. Install closet organizers. Cabinets, pull485-6661 for a 25% discount on labor & materials. outs, shelving. Gen’l carpentry. Crown molding. Kitchen job you need done. Call Tj at 727-808-7775.

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37

Olympus Pools — It’s All About Getting The Job Done & Giving Back (continued from page 3)

building materials. The bottom line is that while this has been a great year for our business, it’s also been the hardest year ever for staying on schedule, which is why we’ve had to extend the lead times from start to finish for new pools.”

In fact, when you visit the Olympus Pools website (OlympusPoolsFL.com), the home page has the following note: “The swimming pool construction industry has been greatly impacted by the effects of Covid-19. Unprecedented demand, shortages of lumber and other building materials and lack of skilled labor have increased the time it takes to build a backyard resort.

Please plan ahead. Currently, expect 6-7 months from sign to swim.”

And, considering that this award-winning company with 78 employees at three locations (Lakeland, Lakewood Ranch and the new Lutz showroom and headquarters on S.R. 54) built more pools (500+) in 2019 than the #2, #3 and #4 Tampa Bay-area pool builders combined — and that number is up to nearly 1,000 pools in 2020 — you can imagine that Olympus also has been more affected by these disturbing industry trends than anyone else locally.

“If we build 1,000 pools and have only 5% of the people unhappy, that’s still 50 families who didn’t get their pool when they expected or weren’t happy in some way. But, no matter what the percentages are, that still hurts.”

Even so, James adds, “Everything we’ve been through this year has made us much more ready for anything that might happen in the years to come. So, that’s one bright spot.”

But, it probably hurts even more for a company that, based on its performance through 2019, was named No. 2,411 on the 2020 “Inc. (magazine) 5000” with three-year revenue growth of 172%. The Inc. 5000 is the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies across all industries.

Olympus also was listed in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2020 Fast 50 — the fastest-growing companies in the Tampa Bay area — and also was one of fewer than 150 Florida companies to be certified as a Great Place to Work® in 2020.

Year-Round Giving

In addition to building more pools than anyone else in the Bay area, the Statens and their company also give back more to the communities they serve than pretty much any other company. And, this year-

round spirit of giving has extended to the entire family, including 11-year-old Jacob Staten (top right photos on this page).

Before we get into what Jacob has been doing, here are some of the charitable organizations Olympus Pools has supported in 2020 alone: • $10k to Pasco Firefighters Charities, which helped collect food for the Feeding Tampa Bay drive (see below); • $5k to New Tampa Family YMCA, which served as a food drive collection site ; • $10k to American Nurses ($100 for each pool Olympus sold this year); • Purchased the Amazon wish list of the residents of a local women’s shelter; • Reimbursed lunches for employees of locally-owned restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

Meanwhile, rather than gifts, Jacob has been collecting food for his birthday for the past six years, all to benefit Feeding Tampa Bay. Jacob and his entire Olympus family had 13 Tampa Metro-area YMCAs participating as collection sites for the food, which was then dropped off at the Feeding Tampa Bay warehouse near Ybor City (center photo).

And, Jacob’s collection of more than 2,500 lbs. of food (and $3,100 in cash donations) for his birthday this year didn’t go unnoticed, as he has been featured on (or in) several different local news media, including two TV stations, a radio station, as well as in this and other local publications.

Olympus even gave out free raffle tickets (photo, right) to everyone who donated

food this year, with a chance to win a Sony PS5, AirPods or a flatscreen TV. The local Olympus Pools showroom (21859 S.R. 54, Lutz) is open Mon.Fri., 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sat. & Sun. For more information, call (813) 983-7854, visit OlympusPoolsFL. com or see the ad on pg. 10 of this issue.

......iaila

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(or, get down to business)

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New Year. . .

New Home!

After 2020 you deserve to upgrade Make your safe place your favorite place

Contact me and visit www.ChrisHenryRealty.com/Why_Wait SCAN WITH YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

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