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Dunkin’ Donuts

Ballantrae Village is adding more shops

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Taco Bell is the newest tenant at the Shoppes of Ballantrae Village.

The Mexican fast-food restaurant joins DQ Grill & Chill and Circle K in a retail shopping plaza that is almost fully constructed, off State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes.

Within 30 days, Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to open in a spot between Taco Bell and DQ Grill & Chill.

Taco Bell is open for business at the Shoppes of Ballantrae Village. The fast-food restaurant joins Circle K and DQ Grill & Chill. (Kathy Steele)

In March, more shops, a spa, a dental office and a Japanese restaurant will open, said David McComas, chief executive officer of European Equities Corporation. His firm is handling tenant negotiations for the plaza.

The list of tenants includes Domino’s Pizza, T-Mobile and Hungry Greek.

Dentist Lisa Brooks also will occupy one suite, and Casablanca Spa will be in another.

“It will be nice. It will create some balance,” McComas said. “I think it will have a lot of curb appeal. Everything is coming out tastefully.”

The current list of shops and restaurants aren’t all that will open.

Three additional parcels are currently under negotiations, McComas said. And, another outparcel on the opposite side of Aprile Drive, across from Taco Bell, likely will have a day care center, he said.

One access point into the plaza is at Aprile Drive, a new road that intersects with State Road 54, by the Taco Bell on the eastern boundary. Entry also onto Aprile Drive and the plaza can be made at the entrance into Ballantrae subdivision, farther west at Ballantrae Boulevard, by Circle K.

The area is bustling with new development, spurred in part by about 50,000 vehicles that drive along the state road daily. And, new residential is bringing more customers to the area.

The Ballantrae community is built on about 436 acres, has six villages and about 970 homes.

To the south of Ballantrae, Long Lake Ranch homes are under construction. Northward, Bexley Ranch and Asturia are adding new subdivisions, with single family homes and apartments.

And, Mystic Pointe is a new apartment complex under construction at Meadowbrook Drive.

Published January 10, 2018

A breakfast sandwich, with a side of nostalgia

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When Laura Lewis saw the Dunkin’ Donuts going up on U.S. 41, in Lutz, she couldn’t wait until it opened,

She wanted to enjoy a bite to eat there, and to reminisce.

So, once the shop opened, at 17514 U.S. 41, she and her friend Carolyn Smith headed over there for breakfast.

Laura Lewis, left, and Carolyn Smith enjoy breakfast and share memories of Laura Lewis’ dad, who once operated a real estate office on the spot now occupied by a new Dunkin’ Donuts, on U.S. 41 in Lutz.
(B.C. Manion)

The shop serves hot coffee, iced coffee, hot tea, iced tea, espresso-based drinks, sandwiches, donuts and other bakery items.

Alex DaSilva, director of operations, said the shop chose that location because the area is experiencing residential and commercial growth, and Dunkin’ Donuts likes to get in on the front end of new development.

“It’s an up-and-coming market,” DaSilva said.

Lewis said she knows her dad, George M. Lewis, who spent his final years in Lutz, would be happy to see how the spot where he had his real estate office is being put to use.

He’d be glad to see that a family-oriented business is operating there, Lewis said.

Her dad was originally from the Kansas/Missouri area, she said.

He did various kinds of work through the years, said Smith, who has been a friend of Lewis’ for more than 30 years.

“He worked for the shipyard first,” Smith said.

“Then, from the shipyard, he did dredging,” she said. The dredging work involved area canals, and dredging for pipelines in South America, Smith added.

He also got into ranching and real estate.

At one point, he had 1,000 acres in Tarpon Springs, Lewis said. He also had 10 acres on Gunn Highway, in Citrus Park.

Lewis recalls helping her dad, when she was young.

“I used to trail my dad around all of the time, handing him tools and driving the tractor,” she said.

When she was older, she went to work for Maas Bros., earning $28 a week, but decided that wasn’t the life for her.

“I went out at lunchtime and joined the Army,” she said. She enlisted for three years, but had to stay longer because of the Korean War.

After that, she used her G.I. Bill to get her education and then became an industrial arts teacher, teaching woodshop in New Jersey for 35 years before retiring to Lutz.

Smith, whose mother was Lewis’ mother’s best friend, has been a close friend for more than three decades. The women share a home in Lutz.

Lewis’ mother, Smith said, “was like my mother’s sister.”

Both women were enjoying a trip down memory lane during their recent Dunkin’ Donuts visit.

At one point, Lewis’ dad had a huge sign in front of his real estate business on U.S 41, Smith recalled

People would pay him to use the sign for advertising.

“It was 20 (feet) to 30 feet high,” Smith said. “When they would come and put an advertisement on it, he would tell them: ‘No alcohol, no tobacco, nothing offensive,’” Smith said.

“He went to Lutz Baptist, right down the street, and he said, ‘My people see that and I want something nice on the sign,’” she explained. “One time they put up a cigarette ad. He called, and they came and took it down right away.”

When Dunkin’ Donuts was under construction, they had to keep the sign on the property — it was planted too deep into the ground for them to remove it, Smith said.

“I was here when they put it in. It has to be cemented in about 15 feet deep. It’ll never come out,” Smith said.

“They tried to get it out of the ground and they couldn’t, so they just built the Dunkin’ Donuts sign around it,” she said.

“A piece of him is always here,” Smith said.

Published March 8, 2017

DQ Grill & Chill comes to Ballantrae Village Shoppes

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DQ Grill & Chill is nearly ready for its debut at Ballantrae Village Shoppes. By mid-March, franchise owner Carlos Saenz plans to host a grand opening.

Meanwhile, Saenz has had to watch hopeful customers slowly steer their vehicles into the drive-through lane on a daily basis.

It’s disappointing not to at least have a Blizzard or an ice cream cone to hand out, said Saenz.

But, he isn’t surprised at the response from people eager to try a new restaurant.

Franchise owner Carlos Saenz plans to open his DQ Grill & Chill at Ballantrae Village Shoppes by mid-March.
(Kathy Steele)

DQ Grill & Chill is located at 17826 Aprile Drive, off Ballantrae Boulevard and State Road 54.

More than 50,000 vehicles travel up and down the state road. Ballantrae Village Shoppes sits at the entrance to the master-planned community of Ballantrae, north of U.S. 41.

Further north, Bexley Ranch and Asturia are among new subdivisions populating the state highway. To the south, Long Lake Ranch homes are for sale. More retail and commercial are popping up where cows once grazed.

At Ballantrae Village, Circle K is nearly built. In addition to Dairy Queen, the approximately 17,000-square-foot shopping plaza will have T-Mobile, Taco Bell and Dunkin’ Donuts. Other parcels are available.

The activity up and down State Road 54 is a prime reason that Saenz, and his wife Pam, took a deep dive into a new venture – as fast-food restaurant owners.

“We think we’re in a great spot,” said Saenz. “Three years ago, this area was probably a five or six (on a scale of 10). I think we’re at a nine or 10, with the amount of homes and traffic.”

The Saenz’s live in the Oakstead subdivision with their 14-year-old daughter, Madison. Pam Saenz is a Pasco County teacher.

Carlos Saenz is stepping away from a long career in the insurance industry to open his first Dairy Queen. A second franchise in Hudson is possible.

When Saenz researched restaurant franchises, he zeroed in on Dairy Queen for a personal reason. He grew up in Puerto Rico, but as a middle school student moved to Kissimmee, Florida.

His first fast-food meal was at a Dairy Queen on U.S. 192. “It’s still there,” Saenz said.

He feels many others also feel nostalgic about a restaurant that began in 1940. Back then, it sold burgers, hot dogs, fries, Peanut Buster parfaits, Dilly bars and ice cream cones.

Dairy Queen celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2015. The company boasts of more than 1,560 DQ Grill & Chill restaurants in 46 states.

Saenz said Dairy Queen, in recent years, has kept its traditional menu items, but also modernized to keep up with the times. The DQ Grill & Chill concept started nearly two decades ago.

The old favorites are still there, but chicken strip baskets and sandwiches and honey-flavored barbecue have been added. DQ rotates some items in and out, including a recent Kansas-style pork sandwich on pretzel bread and a Philly cheesesteak.

Customers are now described as “fans.”

Dairy Queen supports community-based charitable events. Saenz said the company supports a national campaign to collect donations for the Miracle Children’s Network. However, money collected locally stays in the community, he said.

He anticipates sponsoring special “spirit night” events for area schools, with a portion of proceeds benefiting each school.

A grassy area near the outdoor patio could be gated off as a kind of dog park. Saenz said he expects foot traffic from nearby Ballantrae homes, and people will want to bring their pets.

“We’re going to be partners with the community and engaging with schools,” Saenz said.

Published March 1, 2017

Retail is coming to Ballantrae Village

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New retail is headed to State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, as Dunphy Properties prepares to start construction on the first shops at Ballantrae Village.

A groundbreaking is expected in January for a Circle K, a Dairy Queen, a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Taco Bell on outparcels on the northeast corner of State Road 54 and Ballantrae Boulevard, according to a news release from Dunphy Properties.

Construction begins in January on the first retail at Ballantrae Village on outparcels, next to the Ballantrae Boulevard/State Road 54 entrance to the master-planned community. KATHY STEELE/PHOTO
Construction begins in January on the first retail at Ballantrae Village on outparcels, next to the Ballantrae Boulevard/State Road 54 entrance to the master-planned community.
KATHY STEELE/PHOTO

An additional four parcels are on the market, and a 13,200-square-foot building also is planned. Tenants have not been signed as yet.

New access is planned to get into and out of the shopping plaza.

Plans for retail at the master-planned community of Ballantrae Village has been slow in developing largely due to the economic downturn in 2007 and a slow recovery. But growth is gathering steam, especially along State Road 54.

“Retail development follows residential growth,” Jim Dunphy said in an email to The Laker/Lutz News. “The economy has picked up enough that we’re seeing explosive residential growth in the (State Road) 54 corridor. In addition, the long awaited widening of (State Road) 54 is underway further fueling interest in the area.”

Dunphy Properties is developing the commercial plaza on about 17 acres owned by the Aprile brothers. The plaza will be on the north side of State Road 54 and east of Ballantrae Boulevard.

The Circle K will be on the west end of the site, with Dairy Queen on the east end.

Bexley Ranch property is under construction to the north of Ballantrae Village.

According to the Ballantrae website, the community has more than 960 homes and more than 3,000 residents.

“Ballantine Village Shoppes is in the center of the growth,” Dunphy states in his email. “Many of the existing residents have done without retail, restaurant and service amenities for a long time. We are now positioned, with the additional residents and promised growth, to provide these shops and services. We are excited to be bringing this project together.”

Published October 28, 2015