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The Laker/Lutz News

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Buffalo Wild Wings

Coca-Cola on tap at Florida Hospital Center Ice

November 23, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Coca-Cola Beverages Florida and Florida Hospital Center Ice are joining forces to bring Coca-Cola products to the soon-to-open ice hockey and sports complex in Wesley Chapel, according to a news release from Florida Hospital Center Ice.

Florida Hospital Center Ice will open in January 2017 with four ice rinks and a mini-rink. (Courtesy of Florida Hospital Center Ice)
Florida Hospital Center Ice will open in January 2017 with four ice rinks and a mini-rink.
(Courtesy of Florida Hospital Center Ice)

The iconic cola company and Florida Hospital reached an agreement for Coca-Cola to exclusively provide non-alcoholic beverages at the new facility, which is under construction at the Interstate 75 and State Road 56 interchange.

Construction is expected to conclude in December, followed by an official opening in January 2017.

Coca-Cola products include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta, Powerade, Core Power and Dasani bottled water.

The exclusive rights for Coca-Cola prohibits competitive beverages, soft drinks, sports or energy drinks, water, tea and juices from the facility’s concession stand and the full-service restaurant – Top Shelf Sports Lounge – on the mezzanine level.

“Coca-Cola is such an iconic brand and so synonymous with sports, that we thought it was a natural partner for our new facility,” said Gordie Zimmermann, in a written statement.

Zimmerman is the complex’s managing partner, with Florida Hospital Center Ice.

Construction on the Florida Hospital Center Ice sports complex is expected to finish in December. (File Photo)
Construction on the Florida Hospital Center Ice sports complex is expected to finish in December.
(File Photo)

Florida Hospital Center Ice is billed as the largest sports facility in the southeastern United States. It is more than 150,000 square feet and offers four ice rinks plus a mini-rink.

Zimmermann’s company, Z Mitch LLC, invested $28 million in the facility. Florida Hospital is the facility’s major sponsor and naming partner.

The Tampa Bay Lightning is a program rink partner.

Advertising sponsors include Bright House Networks, Buffalo Wild Wings, DEX Imaging, RIPA Associates, Snyder Financial, Team Bohannon/kw, and The Toni Everett Co.

Center Ice will host national and international hockey tournaments and figure skating competitions, and is seeking sponsors for its special events.

For information, visit FloridaHospitalCenterIce.com.

Published November 23, 2016

Seven Oaks Pet Hospital expands

April 6, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Boxes still are being unpacked in his new home, but that doesn’t faze Duncan, the in-house cat at Seven Oaks Pet Hospital.

He’s content to catnap in his bed, atop a desk, while others do the heavy lifting.

For veterinarian Sree Reddy, the new location for Seven Oaks is a dream more than three years in the making.

Receptionist Jeanette Mandeville reviews documents with veterinarian Sree Reddy at Reddy’s clinic, Seven Oaks Animal Hospital. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)
Receptionist Jeanette Mandeville reviews documents with veterinarian Sree Reddy at Reddy’s clinic, Seven Oaks Animal Hospital.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)

Physically, the animal clinic is just about a half-mile from its previous location.

But, Reddy has come a long way since opening Seven Oaks in a shopping center, off State Road 56, nearly a decade ago.

In its new and more spacious building, the veterinary clinic is getting a fresh start, and adding to the growing retail boom along the state highway.

“We decided we were outgrowing our location,” said Reddy. “If two people were up front, it was full. We actually had people waiting outside.”

At about 5,000 square feet, Seven Oaks Pet Hospital is more than doubling its previous size.

Reddy made an immediate decision to buy a large plot of land when it went on the market. It fit perfectly with the desire to stay near his customer base, and to also do retail.

The new hospital has an expansive waiting area, five examination rooms, an isolation room, surgery, boarding and grooming services, and state-of-the art-technology, including the ability to do on-site ultra sounds.

Veterinarian Sree Reddy opened a new, larger animal clinic at his Pet & Fit Center. Reddy also will operate a pet store and lease space to self-defense school Hammerfist Krav Maga. A standalone Crossfit 14 gym will open soon in a building behind the animal clinic.
Veterinarian Sree Reddy opened a new, larger animal clinic at his Pet & Fit Center. Reddy also will operate a pet store and lease space to self-defense school Hammerfist Krav Maga. A standalone Crossfit 14 gym will open soon in a building behind the animal clinic.

More than a pet hospital, the Pet & Fit Center is a commercial center, on a prime spot at 27027 State Road 56, around the corner from Buffalo Wild Wings and a short distance from The Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets.

Reddy plans to open Pet Depot next door to his clinic. He will take his time, stocking the shop with pet food and accessories that his clients want.

Reddy plans to focus on American-made products, but he said, “I want to carry what my clients want,” he said. “Our goal is to mimic our neighborhood.”

Next door to the pet shop, another storefront is leased to a self-defense school – Hammerfist Krav Maga.

A nearly 12,000-square-foot building behind the clinic will soon be home to CrossFit14, a gymnasium relocating also from Cypress Village’s plaza.

A ribbon cutting and grand opening probably is two months to three months away.

Reddy treats his four-legged patients with traditional methods and medications, but he also is passionate about holistic treatments such as acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

He also offers less invasive surgeries of laser and laparoscopy.

The Eastern-influenced treatments, including acupuncture, are especially useful for dogs with hip dysplasia, seizures or arthritis.

Duncan slumbers in his bed, next to a computer in the surgery room. The 8-year-old domestic longhair was adopted by Seven Oaks Pet Hospital nearly five years ago
Duncan slumbers in his bed, next to a computer in the surgery room. The 8-year-old domestic longhair was adopted by Seven Oaks Pet Hospital nearly five years ago

The hospital also offers house calls, and annual wellness plans to help with pet expenses.

His staff works with several animal rescue groups, including ones for Labrador retrievers and greyhounds. The clinic also does free work for the Pasco County Animal Shelter, including some bone surgeries and X-rays.

Reddy’s passion for caring for animals began in India with summers spent at his grandparents’ farm, populated with cows, goats and sheep.

He got his veterinary degree at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

He also did research at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, where Reddy said as many as 500 veterinarians worked together at the federally funded facility.

But, he opted to move from research into a veterinary practice in 2001.

Reddy opened a clinic in Clearwater in 2004, and three years later moved to Wesley Chapel. It was a positive experience settling into a community where, Reddy said, families have strong bonds and see their pets as part of the family.

His goal is to make his hospital and veterinary practice part of that.

“I want to make relationships,” he said.

Published April 6, 2016

Retail jobs on the rise

August 5, 2015 By Kathy Steele

But more jobs are needed to diversify Pasco’s economy

Heading south on Interstate 275 into Tampa, and points beyond, cars stack up and slow to a crawl as commuters in the morning rush hour out of Pasco County’s bedroom communities hit the brakes.

Motorists going north, mostly zip along at a steady clip.

In the afternoon the traffic flow reverses.

It’s all about where the jobs are and where they aren’t.

The volume of people who commute daily to jobs outside Pasco is about 46 percent, according to county data.

But flipping that trend is the goal of the county’s Planning and Development Department, and its marketing partner, the Pasco County Economic Development Council.

Holiday Inn Express is one hotel ready for construction with an opening in 2016. The hotel is next to Florida Hospital Center Ice, an ice rink and sports complex that is under construction, off State Road 56. Both will be job producers. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Holiday Inn Express is one hotel ready for construction with an opening in 2016. The hotel is next to Florida Hospital Center Ice, an ice rink and sports complex that is under construction, off State Road 56. Both will be job producers.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

There are good signs in the job market especially in retail, but county officials say Pasco needs higher paying jobs and a diverse employer-base to shed its bedroom community status.

And that could take years of steady, patient marketing.

For now, dirt is flying especially along the prime corridors of State Road 56 and State Road 54, around the Interstate 75 interchange.

“The retail is following the rooftops,” said Melanie Kendrick, senior planner for economic development in Pasco.

Tampa Premium Outlets, the centerpiece for Cypress Creek Town Center, is sprouting. It is expected to have more than 110 stores and will provide an estimated 800 jobs.

The Shops at Wiregrass is expanding. And, other retail development, including Mercedes Benz, Buffalo Wild Wings and Dairy Queen, is popping up.

Abutting the outlet mall, the town center also will have more retail including Kohl’s, Costco, Culver’s, Cheddar’s Casual Café, and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Job numbers for this project aren’t available.

More hotels, shops, restaurants and offices are on a waiting list, marked ‘coming soon’ for a site on the north side of State Road 56, also part of Cypress Creek Town Center.

On Oct. 29, Tampa Premium Outlets will be the first to hit the start button.

“This is like a bonus,” said John Hagen, president of the PEDC. “It will definitely raise the amount of money coming into the community. It makes the economic pie bigger.”

People are put to work, the Penny for Pasco program gets fattened with more pennies and Pasco’s image shines brighter in the marketplace.

“It is a destination… It will help people understand that there is a Pasco County,” Hagen said. “This is a place. It has place-making attributes that are important to us. It’s hard for people to think about (Pasco) in terms of a place.”

Retail already has shown it can spark other development.

Pasco-Hernando State College located its Porter Campus at the mall. It currently has a staff of about 60 employees and 100 adjunct faculty members.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, near Wiregrass, added 600 jobs to the economy when it opened nearly three years ago. The hospital is investing $78 million in an expansion at the hospital. And Florida Medical Clinic, just north of Wiregrass, also is expanding in Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes.

On State Road 54, a new Lowe’s warehouse store opened in April, bringing with it as many as 160 jobs.

Businessman Gordie Zimmerman is building Florida Hospital Center Ice, a sports complex with four ice rinks and a removable pad that can allow for more sports such as volleyball, soccer, basketball and lacrosse. The 150,000 square foot facility, off State Road 56, can also accommodate non-sports events such as dog shows and graduations.

It is expected to attract national and international sports competitions.

All of these generate more sales tax revenues from people shopping and dining in Pasco.

And, a portion of those Pasco pennies will be dedicated this year to the Jobs and Economic Trust Fund to provide business incentives to locate in Pasco.

County officials have estimated that $45 million to $50 million will flow from the Penny for Pasco program to stimulate economic development.

Hagen recently delivered the PEDC’s third quarter report to the Pasco County Commission. The data showed that to date, 415 jobs had been created through the agency’s efforts in 2015.

On July 24, the PEDC upped that number by 124 jobs with its announcement that Leggett & Platt, a global manufacturing company, plans to open an 80,000-square- foot facility near Spring Hill. The plant will assemble adjustable bed bases. Company officials have pledged to hire locally and contract with suppliers within the Tampa Bay region.

Hagen sees Leggett & Platt taking a position as one of the county’s top employers with room for expansion in future.

On another front, the SMARTstart business incubator program has created 45 jobs. Currently, 13 startup companies are sharing space on-site in Dade City. Another three entrepreneurs are located off-site. “They are all trying to get their businesses off the ground,” Hagen said.

While some of these new businesses may only generate a small number of jobs, there always is potential that one or more could take off with an idea that is “scalable” into a regional or national company, Hagen said.

The county set clear goals in the long-range Economic Development Plan, adopted in 2013.

One target is to add between 160,000 and 185,000 new jobs to the economy over the next decade, said Richard Gehring, the county’s planning and development administrator.

That has to be reached by fostering a business-friendly environment where private companies want to invest in Pasco, Hagen said.

“I kind of like to differentiate between creating a business climate and making business deals,” he said. “I think we’re creating a business climate where things can happen.”

One example of private investment that paid off is Compark 75. The business park, off Wesley Chapel Boulevard, will expand in 2016 with the addition of a 65,000 square foot building. The existing park, with four buildings, is leased nearly to capacity.

Two new tenants, Streetside Classic Cars and an as yet-unidentified orthodontics company will open there in October.

Hagen would like to see 10 more projects similar to Compark 75.

Over the years, Pasco has evolved from a rural community into a service-based economy that catered to senior retirees and then into the bedroom community for counties such as Hillsborough and Pinellas.

The current building boom is picking up where developers left off before the Great Recession. Predictably, the new development began with housing because that offers reasonably quick turnaround on investment, Hagen said.

But many of these projects have also set aside space for retail, offices and in some cases industrial, Hagen said.

“It’s kind of setting the stage for other development,” he said.

But, it is crucial to Pasco’s economic growth to encourage more business parks. That was one issue identified in a study completed recently by Duke Energy of the large acreage in and around the Zephyrhills airport.

“I don’t mean to sound alarmist,” Hagen said. “I think we’re trying to put some thought into that. We probably need to be more active in acquiring and controlling parcels that would make good industrial parks before they get gobbled into retail.”

Still Hagen isn’t what he describes as a “retail snob.”

Jobs of every kind are needed, he said. “If it puts them to work, then it’s a good thing.”

Tampa Premium Outlets hosts center-wide job fair
What:
The grand opening of Tampa Premium Outlets is scheduled for October.

Retailers are seeking job applicants for more than 800 open seasonal, part-time, full-time and management positions. The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce is the job fair sponsor.

When: Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: Embassy Suites Tampa USF/Busch Gardens,  3705 Spectrum Blvd., Tampa

Cost: Free and open to the community. Dress professionally and bring lots of resumes.

Information: Call (813) 909-8716, or visit PremiumOutlets.com/tampa.

Published August 5, 2015

Restaurant wings into Wesley Chapel

June 24, 2015 By Kathy Steele

Buffalo Wild Wings will open its doors in time for the Fourth of July celebrations.

The ribbon cutting is scheduled for July 3, with the first full week of operation kicking off July 6, said Dana Balch, the restaurant’s general manager.

“We are super excited,” he said. “It’s been a long time in the making.”

Residents have come up to Balch and his staff for weeks when they have been spotted out and about sporting the Buffalo Wild Wings’ logos on their work uniforms.

Construction is nearly complete on the new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant off State Road 56. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for July 3. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Construction is nearly complete on the new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant off State Road 56. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for July 3.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

“There’s been a lot of excitement in town to see a family friendly sports restaurant,” he said.

The local connection extends to employees. Four out of five members of the management team are Wesley Chapel residents, including Balch. The restaurant is a member of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

The restaurant is off State Road 56, next to the Gate gas station and east of Cypress Ridge Boulevard. The area is a hot spot for new development including the recently opened Mercedes Benz-Wesley Chapel.

Further east, just beyond the Interstate 75 exchange, construction is under way on the Tampa Premium Outlets and the Cypress Creek Town Center.

The new Buffalo Wild Wings is the second location for the Ohio-based chain. Another restaurant is in New Port Richey.

The restaurant was founded in 1982 with the name Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck. It was popularized with the nickname, BW-3. But after the restaurant dropped the weck roll for its sandwiches, a new nickname found favor – B-dubs.

Buffalo Wild Wings is known for its wings and selections of domestic, imported and craft beers. The menu also features

chicken tenders, popcorn shrimp, tacos, salads, hamburgers and sandwiches.

The restaurant will have plenty of televisions, too, for those who enjoy watching sports.

Published June 24, 2015

Buffalo Wild Wings planned for State Road 56

December 15, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Land is getting pretty expensive along State Road 56, which is exactly what the owner of the Buffalo Wild Wings chain found out late last month.

AMC Wesley Chapel Real Estate Inc., a company affiliated with Buffalo Wild Wings owner Diversified Restaurant Holdings Inc., purchased a little more than 2.5 acres of land along State Road 56 just east of Cypress Ridge Boulevard for $2.3 million. That’s a price just north of $903,000 an acre.

The developer has plans to put that land to good use, however. AMC is seeking final approval to build a 6,400-square-foot restaurant on the site, with an 800-foot patio, with direct access to State Road 56. The Buffalo Wild Wings got initial approval from the Pasco County Planning Commission earlier this month, and will seek to get the same from the full Pasco County Commission in January.

This would become the second Buffalo Wild Wings in Pasco County after the State Road 54 location in New Port Richey. Other locations are in Ybor City and Tampa’s Westchase area, according to the restaurant’s website.

The chain, informally known as B-Dubs, first opened in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982, and now has locations in every state in the country. This particular restaurant will be located at 26725 State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel, next to the Gate gas station on Cypress Ridge Boulevard.

The cost of the land is well above the $542,000 an acre Walmart paid to buy its site at 27621 State Road 56 in July 2009, and even higher than the $697,000 Gate Petroleum paid per acre for the land next door in August 2012. Yet, it’s still not the most expensive land buy — the owners of the PDQ restaurant location at 27757 State Road 56 paid $1.4 million for a single acre of land close to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in January 2012.

Developers have not said when construction will begin, or when the restaurant would open.

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