The Laker/Lutz News

Harry Wright

Small businesses reopen in Pasco

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Only four people at a time can browse through Quilts on Plum Lane.

But, at least that’s a new beginning for a shop that has a long tradition in downtown Dade City.

Donna Lillibridge has been selling fabric, patterns and quilt kits for nearly 17 years.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has thrown small businesses, such as this one, for a loop.

“This is something I’ve never seen in my life,” Lillibridge said. “There are a lot of great uncertainties.”

But, Lillibridge, along with other small business owners across Pasco County, are reopening their doors and waiting to see what comes next.

Since mid-March stores closed under an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, a deadly virus that has been cited for claiming nearly 79,000 lives across the nation.

DeSantis announced a phased-in restart of Florida’s economy, effective May 4.

Initially, restaurants and retail could open at 25% capacity and with space for social distancing. Restaurants also could have outdoor seating, provided the tables are at least 6 feet apart.

Pasco County officials also recently announced that restaurants could use parking lot space to expand space available for outdoor seating.

And, DeSantis announced that hair salons and barbershops could reopen effective May 11, provided they operate at 25% capacity, and follow safety protocols.

Movie theaters, gyms and bars remain closed.

Lillibridge had to furlough her employees.

During the shutdown, she got phone calls from customers, many wanting to make face masks. She would box up supplies and put them on the sidewalk for pickup.

“I think I gave out 1,500 yards of elastics,” she said.

On the first day back at work, Lillibridge waited for a friend who was going to help out at the store.

In Land O’ Lakes, Hungry Harry’s Family BBQ is fielding calls to reschedule catered parties that were canceled when the coronavirus struck.

Most of those are in August, said Jaime Bradford, Hungry Harry’s catering manager.

Takeout orders kept the restaurant going. But, indoor seating is now available at four tables. Another four tables are in an overflow room and five picnic tables can seat customers outside.

“Obviously we took a huge hit with catering,” Bradford said. But, owner Harry Wright “was able to keep a full staff and keep us paid. We’re excited and can’t wait to get back to normal.”

In Zephyrhills, the coronavirus tested the resilience and ingenuity of the owners of K & M Treasures and Antiques.

The antiques shop is a two-person operation that opened downtown in 2016. Kathy Stepp and Murph Murphy mostly fielded phone calls and made some online sales during the shutdown.

“It (shutdown) definitely hit sales really hard,” said Stepp. And, online sales could become a larger part of their business, she added.

For now, the shop is open and can easily meet social distancing requirements.

“The nature of our business is only a few people at a time are here,” she said. “We have plenty of stuff to keep everyone away from each other.”

Not many people stopped on the first day.

But, Stepp said, “I guess we’ve started. I hope it will pick up. We’re definitely trying to get more stuff online.”

Meanwhile, shop owners like her wait for more traffic in downtown.

Florida’s Phase 1 reopening
This is a summary of Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis’ phase 1 reopening for Florida, excluding Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties:

  • Schools should distance learn through the end of the year
  • No visits allowed at long-term care facilities
  • Restaurants and shops may open at 25% capacity and must follow Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Outdoor dining at restaurants is allowed with 6 feet distancing between tables.
  • Elective surgeries are allowed
  • Movie theaters and gyms are closed
  • Effective May 11, barbershops and hair salons could open with “enhanced safety protocols

Published May 13, 2020

Hungry Harry’s big heart receives community honor

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Instead of going to their bank, law office, hospital or real estate company — or dozens of other businesses — these men and women showed up at Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que on a recent sunny and clear Wednesday morning.

They were there to honor Harry Wright and his son-in-law, Chad Hudson, for their restaurant’s longstanding contributions to community life in Land O’ Lakes.

Members of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce gather to honor Harry Wright, left and Chad Hudson, with the Central Pasco Chamber’s ‘Heart of Pasco Award.’
(B.C. Manion)

Members of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce’s community affairs committee presented a sign declaring Hungry Harry’s as “The Heart of Pasco.”

“Hungry Harry’s has been actively involved in the community and has given back to the community in countless ways,” Mary Lynn Gorsline said, as she read from a letter explaining why the restaurant was singled out for the honor. Sandy Graves, also on the committee, presented a plaque to Wright and Hudson.

After the formalities, those attending huddled around Wright and Hudson for a group photo, and then the two men posed with individuals and groups who wanted a picture to mark the occasion.

Wright said the recognition wasn’t necessary, but he was obviously pleased.

“Just being part of the community is enough acknowledgement for me. To have this many business people acknowledge me, is really good,” Wright said.

He’s also happy that his son-in-law, who runs the operations now, has kept up the restaurant’s tradition of giving back to the community.

Hungry Harry’s, at 3116 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., has a long history in Land O’ Lakes.

When the restaurant opened, 33 years ago, it was a very lean operation. Just Wright, his wife, Sherry, and one employee handled all of the chores.

Over time, Hungry Harry’s has become a mainstay at charitable events in the community.

When volunteers for Coastal Cleanup finish cleaning up, for instance, they’re rewarded with a meal supplied by Hungry Harry’s. That tradition dates more than 20 years.

Wright estimates the restaurant has been involved in 5,000 fundraisers. At the 30-year mark Hungry Harry’s had given away about 250,000 meals, he said.

Like most businesses, Hungry Harry’s has had its successes and setbacks.

At one point, when a portion of the restaurant’s property was taken by eminent domain to widen U.S. 41 — also known as Land O’ Lakes Boulevard — Hungry Harry’s was closed for eight months. At another point, Wright was knocked out of commission by a heart attack.

When the recession hit, it wiped out nearly all of the restaurant’s commercial catering and dealt a serious blow to its walk-in trade, Wright said.

But, the family has stuck together, and through hard work, it has weathered the storms, Wright said.

It now has a thriving catering service for weddings, which Hudson developed, which catered more than 400 weddings last year, Wright said.

Opening a barbecue restaurant was never part of a grand plan, Wright said.

“I was running the world’s largest service center and tire store in Tampa. My boss wouldn’t pay me my $11,800 bonus,” he said. So, he turned in his two-week notice.

He and Sherry had five kids at the time.

“She was really concerned and upset.  “She said, ‘Well, what are you gonna do?’”

Wright had an idea.

He had been working near a barbecue joint that enjoyed an excellent reputation.

Wright thought he could do better.

“I said, ‘Honey, if this guy around the corner can be the best in Tampa Bay, I can cook barbecue better than that. I cooked barbecue for our wedding.’

“She said, ‘You stupid fool. I’ve never worked in a restaurant, and we don’t have any money.’

“Twenty-four days later, we opened,” Wright said.

Now, Wright and his wife are partners with their daughter, Stacey and their son-in-law, Chad.

“My son-in-law is an unreal businessman,” Wright said.

Things are far more systematic than they were when Wright ran things.

“We had no recipe books, when he came.

Members of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce gather to honor Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que with the ‘Heart of Pasco Award.’
(Courtesy of Suzanne Beauchaine)

“He said, ‘Starting tomorrow, everything you do for the next year, you’ve got to write it down.’”

“I’d tear off box tops, and I’d write down, ‘Mashed potatoes for 600.’”

Hudson took the recipes and converted them into spread sheets, with step-by-step instructions.

At its inception, the restaurant was named Hungry Harry’s Famous Bar-B-Que.

“Who decided it was famous?” Wright asked, rhetorically? “I did,” he answered, with a laugh.

Now, that the restaurant’s ownership is in the family’s second generation, the company refers to itself as Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que.

Initially, the restaurant operated out of a former barbecue joint called Rib Junction. It had been closed for two years and its lot was choked with weeds. Its dining room had 130 seats and stretched out to what is now the middle of the highway.

To help fill those seats, Wright went to church — many churches, actually.

He would tell the pastors: “You pick a night that works for me, and I’ll feed every man, woman, (and) child a complete dinner, with everything including dessert, for $2.”

The church dinners often would draw 300 to 350 people, and roughly 150 of them would end up at Hungry Harry’s for a meal within a week.

Wright said he has always been his own man.

“I did what I wanted to do. I fought the county, when I wanted to fight the county. I fought for causes,” he said.

The American flag that covers the restaurant’s roof is proof positive of that.

“Eight days after 911, the flag was started to be prepped and painted. I was so upset at that time,” he said, and he wanted to do something.

“So, we painted it.

“Sometime after that, Pasco County came to warn me that I was in violation of the sign code.

“I informed them I didn’t want to be warned. I told them I wanted to be cited. They’d have to take me out of here in handcuffs, feet cuffs (ankle cuffs). I had people in the armed forces who said they would sit up on the roof.

“So, they (county regulators) decided just to leave it alone,” he said.

Wright is a big believer in Land O’ Lakes, and in supporting local businesses.

“We have six kids. We had five when we came. The sixth was born almost in the restaurant.

“We have 14 grandkids, 11 of them in Land O’ Lakes, so I’m pretty well vested in the community,” Wright said.

He appreciates the relationships and friendships he’s formed through the years, with local business owners and local organizations.

“I don’t think I had anything but relationships in business when I came here. That was all that kept me in business,” Wright said.

While he appreciates the chamber’s recognition, it’s not something he sought after, he said.

“I have never been a person who needed to be acknowledged. I got the satisfaction from what we’d done. I’ve never done anything unless I’ve wanted to, and that’s a real freedom,” he said.

Now, he’s working on a book he plans to call ‘Everybody knows everything about life, and barbecue.’”

His favorite sentence so far is this: “Two days after everybody agrees on religion and politics — two days after that, they’ll agree on barbecue.”

In looking back, Wright said, “I don’t think I was a very good businessman.

But, that doesn’t seem to bother him.

“I probably could have been a whole lot more successful monetarily, but I couldn’t have been a whole lot more satisfied,” Wright said.

Published April 5, 2017

Businesses fight ‘cotton-pickin government’

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When he was running for office, Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore heard a recurring theme: Do something about the blight.

The county, like many other Tampa Bay communities, suffered from the recession, and voters told Moore they wanted something done about neglected buildings.

But a proposed ordinance that would set minimum standards for maintaining commercial buildings is stirring controversy in at least one community – Land O’ Lakes.

Mike Moore
Mike Moore

About 50 Land O’ Lakes’ business owners and residents met on Aug. 19 with Moore and Assistant County Attorney Kristi Sims to air out their concerns about what they see as government overreach.

“This just feels like more cotton-pickin government, and I’m tired of that,” said Russell Adams, owner of Russell Adams Realty Inc.

The ordinance came up during a recent workshop where Pasco County commissioners met publicly to discuss the 2016 fiscal year budget. A public hearing and a vote by commissioners on the ordinance will be scheduled in the future.

The ordinance is similar to one adopted in Hillsborough County nearly six years ago, and mirrors codes currently applied to residences. It also reflects the best-practice standards recommended by the International Property Maintenance Code.

County code currently defines a blighted structure and criteria for ordering an owner to tear it down unless repairs are done. Or, the county can tear down structures and place liens on properties.

What’s new about the proposed ordinance is that it introduces citations and fines for failure to maintain commercial structures to public safety standards. Examples include weather-tight windows and exterior doors, properly anchored awnings, and peeling or flaking paint. After 30 days, buildings with boarded up windows or doors must be repaired, or fines will be levied.

“Ninety percent of the proposed ordinance is safety-related,” said Sims. “Ten percent is aesthetics-related.”

Current code allows a maximum of $500 per violation plus costs. Jail time, not to exceed 60 days, also can be imposed, or both a fine and jail can be levied.

The process can be lengthy and includes warning notices prior to issuing citations. There also is an appeals process.

According to Moore, the ordinance is intended to fill in gaps in the county’s code enforcement toolbox.

Moore is pushing for additional money in the 2016 budget to hire more code enforcement officers. An initial suggestion of four new hires is now down to two, but an expanded staff would begin to address code enforcement issues along major corridors such as U.S. 41, U.S. 19 and possibly U.S. 301.

Fines imposed on property owners on these state-maintained roadways, however, would go to the state, not the county.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, who came to the meeting to give a crime update, said the ordinance could be an additional tool for his deputies in clearing abandoned buildings, which attract criminal activity. He cited U.S. 19 as an example.

“We’re constantly going back,” he said. “You arrest them, and somebody takes their spot. We need this tool to get the blighted areas in U.S. 19. It’s not a (U.S.) 41 issue. It’s a county ordinance.”

Moore also reassured those at the meeting that the measure would be countywide and not solely focused on Land O’ Lakes.

“Everybody’s business looks great to me,” he said.

Moore said area Realtors were among those who asked for assistance in ridding blight on the county’s major corridors including U.S. 41.

“I have people in the real estate business who have trouble selling their properties,” he said. “They think this (ordinance) will help.”

He also cited a petition maintained by the Land O’ Lakes Beautification Effort, which on Facebook gathered nearly 600 signatures. The petition, addressed to Moore and Pasco County Code Enforcement, seeks tree plantings and a cleanup of blight from the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 up to the community of Connerton.

The list on the group’s Facebook page includes Land O’ Lakes’ residents as well as a few from Lutz. Some on the list are “anonymous.”

The petition rankled many at the meeting. They said it was not representative of Land O’ Lakes residents or business owners. When asked, no one at the meeting raised a hand to show they had signed the petition.

People at the meeting were local residents and many were long-time business owners, said Casie Holloway of the family-owned Holloway’s Farm Supply. She organized the meeting.

“We are a tight community,” she said. “Many of us have been here forever. This road is steeped in history.”

Preserving history, and also holding on to their businesses, was a major concern. Many expressed fear that if a fire or hurricane destroyed their businesses, the county would hinder rebuilding, and impose current building codes.

That would either be too costly or impossible to meet, they said.

Maryann Bishop of Bishop Construction said she dealt with rebuilding issues after a fire “and went through this with the county for three years.”

Others also expressed dismay with similar county experiences.

Sims and Moore explained that those were building code issues unrelated to the proposed new code enforcement rules. But no one seemed swayed.

Some said they saw signs of rebirth along U.S. 41, citing the recent purchase of Land O’ Lakes Plaza by Circle K. The fuel and convenience store chain plans to build a new store.

“Land O’ Lakes Boulevard is coming back,” said Harry Wright, owner of Hungry Harry’s Family Bar-B-Que. The meeting took place under a tent on his property.

He said other developers in coming months could begin buying up vacant properties for redevelopment.

“Ya’ll (should) maybe look at taking it a little slower…I think we could naturally work out of it,” Wright said.

Published August 26, 2015