MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Tampa, FL

Tampa, Fla. Dec. 16, 2023 – South Florida women's basketball (7-4) lost, 66-54, to No. 3/4 NC State on Saturday night inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla.

Redshirt junior forward Romi Levy led the Bulls with a season-high 11-point output and two assists. Sophomore wing Carla Brito (10 points) rounded out the USF performers who finished the night in double figures. Senior forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt grabbed a season-best 12 boards and added eight points.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED Midway through the second quarter, the visiting Wolfpack put up 10 unanswered points. River Baldwin and Madison Hayes evenly split eight points in the scoring stretch. NC State would see its advantage swell up to 17 later on in the final quarter.

COACH FERNANDEZ SAID

NOTABLE NUMBERS

UP NEXT South Florida heads east for the West Palm Classic on Dec. 20-21. The Bulls will face IUPUI on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. and No. 10 Baylor on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on the campus of Keiser University. Fans can purchase tickets here and the action can be streamed on FloHoops.

TICKETS Fans can purchase women's basketball tickets by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at USFBullsTix.com.

ABOUT USF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL For complete coverage of USF women's basketball, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

South Florida women's basketball recorded its 11^th 20-win season during the 2022-23 campaign. USF has made 18 postseason tournament appearances and had nine NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 23 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to 11 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, has won over 400 career games, and is the all-time wins leader in the American Athletic Conference.

In 2022-23, the Bulls had four players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elena Tsineke (AAC Co-Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team), Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (AAC Co-Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team), Sammie Puisis (AAC Newcomer of the Year, All-Conference Second Team) and Carla Brito (AAC All-Freshman Team).

– #GoBulls –

Openings

A locally-owned restaurant chain is heading north and opening the doors of its first Pinellas location next month. The Tampa Bay Business Journal says that ??St. Pete’s first Wicked Cantina will open at 3650 Tyrone Blvd. N out of a former Sonny’s BBQ sometime in January. Wicked Cantina’s menu is stacked with expected Tex-Mex favorites like tacos, nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas alongside a few American dishes like burgers and fish or chicken sandwiches. The restaurant offers a wide range of proteins for its various tacos and burritos, including chorizo, mahi mahi, shrimp, carnitas, brisket, grouper and shredded chicken. It also offers a separate vegan and gluten-free menu featuring dishes like butternut squash tacos and roasted veggie bowls. A selection of margaritas, draft beers, wines and other cocktails will join its expansive Tex-Mex menu. When St. Pete’s debut Wicked Cantina opens next year, it will be its third location in Tampa Bay. Its flagship location on Bradenton’s Anna Maria Island opened in 2014 and owners Mike and Janice Dolan opened a second restaurant in downtown Sarasota a few years later. 3650 Tyrone Blvd. N, St. Pete. wickedcantina.com

Canopy Road Cafe A Tallahassee-based cafe and breakfast spot continues its expansion throughout the greater Tampa area. Canopy Road Cafe’s newest location soft opened at 11220 Sullivan St. in Riverview last week, and is already dishing out the loaded breakfast plates it’s known for. Riverview’s Canopy Road Cafe will be its first location with a full bar program, although partner Dave Burton tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he's still waiting for the liquor license to be approved. In the meantime, the cafe and restaurant boasts the same food and coffee menu as its 11 other locations throughout the Sunshine State. Specializing in traditional, diner-inspired fare with its “own little twists”, the cafe dishes out classics like biscuits and gravy, omelettes, eggs benedict, breakfast burritos, pancakes, loaded French toasts, waffles and skillets alongside lunch items like sandwiches, salads and burgers. Canopy Road serves coffee from Lucky Goat Coffee Co., a Tallahassee-based roaster and wholesaler, as well as a variety of juice, tea and soda.The Tallahassee-based regional chain was founded by Tampa native Brad Buckenheimer and David Raney in 2007. Its name is inspired by the many tree canopies that populate the greater Tallahassee area, paying homage to the business’ origins. 11220 Sullivan St., Riverview. canopyroadcafe.com Coming Soon Cheeky’s A familiar name in Tampa's restaurant industry recently announced his latest venture, and he's headed across the bridge to The 'Burg. Willa's co-founder Nate Siegel will helm a new St. Pete concept called Cheeky's, a mix between a Southern chicken joint and a New England-style oyster bar that will dish out everything from fresh seafood and chowders to fried chicken, salads, sandwiches and more. Cheeky’s heads to the booming Grand Central District, and will soon be neighbors with Wild Child, Baba, Cappy’s Pizza and Bandit Coffee Co. While there’s no opening date set in stone, Cheeky’s is slated to debut sometime in 2024. It will be open for lunch and dinner service, in addition to weekend brunch and daily happy hours. Alongside its selection of seafood and chicken dishes, Cheeky’s will also offer beer, wine, frozen drinks, N/A beverages and craft cocktails. The mind behind Cheeky’s is local restaurateur Nate Siegel, co-founder of new American restaurant Willa’s in North Hyde Park. While Cheeky’s seems like it will be a tad more casual than its sibling concept across the bridge, Siegel says opening a restaurant on Central Avenue is a “dream come true.” 2823 Central Ave., St. Pete. Cheekys.net

Pepper Lunch Japanese “experimental” fast-casual concept Pepper Lunch is expanding into Florida with three cities confirmed—and one of those cities is Tampa. Tampa, Gainesville and Orlando will be home to 10 Pepper Lunch restaurants starting in late 2024, the chain's first locations in the Southeastern United States. Currently boasting 500 locations in 15 countries, Pepper Lunch—a teppanyaki concept where customers grill their own meats and veggies on an iron griddle—hopes to establish a permanent presence in Florida. On offer at the restaurant are steaks, curry rice dishes, teriyaki and even pasta. The chain prides itself on diners being able to get in, cook their meal, chow down and head back out the door in 20 minutes (if they so choose) with a price point under $20. There is no information as of this writing on potential addresses for the Tampa franchises. (A version of this post first appeared at our sibling publication Orlando Weekly.) pepperlunchrestaurants.com—Matthew Moyer

Events

Trash Panda’s ramen pop-up It’s no secret that Ichicoro's closure earlier this year left Seminole Heights in a ramen deficit, but folks can get their soup fix this weekend at an up-and-coming food truck’s pop-up—and its dishes might feel a bit familiar. Trash Panda Provisions hosts its ramen-themed pop-up at Common Dialect Brewery from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 15. The food truck will offer two types of traditional ramen and one brothless option loaded with chicharron, pickled ginger, a poached egg, chili oil, fish sauce and seasoned seaweed. Trash Panda’s traditional shoyu ramen features a chicken broth with sous vide chasu or braised pork belly, scallions, bamboo shoots and fried garlic, while its mushroom broth-based vegetarian option is topped with wilted greens, roasted mushrooms and corn. This new food truck came onto Tampa’s dining scene in late 2022, dishing out “familiar favorites and Asian inspired street food,” and pretty much anything else owner and operator Alberto “Tito” Jusi likes to eat. Jusi was part of the opening crew at the now-closed Ichicoro and worked at the Bib Gourmand-winning restaurant from its debut in 2015 until May 2021. 5023 N Florida Ave., Tampa. @trash_panda_provisions on Instagram

The DoughJoe’s 'A Wonderful Loaf' holiday market While some folks worry about grabbing last-minute presents before Christmas, others are marking their calendars for a popular bakery's yearly holiday market. Jamison B. Breadhouse hosts its annual holiday market on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 22-23 from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (or until sold out) at the bakery’s grab-and-go shop called The DoughJoe, located at 1806 N Nebraska Ave. on the outskirts of Ybor City. From specialty focaccia loaves and breakfast pastries to dinner rolls, traditional holiday treats and decadent desserts, Jamison B. DoughJoe will certainly impress your relatives at Christmas dinner. The bakery will not be accepting any pre-orders and both days of its holiday market are first come first serve and it will also be closed on Thursday, Dec. 21. The DoughJoes’s holiday market menu can be browsed on its website, and consists of artisan focaccia loaves that feed 6-8 people, breakfast pastries like chocolate pecan babka cinnamon rolls and chocolate cherry sourdough, ciabatta rolls for the dinner table and desserts like dark chocolate and olive oil cupcakes and its prized, $62 triple chocolate panettone. 1806 N Nebraska Ave., Tampa. @Jb3doughjoe on Instagram

ICYMI

Proceeds from St. Pete brewery’s upcoming happy hour will go to local beagle rescue Downtown St. Petersburg is home to a plethora of dog-friendly bars and breweries, but one business in particular consistently raises money for local shelters and rescue organizations throughout the year. Pinellas Ale Works (commonly stylized as “PAW”) hosts a special, holiday-themed installment of its “Yappy Hour” fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 21, benefiting Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue Inc., a nonprofit “dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of abused, neglected and at-risk beagles and beagle mix dogs.” A dollar from every beer sold between 6 p.m.-8 p.m. will be donated to the organization, and if you make a direct donation to TBBR, you can take a cute Christmas-themed photo with your pup. TBBR is also raffling off a 360-degree Furbo dog camera to help raise more funds for its beagle-saving mission. PAW hosts its “Yappy Hour” each Thursday, benefitting a different rescue-focused organization each week.1962 First Ave. S, St. Pete. pawbeer.com The 20 most-anticipated new restaurants coming to Tampa Bay in 2024 While this past year welcomed in some great new dining spots in Tampa Bay, there's about to be even more to dish out. Over the next 12 months, diners can expect to see everything from new dumpling spots, new fish and chicken shacks, a couple high-end steak houses, a drive-thru Wawa and more. Here are a few of the hottest new eats coming soon to the Bay.

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When Bill Reeves graduated from the University of Florida, a professor said he might want to avoid office brokerage. It was the era of the dot-com bubble, and with widespread internet access, many predicted that telecommuting would be the future of work.

"Luckily, I ignored his advice," Reeves said, laughing. "And here I am."

The executive vice president at Colliers Tampa Bay is the Business Journal's Dealmaker of the Year for his representation of Tampa Electric Co. and Peoples Gas in the companies' joint headquarters relocation. The utilities will move from downtown Tampa to Midtown East, an office tower under construction in Midtown Tampa, when it opens in 2025.

The utilities will own 11 stories — 290,000 square feet — of Midtown East in an office condominium structure. Reeves sat down with TBBJ Real Estate Editor Ashley Gurbal Kritzer to talk about his career, the office market and a "once-in-a-career" deal like TECO's.

I started my career late. I joined the Army to pay for college and ended up in the invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. When I got out, I worked for Chef Jeannie Pierola and took my time before I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I went to the University of Florida and got my degree when I was 26 years old. I have an uncle who was in commercial real estate, and I saw the success he had — and the fun he had. I just enjoy the transaction side of real estate and helping people put together deals that are good for both parties.

I love to negotiate. A client of mine once told me that whether you're selling airplanes or office buildings, the negotiations are the fun part.

I like it when my clients win, but I don't look at it as a battle between landlord and tenant. I only represent tenants; I very rarely represent landlords. I don't like to think that we've won over the landlord. I like to think that both parties have come to an agreement that's satisfactory for both and that both are going to have a long-term relationship to help my clients grow their businesses.

I like it when a client calls me and says, 'Bill, we have a new idea for a business,' or 'We want to expand our office space to grow a new team.' I love it when a company needs assistance because they're doing well. Or if the climate changes and they need to downsize or relocate — I like helping companies operate their business. That's what attracted me to commercial real estate.

I started just a few months before 9/11 happened. Then, a lot of companies wanted to get out of New York City and the other bigger metropolitan areas. And Tampa was an attractive relocation option. In 2008, we had the housing crisis and call centers weren't doing as well as they could. Then we had WeWork. There's something that is going to be a challenge in the office business. And commercial real estate is resilient. We always come back.

It's been a challenge for my clients to get accustomed to remote working. But now that they're three years past the initial lockdown, I think all of my clients in Tampa and around the country have benefited from it. They seem to have adjusted well and are making the best of it. I don't think you are ever going to go back to a traditional work week of five days of eight hours a day of office use. But companies are finding that to attract the younger players of employees, they need to be flexible in the work environment.

I average about 35 or 40 transactions each year and have done so for 20-some years. They're all beneficial to the area and the economy in different ways. The TECO headquarters was certainly a significant transaction, but equally important are the 3,000- and 4,000-square-footers — the companies that have back offices here and need to make sure that their employees can operate in the Tampa Bay market just as well as the large employers.

I believe we will. Construction costs are certainly a hindrance to some of the adaptive reuse of these older office buildings, but they're going to have to do it. These owners are going to have to do something, whether it's a creative reuse of the existing facility or a complete tear-down. We don't have very much developable land left in the Tampa Bay market outside of East Hillsborough County. Sometimes, the land is more valuable than the actual building that's sitting on top of it.

Oh gosh, they're all challenging. The TECO headquarters was certainly one. We started a couple of years before March 2020 and then the whole world changed. We were well into the project when that happened. Adjusting our meetings and investigating the market was certainly a challenge when everybody had to work from home. That was a project that had lots of ups and downs. We always say big ships cause big waves, and that one had a lot of big waves.

On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed defensive lineman Deadrin Senat to their active roster from the practice squad and also used their two practice squad elevation options on safety Richard LeCounte and cornerback Derrek Pitts. All three will be available to play against the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday, adding depth to positions that have been thinned by injuries.

The Buccaneers also announced that safety Ryan Neal has been downgraded on the injury report to "out" and will not travel with the team to Wisconsin. Additionally, Vita Vea has been upgraded to questionable.

The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020; it allows teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing both options in Week 10, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their matchup with the Packers. They will be able to keep 48 of those player active for the game, naming seven inactives prior to kickoff.

Each player on the practice squad can be elevated up to three times during the regular season and an unlimited amount of times in the postseason. After the game, elevated players automatically revert to the practice squad without having to pass through waivers. This is the third and final elevation for LeCounte and the first for Pitts.

A handful of Buccaneer defenders have already been ruled out for Sunday's game or are question marks to play. In addition to Neal, cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive lineman Will Gholston were designated as out on Friday's injury report, while defensive lineman Vita Vea is doubtful. Cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Devin White are questionable.

Senat has played in two game, against Buffalo and Atlanta, with 18 defensive snaps and one tackle. He was inactive the first time he was elevated from the practice squad. Overall, he has appeared in 36 NFL games with two starts, making 52 tackles and one sack. He spent most of last season on the Bucs' active roster, playing in 12 games and contributing 17 tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits.

The Buccaneers signed LeCounte, a Georgia product, late in training camp and he played in the preseason finale against Baltimore, recording five tackles. He first entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2021 and played in nine games as a rookie. He also spent time on the Los Angeles Rams' practice squad.

Pitts made the Buccaneers' active roster as an undrafted free agent to start the season. He played in two games and contributed one tackle each on defense and special teams before being waived in Week Eight and re-signed to the practice squad in Week Nine.

The practice squad elevation option was introduced as part of the new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. The new rule was something of a compromise, as it did not expand the active rosters beyond 53 players but did give teams a few more options on game days, particularly with practice squads expanding to 16 spots.

GREEN BAY – Quarterbacks changing teams in the NFL is nothing new, and therefore neither is facing the same QB starting for different teams in a relatively short time span.

Heck, there already have been seven starting quarterbacks who have faced the Packers for different teams during Matt LaFleur's five seasons as head coach.

But Baker Mayfield's arrival as the starting QB of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Lambeau Field does indeed break new ground.

Mayfield will be starting against the Packers for a third team in a span of three years, after quarterbacking the Browns on Christmas Day 2021 and then leading the Rams on Monday Night Football last year in Week 15. Coincidentally, all three matchups have come at Lambeau in December.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Mayfield is the first starting QB to face the Packers for three different teams in three consecutive years – home or away – since at least 1950. And even though the NFL's official statistician doesn't have complete quarterbacking records prior to 1950, it's a good bet it didn't happen before then, either.

Mayfield is the first QB to start against the Packers for a third different team since 2018, when Alex Smith (49ers/Chiefs/Redskins) did so.

Going back roughly 35-40 years, there are 11 other QBs in addition to Smith who started games against the Packers for at least three different teams. This can't be confirmed as an exhaustive and complete list (I did the research myself), but if it's not, it's close. Here they are:

Dave Krieg (Seahawks/Chiefs/Lions/Bears), Jeff George (Colts/Falcons/Vikings/Redskins), Steve DeBerg (49ers/Buccaneers/Chiefs), Rodney Peete (Lions/Eagles/Panthers), Chris Chandler (Colts/Buccaneers/Falcons), Vinny Testaverde (Buccaneers/Jets/Cowboys/Panthers), Kerry Collins (Panthers/Giants/Titans), Kurt Warner (Rams+/Giants/Cardinals), Josh McCown (Raiders/Bears/Buccaneers), Kyle Orton (Bears/Broncos/Chiefs/Bills) and Carson Palmer (Bengals/Raiders/Cardinals). +Warner's start for the Rams was in the postseason.

One true anomaly in this bunch is with Orton, whose starts against the Packers for the Broncos and Chiefs occurred in the same season, 2011.

The only QB who came close to Mayfield's three different teams in three years was Krieg, a Wisconsin native, whose starts against the Packers for the Chiefs, Lions and Bears occurred in a span of just four years (1993, '94, '96).

Going back further, Earl Morrall did the same with three teams in four years, starting games against the Packers for the 49ers, Steelers and Lions in 1956, '57 and '59, respectively, and then adding a fourth team later in his career with a start for the Colts.

Back to Mayfield, he's 0-2 in those two most recent appearances in Green Bay, throwing five interceptions in all. But he's now coming off arguably Tampa Bay's biggest victory of the season, as he drove the Buccaneers 75 yards in the final three minutes for a comeback win in Atlanta.

That final drive featured a 32-yard completion to receiver Chris Godwin on third-and-10 and culminated in an 11-yard TD pass to tight end Cade Otton with 36 seconds left for a 29-25 triumph.

"He's still the same quarterback," defensive lineman Kenny Clark said of Mayfield. "He's doing a good job at getting the ball out. He's got some great weapons on that side of the ball. Everything starts with Mike Evans. We're going to have our hands full. We've got to take care of him."

Two weeks ago, Evans topped 1,000 yards in a season for the 10th time in his 10-year career. He's third on the NFL's all-time receiving yardage list among active players with 11,445 yards, behind only Julio Jones (13,645) and DeAndre Hopkins (12,196).

Since Evans entered the league as the No. 7 overall draft pick in 2014, the Packers have held him in check fairly well over four previous meetings. His 51 yards in the 2020 NFC title game are his most against the Packers, and that game featured his only TD vs. Green Bay. Keeping the 6-5, 231-pound Evans relatively quiet again will be no easy task.

"I got to see him up close and personal at the Pro Bowl a couple of years ago," LaFleur said. "I love the way he competes. He is physical. He does a great job of opening up his stride. Obviously his catch radius is insane. There's not a catch he can't make, not a route he can't run."

Evans had just one catch for eight yards in Tampa Bay's win in Atlanta last week, which LaFleur called a "resilient win" for the Bucs, whose defense also came up big. Cornerback Carlton Davis' interception set up Mayfield inside the Atlanta 10-yard line for a short TD drive early in the game, and safety Antoine Winfield added a safety late in the first half.

The result created a three-way tie atop the NFC South with the Buccaneers, Falcons and Saints all 6-7, and an even bigger wild-card logjam with three other NFC playoff hopefuls owning the same record, including the Packers.

"We can't think playoffs," Clark said. "We're trying to get this one game and move on to the next. We got a tough opponent in the Buccaneers coming in, and we gotta handle business at home.

"At the end of the day, it's a huge game for both teams."