TAMPA, FL. When a state inspector walked into Zeko's Mediterranean Grill at 806 E Hillsborough Ave on July 24, they found food on the premises that could not be traced to any approved or known source, a violation that means the restaurant was serving ingredients that had bypassed every federal safety checkpoint designed to keep Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli out of the food supply.
That was one of ten high-severity violations documented that afternoon. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also documented inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning shellfish served at the restaurant, which can include oysters, clams, or mussels consumed raw or lightly cooked, could not be traced to a certified harvest source. If a customer became sick from tainted shellfish, investigators would have no records to follow.
Three more violations compounded the picture. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used, creating a direct chemical contamination risk. And the restaurant showed no allergen awareness, meaning staff could not reliably identify which dishes contained common allergens for customers who asked.
The inspector also cited improper handwashing technique, no written employee health policy, and an employee who was not reporting illness symptoms. All three appeared on the same inspection report, the same afternoon, at the same location.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of illness-related violations at Zeko's on July 24 is not routine paperwork. No written employee health policy means the restaurant has no formal system requiring workers to report when they are sick before handling food. The inspector also found that an employee was in fact not reporting illness symptoms, which means the gap in policy had a real-world consequence on the day of the inspection.
Food workers who handle food while symptomatic are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus alone accounts for approximately 20 million cases of illness in the United States each year, and restaurant transmission is among the most common vectors.
The food-from-unapproved-sources violation carries a different kind of risk. Ingredients purchased outside licensed, inspected supply chains have no documentation of how they were stored, handled, or tested. If a customer became ill and investigators needed to trace the food back to its origin, there would be no paper trail to follow at Zeko's.
Improperly stored toxic substances present a more immediate danger. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, and the symptoms of chemical ingestion, including nausea, vomiting, and burning in the throat, can be severe and rapid.
The Longer Record
Zeko's Mediterranean Grill: Inspection Pattern, 2023-2026
State records show Zeko's Mediterranean Grill has been inspected 28 times total, accumulating 151 violations across that history. The July 24 inspection was not an aberration.
In April 2025, inspectors cited the restaurant for 9 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations in a single visit. That inspection, like this one, did not result in an emergency closure. Violations have appeared in at least seven of the eight most recent inspections on record.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. The inspection on June 9, 2025 logged zero high-severity violations and one intermediate, the cleanest result in recent years. Four months later, two high-severity violations appeared. Fifteen months after that clean inspection, the count reached ten.
Still Open
State law gives inspectors authority to order an emergency closure when conditions present an immediate threat to public health. Ten high-severity violations at a single facility in a single afternoon, including unknown food sourcing, no illness reporting, improperly stored chemicals, and unsanitized food contact surfaces, did not meet that threshold on July 24.
Zeko's Mediterranean Grill remained open for business after the inspector left.
