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Dozens of people recovering from sickness after eating at South Tampa restaurant

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Published  April 9, 2025 8:46pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News

People getting sick from South Tampa restaurant

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer explains the investigation underway after dozens of people fell sick from the food at Yoko's Traditional Japanese Restaurant.

The Brief

    • Dozens of people are recovering from an illness after eating at a South Tampa restaurant.
    • Customers who got sick said they contacted the Florida Department of Health. The owners told FOX 13 they also notified the health department.
    • State investigators were seen at the restaurant Tuesday.

TAMPA - Dozens of customers at a popular South Tampa restaurant were recovering this week after they all reported getting sick with similar symptoms.

A diner who spoke with FOX 13 said she went to Yoko's Traditional Japanese Restaurant on South MacDill Avenue last Tuesday. A day later she came down with a gastrointestinal illness.

Dozens of people are recovering from an illness after eating at a South Tampa restaurant.

"I came home and told my husband it was the best sushi I'd ever had," said the customer, who asked to remain anonymous. "Initially I would never even think it was a restaurant, but then the next morning I found out the two friends I had eaten with all got sick at the same time,  so it was our only common exposure."

She posted about her experience in a private Facebook group. In the days that followed, more than 60 people shared similar stories about getting sick after visiting Yoko's.

"People got sick Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday," she said, adding she felt she wanted to make sure the public was aware. "I have not heard of so many cases in such a short time with this one common exposure and so I just want people to stay healthy and you know stay away until they can figure this out."

Customers who got sick said they contacted the Florida Department of Health. The owners told FOX 13 they also notified the health department. State investigators were seen at the restaurant Tuesday.

A report from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation didn't indicate a cause of the illnesses, but inspectors did note an employee was allowed to work March 30 despite feeling sick and was later sent home. It's unclear if that had an impact on this situation.

Dr. Amber Stephens, a family physician with Optum Health Main in Dunedin, said there are several different types of bacteria and viruses that could cause gastrointestinal illnesses such as the ones these diners experienced.

Dozens of people are recovering from an illness after eating at a South Tampa restaurant.

"If it's all coming from basically the same restaurant, it is going to some sort of food-borne illness," Stephens said.

Stephens said norovirus can be a potential cause of these types of symptoms and can be spread through food and across surfaces. She said noroviruses can continue to be problematic after a person is no longer feeling sick.

"Maybe your symptoms resolve in the one to three days, but you potentially can shed virus for up to two weeks after, which means it just is the gift that keeps on giving," Stephens said, adding it takes more than a basic cleaning to get rid of norovirus. "Your traditional cleaners aren't enough. You do need to use bleach and if you don't utilize the correct cleaner, you will not remove the pathogen."

In a statement to FOX 13, the restaurant's owners said they have been operating at the same location for almost 30 years.

What they're saying:

"We are very troubled to hear that any of our customers are ill, and are disheartened some believe we may be the source of their sickness. As soon as it was brought to our attention, we closed down the restaurant and did an advanced cleaning and disinfection to eliminate any source of possible contamination. In an abundance of precaution and concern for our customers we proactively contacted the Health Department to better understand if any of these reported illnesses originated from our restaurant. We are working closely with both the Department of Hotels and Restaurants and the Department of Health and have implemented extra food handling precautions to add additional layers of protection. Our customers are like family, and just like we have for the last 30 years, we will continue to take measures to safeguard the health and well-being of all of them."

The Florida DBPR didn't respond to a request for comment. A health department spokesperson wrote, "the Department of Health is unable to respond to any questions pertaining to an active epidemiology investigation."

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer.

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