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Family of teen who battled gastrointestinal illness believe he caught it at South Tampa Japanese restaurant

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Published  May 7, 2025 4:53pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News
Family: Boy will need surgery after getting sick at restaurant

Family: Boy will need surgery after getting sick at restaurant

Aaron Mesmer reports.

The Brief

    • A teen is preparing for surgery after battling a gastrointestinal illness.
    • His family believes he caught it after eating food from a South Tampa Japanese restaurant, where dozens of other customers also complained about similar symptoms.
    • A state inspection last month indicated employees admitted to working while they were sick, but didn't notify management or the owners.

TAMPA, Fla. - A teenage boy is preparing for surgery after battling a gastrointestinal illness his family believes he caught after eating food from a South Tampa Japanese restaurant, where dozens of other customers also complained about similar symptoms.

The backstory:

Tony Infante said he and his children ordered takeout from Yoko's Traditional Japanese Restaurant on South MacDill Avenue during the first week of April.

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"We went there a lot, so usually either in or take out once a week," Infante said. "When we walk in, it's like [the TV show] ‘Cheers;’ they know our names, we know their names."

Infante said, within one or two days, he and his kids came down with vomiting and diarrhea. While he and his daughter got better in a few days, his son was struggling to make a full recovery.

"Finally, by Sunday of the next week, we're like, ‘we got to do something to get him checked out,’" said Infante, who's an orthopedic surgeon. "The more and more that my son got sick, the scarier and scarier it was, and it's not something I do or know. So now it's in other people's hands, and that makes me really nervous."

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Infante said his son was diagnosed with an abdominal infection and ended up in the hospital for about a week. Doctors have told him the teenager will need surgery later this month or next month likely to remove his appendix.

By the numbers:

The Infante family is among more than 20 people to file official complaints with the Florida Department of Health or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, according to a DBPR report. More than 60 people posted similar stories in a private Facebook group.

Dig deeper:

A state inspection last month indicated employees admitted to working while they were sick, but didn't notify management or the owners.

"If that person who is going to be serving food individuals comes across as being ill, they need to be sent home," said T.J. Grimaldi, a Tampa attorney who's representing the Infante family. "I don't think anyone, especially people that like sushi, want to see a place that is known to have potentially good sushi closed down. But they also need to know that they feel safe walking in the door."

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Grimaldi said he's put the restaurant on notice, but hopes to avoid legal action.

Although the state hasn't identified a cause of the illnesses, local doctors told FOX 13 they suspect it was a food-borne illness, like norovirus.

The Infante family, meanwhile, has plenty of unanswered questions.

"What caused this?" Infante asked. "Was there something that could be fixed, so there's something that people can stop from happening again? I don't know. There's doubt now."

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The other side:

A spokesperson for Yoko's told FOX 13 they're not currently aware of any additional complaints in more than a month. In a previous statement, Yoko's owners wrote:

"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."

A spokesperson for DBPR responded on Wednesday as well:

"As of today, May 7, 2025, the establishment is in compliance and all outstanding violations have been corrected."

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer. 

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