What will be known for the rest of this generation as the Long Horn Restaurant building has undergone its second makeover, this time bringing a touch – or, more accurately, a full-on body slam – of casual Mediterranean cuisine to the North Shore.
Allow me to introduce you to Zeekz House of Gyros.
Refresh my memory. I thought a salad place had opened in that building.
Indeed it had. Restaurateur Sean Alexander opened Build-A-Salad in March of this year, bringing a unique concept to Chattanooga’s food scene and new life to one of the North Shore’s most enduring landmarks, which had stood vacant since the Long Horn Restaurant closed in 2024 after decades in business.
Build-A-Salad was a hit from day one, with health-conscious customers packing the small space – until a disastrous Cyclospora outbreak across the U.S. this past summer shook consumer confidence in salads and forced Alexander to close his doors in August.
Rather than cut his losses and walk away, Alexander pivoted to a familiar concept. As a former Zeekz operator, he knew a thing or two about opening and running one, and in just over two months, he managed to pull off a small magic trick and open a new restaurant.
While I was sad to see Build-A-Salad bow out so soon after opening, I have to say – I’m not the least bit disappointed to see Zeekz take its place.
Hey! Don’t forget the spoiler alert for those of us who enjoy a little suspense!
I suppose I did get ahead of myself. But I couldn’t help it. The food at this place rocks.
Taking the long view, Zeekz House of Gyros serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu built around traditional and Americanized Greek fare.
Zoom in a little, and you’ll find gyros and wraps leading the charge. Zeekz specializes in traditional beef-and-lamb gyros cooked on a rotisserie, along with chicken gyros and less conventional offerings like mushroom and shrimp wraps.
Then there’s a tempting assortment of sides and appetizers, including freshly made hummus, dolmades and curly fries.
Finally, and perhaps a bit ironically, there are salads. I know, I know. But it bears mentioning that only about a dozen cases of Cyclospora were reported in Hamilton County, none of which were linked to Build-A-Salad.
So, with that reassurance out of the way, I’ll mention that Zeekz offers several salads, including grilled chicken, gyro and tossed varieties, among others.
All of this sounds like standard-issue Mediterranean food.
Yes and no. As I mentioned, Zeekz has a few surprises up its sleeve. Among them is the pita mozz, an appetizer featuring your choice of ham, turkey or gyro meat topped with mozzarella or feta cheese and served on soft pita bread.
Then there are the cottage-fried potatoes, made by slicing a potato lengthwise and frying it, offering a different way to enjoy an old favorite.
But here’s what you’ll come to understand about Zeekz in a moment: Traditional food is popular for a reason, and sometimes what matters most isn’t how inventive a dish is but how well it’s made.
Well, you already spoiled the reveal, so I know where you’re going with this.
Then I might as well get to it.
I decided to see how well Zeekz handles the basics and ordered a gyro stuffed with a lean blend of beef and lamb, seared and thinly sliced, along with lettuce, onion and tzatziki sauce. Then I added a cottage-fried potato.
Let’s stop here for a moment. Take a look at the photo. Notice not only how utterly stuffed my gyro was with meat and fixings, but also the sheer size of that potato. This was no little sprout. This was a beefy SPUD!
Since everything on the Zeekz menu is à la carte, I paid for each item separately. And the grand total for that generously stuffed gyro and monstrous spud? A mere $12.85.
For all the justified grumbling about restaurants shrinking their portions while inflating their prices, there are still places willing to give you plenty of bang for your buck. Zeekz is clearly one of them.
I said earlier that the food rocked, and I wasn’t being hyperbolic. The meat was perfectly seasoned and mostly tender, with a light crispness along the outer edges. The lettuce and onions were fresh and crunchy, providing a welcome contrast to the savory richness of the meat. The pita was soft and warm, and the tzatziki sauce? The chef’s kiss.
The cottage-fried potato was equally satisfying, although not quite what I expected. Thoroughly cooked, it was surprisingly tender, lacking the crispness I’d expected and some of the seasoning I’d anticipated. But a little help from the fast-food potato power trio – salt, pepper and ketchup – brought it home.
One final note: The menu advises keeping your pita wrapped in its paper and peeling it back as you eat. I made the mistake of removing the wrap from mine, and the whole thing began falling apart about halfway through.
So, when you visit Zeekz, do yourself a favor and read the fine print. Apparently, it’s there for a reason.
I’m suddenly hungry. Can we wrap this up?
Not before I say a word about the service.
I’ve often complimented Chattanooga restaurants on their friendliness, and Zeekz deserves the same praise. The staff was genuinely welcoming, wearing their smiles like aprons they never took off. They were also remarkably attentive, even in the thick of a busy lunch rush.
And that was a good thing because I kept sending my server on one fetch quest after another: a napkin retrieval, a ketchup hunt, a fork expedition and a drink refill. By the time I finished, I felt like a dungeon master running a session of D&D.
But my server tackled each quest with a smile and returned with the requested loot in short order, never once making me feel like I was putting her out.
I’m confident these were merely the small wrinkles of opening week, the kind that will be ironed out as Zeekz settles into its groove.
I’ll be forgiving. See you l–
Wait! I haven’t told you about the house-made hummus or the cheesecake.
I’ll quickly add that the hummus appetizer, which arrives in a generous portion, has the potential to be downright addictive – and I’m not even a hummus guy. It’s salty without being too salty, with a rich flavor and creamy texture that make it a pleasure to scoop up with the accompanying pita.
And the cheesecake? Oh, the cheesecake.
Forget those mass-produced desserts that arrive frozen, get thawed and land on your table offering little more than middling satisfaction. This cheesecake is made in-house, and it’s nothing short of insane. Imagine the most delicious baklava you’ve ever tasted, then somehow transform all that flaky, nutty, honey-soaked goodness into cheesecake form.
Yeah. It rocks.
May I go?
In a moment, please.
Zeekz is one of those places where pride in the dining experience seems to touch everything, from the generous portions and reasonable prices to the care that goes into the food itself. And despite Ned the Greek is preparing to open less than a mile away later this month, and Taziki’s already serving Mediterranean fare just across the river on Market Street, I have a feeling the North Shore’s most enduring landmark has finally found a tenant that’s in it for the long haul.