Owner Sam Leo has relocated his family-run Zeko’s Village Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria from Morganton to Lake Norman into a space that longtime residents of the area will recognize.
The new location, which opened April 8, is on N.C. 150 in Catawba County near the eastern Lincoln County community of Denver, just west of Mount Pleasant Road.
The 35-seat restaurant tucked in a familiar red building is open daily for lunch and dinner.
The menu includes the family’s signature pizzas and pasta, chicken and seafood entrees, stromboli, calzones, appetizers, soups and salads, and special lunch offerings.
The Chicken Alfredo Pizza is a customer favorite at Zeko’s Village Italian Family Restaurant in Denver NC near Lake Norman.
Leo told CharlotteFive in an interview at the restaurant Thursday that he created some of the entrees based on meals that his daughters, Zena and Hana, enjoyed him cooking at home growing up.
Chicken Ala Zena is fire-roasted chicken stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with mushrooms and vodka sauce, served with a side of spaghetti, meat or tomato sauce ($16.75).
And, Chicken Ala Hanna is fire-roasted chicken mixed with broccoli, mushrooms and fresh tomato, served over angel hair pasta, with choice of tomato, Alfredo or vodka sauce ($17.50).
Owner Sam Leo named his Chicken Ala Zena entree at Zeko’s Village Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Denver, NC, after one of his two daughters.
Pizza and Buffalo wing combos, pasta
Leo mentioned other specialties you will find at the restaurant, including:
Crispy or grilled chicken Alfredo: Fettuccine mixed with a special blended Alfredo cream sauce ($16.50)
Pizza and Buffalo wing combos: Five wings and a personal cheese pizza ($15.99); 10 wings and a 12-inch pizza ($23.50); or 20 wings and a 16-inch pizza ($38)
Zeko’s Salad: Ham, salami, pepperoni and turkey on a bed of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, bell onions, cucumbers, green olives, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese ($13.50).
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Customer-favorite N.Y.-style pizzas include:
Zeko’s Special: Pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, hamburger, bacon, green peppers, black olives, extra cheese ($13.99-$23.99)
Chicken Alfredo Pizza: Grilled chicken over Alfredo sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese ($12.99-$21.99)
New Mediterranean Pizza: Gyro meat, diced tomato, feta cheese, black olives ($12.99-$21.99).
The Pepperoni and Beef Pizza is a customer favorite at Zeko’s Village Italian Family Restaurant in Denver NC near Lake Norman.
Landmark red building
Leo, 43, and his family operated the restaurant from 2008 until last year in Morganton’s Magnolia Plaza Shopping Center. They then decided to tap into the Lake Norman market.
“People here are very friendly and supportive,” Leo said during the noon lunch rush at the new location. “And N.C. 150 has a lot of traffic.”
Leo is Egyptian-Italian. Family members who work together to operate the restaurant include brother, Armando; sister, Summer; their mother; and his two daughters.
The family moved from Long Island, New York, to Winston-Salem in 2000, Leo said. “Zeko” — the restaurant’s namesake — is an old name in his family, he said.
Owner Sam Leo stands at the sign for his Zeko’s Village Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria off N.C 150 in Denver NC on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
The restaurant is in a landmark red building that formerly housed Fire House Pizza.
In the late 1980s to early 1990s, the building was a drive-through beer store. (I was among the customers.)
The building stood out for its red paint, giving it a barn-like appearance in an area where farms dotted the landscape. The red exterior remains, but housing and the Steele Rubber Products facility have since replaced the farmland.
Zeko’s Village Italian Family Restaurant
Location: 6175 NC 150 East, Denver NC 28037
Cuisine: Italian
Menu