'IT'S UNFAIR'
I was ordered to buy $40k equipment over an ‘odor violation’ – the city has ‘started a wildfire’ and I’m fighting
The owner said he had local support in his battle for his business
A SMALL business owner said he was forced to close down his place after his city demanded he purchase a $40,000 piece of equipment.
Eddie Dong, the owner of a Portland, Oregon restaurant, said he had to eventually close due to an odor complaint.
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His Vietnamese restaurant Pho Gabo in Northeast Portland was the subject of an 18-month-long dispute with the city over a neighbor’s complaint.
City inspectors reportedly visited the locations multiple times due to food smells, according to Willamette Week.
“The odors detected smell like a wok dish,” one of the inspectors reportedly wrote on one of the visits.
“The smells intensified near the restaurant but were still easily discernible five houses away and across the street,” another inspector wrote in a February visit.
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“I spoke with a contractor working on the new homes down the street,” he added.
“The contractor stated they could smell the odors from the restaurant every day.”
The city suggested Dong purchase a $40,000 air filtration system to prevent smells from leaving the premises, according to Willamette Week.
Dong closed the Northeast Fremont Street branch in early February and laid off all his staff.
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“Everybody is getting involved now, so I’m proud I’m getting all this support,” Dong said.
“Just because one neighbor complained about the smell of the food, they are making us close the business? That’s not how it should work.”
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The owner claimed he could not do much to protect his business alone.
“This started a wildfire that is going to spread, and that’s a good thing,” he said
“Myself, I cannot do anything with the city. I’m just a small business.”
One of the groups that supported Dong was the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association.
Just because one neighbor complained about the smell of the food, they are making us close the business?"
Eddie Dong
They called on officials to change the code they labeled as “subjective” and “unfair.”
“There are a number of factors that contribute to Portland’s air quality (and livability) but forcing restaurants out of business does not seem like the most constructive way to address the problem,” ORLA’s president Jason Brandt said.
Brandt also claimed the air filter solution was expensive and would not necessarily eliminate the issue.
A spokesperson for the city’s Bureau of Development Services told Willamette Week the city had enforced one of its codes.
“BDS implements and enforces code as adopted by City Council. This code dates back to at least 1991,” the spokesperson said.
The office of the City Commissioner, Carmen Rubio, said they would investigate the issues around the code.
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“Commissioner Rubio is concerned and has directed her staff to launch an immediate evaluation of this code and to make recommendations on changes,” The commissioner’s chief of staff Jillian Schoene reportedly said.
Despite this shutdown, Dong operated two other Pho Gabo locations in Portland.