PORTLAND, Oregon — The Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association is calling for the city of Portland to make changes after a Northeast Portland restaurant shut its doors due to a repeated complaint about cooking smells.
Vietnamese restaurant Pho Gabo has been operating at Fremont Street and Northeast 74th Avenue for five years. But on Feb. 3, customers found the doors of the restaurant closed.
The owner had taped a note to the door, saying a complaint from a nearby resident and fines from the city of Portland led them to decide to close the eatery. That person had complained about the smell of cooking meat coming from the restaurant.
"It's hard to believe that one anonymous person can complain repeatedly about an odor coming from a restaurant that's been there for the last five years — and a restaurant has sat for the last 30 years, and suddenly, that owner is now facing fines," said Greg Astley with the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association.
The group said that they are not aware of any other restaurant in the state being fined for something like this.
"For any other code violation, like light or noise or vibration, there is an objective measurable standard in place, and yet for this odor violation, it's entirely based on the subjective fact that the inspector smelled something," explained Astley.
Owner Eddie Dong told KGW he is frustrated after receiving the $900 fine and doesn’t think that he will reopen this location. Pho Gabo has two other locations in the area, one in Happy Valley and one in Hillsboro.
According to Portland city code, "Continuous, frequent or repetitive odors may not be produced" by restaurants.
"We are not talking about wood smoke and particulates that might get into the air; we are not talking about rotting fish or meat or anything like that that is displeasing," argued Astley. "Literally, the complaint was they didn't like the smell of the grill and the meat."
Five Vietnamese-American State Legislators, called Portland's odor code "discriminatory" toward minority-owned small businesses, on Wednesday in a statement released by Rep. Daniel Nguyen, Rep. Hai Pham, Rep. Thuy Tran, Rep. Hoa Nguyen and Rep. Knanh Pham of the Oregon House of Representatives.
"As elected leaders within the Vietnamese community, we believe the closure of Phở Gabo sets a dangerous precedent and sends a troubling message about the value placed on cultural diversity within Portland," the statement said.
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