Owner Eddie Dong closed the Northeast Portland restaurant in February after a neighbor’s repeated complaints concerning the scent of grilled meat led to mounting fines.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The proprietor of Phở Gabo filed a $2.4 million lawsuit in opposition to town of Portland on Wednesday. The lawsuit claims the Vietnamese restaurant was focused with a number of inspections and fines over cooking odors.
“Plaintiffs had been handled in another way due to their race and/or nationwide origin and since their enterprise actions mirrored such traits,” the lawsuit stated.
In February, proprietor Eddie Dong closed the restaurant on Northeast Fremont and Northeast 74th, which had been in enterprise at that location since 2018. Dong had stated a neighbor’s repeated complaints concerning the scent of grilled meat led to mounting fines for violating metropolis code. The nameless particular person filed the preliminary criticism in March 2022, which was adopted by subsequent complaints filed via February 2024, in line with the lawsuit. At the time, metropolis code prohibited “steady, frequent, or repetitive odors.”
Based on inspections, town started to routinely situation fines to the property’s landlord, and an inspector described the odors as “like a Wok dish” and “smells from the wok,” in line with the lawsuit. The metropolis advised Dong that fines would proceed till he put in a brand new air filtration system value round $40,000, however that will not assure it could finish the continued complaints or fines.
“On info and perception, no restaurant apart from Phở Gabo has been required to incur the numerous monetary burden of totally new air-filtration programs no matter odor complaints issued in opposition to them,” the lawsuit stated.
Despite the restaurant’s closure in February, the lawsuit says Phở Gabo acquired an extra wonderful in March. On April 9, an legal professional representing Dong filed a tort declare, or a discover of intent to sue.
In November, Portland City Council unanimously authorized updates to town’s odor code, exempting companies like eating places, espresso retailers and nail salons from odor laws. The amended code goes into impact in March 2025.
Still, Dong advised KGW Thursday that he needs justice: “He fined me. He fined me many times. Even after we closed, he nonetheless fined me. The metropolis of Portland must be held accountable. That’s precisely what I need, and for my compensation.”
Dong stays a lessee of the property till January 2025. He owns one other Phở Gabo restaurant location in Hillsboro and one other in Happy Valley. He stated he is not certain if he’ll think about opening up once more in Portland and desires to maneuver on from this chapter in his life.
