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If you only read WW in print, you’ve missed one of our most interesting—and impactful—stories of the past month. On Feb. 24, Rachel Saslow reported on the closure of Roseway neighborhood restaurant Pho Gabo. WW learned that persistent complaints from a single neighbor had effectively shuttered the restaurant because it “smelled like a wok dish.” A city odor inspector demanded that Pho Gabo install an expensive air filtration system; instead, the soup shop closed. The story galvanized readers, who couldn’t believe that city code gave one complaining neighbor so much power. On March 6, City Commissioner Carmen Rubio suspended the city’s odor enforcement program and directed a full review of its authority. Here’s what our readers had to say:
blaisebarshawart, via Instagram: “How one whiny person can almost close a business is unbelievable. Has a McDonald’s ever closed down because it smells of greasy death?”
goddess.of.sound, via Instagram: “One person was able to cost an entire restaurant their livelihoods because they didn’t want to smell food??? Sounds about white. I can’t imagine having that level of audacity. I don’t know what’s worse—the complaining neighbor or the complicit Bureau of Development Services.”
benny_crockerr, via Instagram: “The fact that the city took this seriously and caused a small business to shutter is just so disgusting and vile.”
@maccoinnich, via Twitter: “I don’t think I’ve seen an issue in local politics where everybody was so united.”
Mid County, via wweek.com: “Be careful what you wish for…
“Not allowing city inspection intervention based on malodors has the potential to rapidly go sideways. Foul odors often lead to the discovery of serious health violations, but what’s a foul odor worthy of looking into?
“Housemade Roman garum anyone? Sun-dried durian? Open air ‘aging’ of meat to make it more ‘gamey’? Etc.? Yeah, there’s limits. I get that one person’s particularly aromatic delicacy can assault the senses of another. Even the Huy Fong Sriracha processing plant had to put in heavy-duty air filters because of neighborhood complaints.
“Personally, I wouldn’t mind the neighborhood having the lingering odor of a wok cookout. I have recent immigrant families on either side of me, and the daily cooking smells wafting from their homes are absolutely intoxicating.”
mrballistic, via Reddit: “I do wish that we could find out who did the complaining. A real estate speculator? A renter? A Karen? I want to know. I feel like the investigators should have to identify them, at least to show motivation.”
monkeychasedweasel, via Reddit: “I hope a ‘seafood boil’ restaurant opens in that place, making the complainant suffer exponentially more.”
barefoot2626, via wweek.com: “People have a right to peaceful enjoyment of their home—and even if they moved in a month ago.
“Offensive odors aren’t grandfathered in…”
more_hapsichord, via Instagram: “Go back to your Miracle Whip sandwiches and cheese balls.”
HighburyHero: “[Pho Gabo] needs to be back ‘cause I need a vermicelli bowl with shrimp and rolls real, real bad.”
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