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Restaurant Closes After Customer Finds Roach in TakeoutPho #1 in the Northway Mall hopes to reopen soonANCHORAGE - After a long day working as a Certified Nurse's Assistant, Stephanie Williams had a craving for Vietnamese food. She went to Pho #1 in the Northway Mall. "I really enjoyed going there," she said. She and her boyfriend picked up some food to go. When they got home, they were going to put it in a bowl, when her boyfriend spotted two roaches floating in her soup. They went back to the restaurant, and when they complained, Williams said the restaurant worker went to get them another serving. Williams insisted he return their money. "If my boyfriend wouldn't have seen it, we would have had cockroach soup!" she said. Then she posted the pictures of the offending insect to Facebook. By Wednesday, the Instagram photo had been shared over a thousand times. That's how management at the Northway Mall found out about it. On Monday, the mall closed the restaurant to see what they could do about the problem. By Wednesday city inspectors checked out the establishment. This wasn't the first time Pho #1 had a violation. Its last inspection was in May of 2011. Then health inspectors found "rodent droppings " throughout the facility. Municipal records show there was no follow-up. Deputy Director of Health and Human Services Department Steve Morris says inspectors are behind on restaurant check-ins -- in some cases at least a year behind. "They've had some issues with staffing been down a couple of staff people." The department usually has six full time health inspectors, but only four are currently employed. "It takes a while to rehire, although we're in the process of doing that right now." Ma'o Tosi from Northway Mall management spoke for the restaurant owner, who doesn't speak English. "There was never any ill will or trying not to clean the place; it's just one [of] these issues [that] happen every now and then…" Since she found two cockroaches in her soup, Williams isn't feeling the craving anymore. "Just disappointment," she said. "It was going to be my boyfriend and my daughter. I was going to feed that to my baby and my family was going to eat it." Once the roaches are cleaned up, the owner hopes the cravings come back. |
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shirley said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 9:47 AM
HSSD needs to get on the ball and quit making excuses,its peoples lives that are at stake.They charge a healthy fee for food service liscences that is supposed to pay for inspections. I know of some rural Alaska restaurants that have not been inspected for 4 or 5 years.
114175771Irene said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 10:27 AM
Makes you wonder about all the facilities in the building.....Carrs, Oriental Food place, the smoothie shop, the coffee shop and hood wings....was the entire place inspected?
114179571Bug Guy said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 11:09 AM
They don't even have to call a pest control company under Alaska law the dishwasher or any other employee can treat the problem!! And they don't have to keep ANY RECORDS of what they used, where they used it or how much they used all things a professional pest control company would have to keep!!!! Alaska lets anyone working for a Restaurant of hotel or your landlord to apply pesticides without a license or keeping records!! If you have eaten at a restaurant and fell sick later it COULD be from something other than the food!! By you well never know as they don't have to keep records.
114183265roadfamily6now said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 11:38 AM
I saw those pictures on Facebook and that Pho looked nasty! There are better Pho places in town. Next time, try Pho Saigon.
114185631Lani said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 12:37 PM
Go to Ray's Place on Fireweed and Spenard - best and CLEANEST Vietnamese restaurant around. BTW - I NEVER eat in Northway...that whole place is just dirty and dumpy!
114191431AK Voices said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 7:53 PM
Yep, NO RECORDS...As We ate PHO' on Spenard Road once and got Dhirea for two days...There was NOTHING we could have done to complaint.
114220101Niki said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 9:38 PM
I agree that Pho Saigon is amazing over by Target in Muldoon. You might have to wait for a table, that is how popular it is becoming.
114223821guest said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 10:22 PM
If anyone wants really really awful "food" try the food court at the Sears Mall. *barf*
114225531Prolitariat said on Friday, Feb 22 at 7:21 PM
I wish i could have a State of Alaska Job & NOT have to work for Pay & Bennies plus COLA.. Is that how to survive in alaska anymore? Get Elected or Hired As A state Worker??
114302931Justsaying said on Tuesday, Feb 26 at 12:52 PM
Hmmmm... I have lived in Alaska for 7 years and in the Pacific Northwest for 35 years and have never seen a roach. They are rampant in the south, but they don't survive here. So it just makes me wonder...
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