Less than three months after sewage backed up through the drains at Ballad Towne Square and flooded Pho Pot's kitchen, the Forest Grove restaurant is still closed, still gutted, and still scrambling to pay for a rebuild that owner Michelle Tran says could run close to $100,000 just for a new walk-in cooler and freezer. Tran is now hoping to reopen the Vietnamese restaurant on Black Friday, Nov. 27, at its longtime spot at 2834 Pacific Ave.
The flooding began Aug. 16, when sewage backed up through the shopping center's drains, according to Forest Grove News-Times. A separate account from Robyn Schamberger describes an apparent sewer line backup sending water into several Ballad Towne Square businesses on Aug. 17, so the exact start date remains unsettled between the two reports. Either way, Tran and her husband tried to clean up the mess themselves that evening, but by the next morning, water had spread throughout the kitchen and into the dining and storage areas, the News-Times reported.
Tran said she was told nearly everything would need to be replaced, from the flooring and drywall to the restaurant's walk-in cooler and freezer, per the same account. Replacing the cooler and freezer alone was estimated to cost nearly $100,000, she said. Pho Pot had opened in Forest Grove just over two years before the flooding hit, and the damage derailed Tran's plans to purchase another building.
A Fundraiser Stuck at 1 Percent
Pho Pot launched a GoFundMe campaign on Oct. 14 seeking $45,000 for rebuilding costs and ongoing expenses. As of Monday, Nov. 9, it had raised just $445 from 12 donations, about 1% of its goal, the station's report notes. In the fundraiser, Pho Pot's owners wrote that they had reached a point where they needed help, and that kindness gave them the courage to ask.
The slow fundraising stands in sharp contrast to two other businesses hit by the same flooding. A GoFundMe for BJ's Coffee Company had raised $32,195 toward a $35,000 goal as of Nov. 9, while a campaign supporting Phil's 1500 Subs had raised $13,985 toward a $20,000 goal by the same date, per the same account.
Tran said the landlord's insurance has covered most restoration expenses so far, but that coverage doesn't account for all of Pho Pot's losses. Insurance approvals also delayed restoration work initially. The restaurant still has outstanding payments owed to an architect and contractor, though those vendors have agreed to defer payment until Pho Pot reopens, and Tran said the restaurant also has to cover other expenses, including replacement of aging ceiling tiles. “The impact is huge,” Tran said, according to the report.
Neighboring Businesses Already Back in Business
Multiple contractors are now working to complete repairs at Pho Pot, with Tran hoping to welcome customers again by the third week of November, and specifically on Black Friday. Other tenants at the shopping center have already clawed their way back. Phil's 1500 Subs reopened Sept. 21 after five weeks of demolition, asbestos abatement and repairs, the News-Times reported.
BJ's Coffee Company resumed operations Oct. 1 with a temporary pop-up at Waltz Brewing, 1900 A St., following roughly six weeks of closure. Owners Nathan Palmer and Lindsay Jo Smith are preparing to move the coffee shop permanently into the Cole Carter Building at 19th Avenue and Elm Street, a property they had purchased before the flooding hit. A separate Aug. 18 report had also noted that Godfather's Pizza closed briefly after water entered its office area but had reopened by the time of that account.
For Pho Pot, though, the road back has been slower and far more costly, with a fundraiser that has yet to gain real traction even as Tran pushes toward a holiday-weekend reopening.
