Milpitas restaurant PhoLove has been cleared by the county’s health department to re-open, only days since it was temporarily closed after a viral video showed an employee slamming frozen ribs on the ground.
The video — which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views across different social media platforms — shows someone grabbing slabs of ribs and slamming them against pieces of cardboard placed on stained concrete. At different points in the video, the meat skitters against the stained concrete and bumps into a mop bucket. The video is shot from above and appears to be a view from the roof of the restaurant.
A self-proclaimed geoguesser on Reddit posted that the restaurant was PhoLove in Milpitas, and claimed to have reported the restaurant to the health department.
The connection to the restaurant led to a flood of negative reviews and outrage from across the county and even Canada.
“I’m concerned as the people, and I understand the outrage,” said restaurant owner Uyen Tran in a message to this news organization last week. “We will work our best to address the situation.”
In comments on Yelp, Tran painted the video as an attempt at sabotage. “This was a deliberate act by a former employee and an accomplice, and we were never involved,” he wrote.
Santa Clara County Environmental Health conducted an investigation last Thursday morning and noted “major violations, including a cockroach infestation” and an inability to “properly sanitize utensils and equipment.” The restaurant also was cited for its handling of the frozen ribs and was closed until the owners can address the issues and “demonstrate acceptable food handling practices.”
Yesterday afternoon, the department conducted a follow up inspection of the restaurant, which showed that the major violations had been resolved, according to a statement from the county health department. The restaurant has been equipped to properly sanitize utensils, and both the inspection and most recent pest control reports showed no evidence of cockroach infestation.
The department will conduct an unannounced follow-up inspection of the restaurant in upcoming weeks.
PhoLove did not immediately answer a call and online message regarding the re-opening or give a timeline for when they would open their doors.