Popular Vietnamese restaurant in North Highlands closed after failing health inspection

A well-liked Vietnamese restaurant in North Highlands closed after a Sacramento County Environmental Management Department inspection turned up a slew of violations.

Two of Pho Bac Hoa Viet’s violations – vermin/animal contamination and sewage/wastewater disposal – were severe enough to warrant an automatic closure during Tuesday’s inspection, according to Sacramento County’s website. The restaurant at 5060 Madison Ave. was also cited for improper cooling methods, hot and cold holding temperatures, time as a public health control and reheating procedures.

Pho Bac Hoa Viet then failed Wednesday’s reinspection for vermin/animal contamination. Full reports on either inspection were not available as of Thursday afternoon, when the restaurant was cleared to reopen.

Sacramento News & Review readers have named Pho Bac Hoa Viet the city’s top spot for pho or Vietnamese food in the “Best of Sacramento” popular vote every year since the categories were introduced in 2014. Founded in 1991, Pho Bac Hoa Viet once had locations ranging from West Sacramento to Placerville but has since shrunk to three outposts on Stockton Boulevard, Bradshaw Road and Madison Avenue.

The Madison Avenue location conditionally passed a previous inspection on Aug. 20 amid issues with hot and cold holding temperatures and time as a public health control. It passed reinspection the next day with no major issues.

Meanwhile, the Dairy Queen at 2426 Fruitridge Rd. was closed Monday after an inspector found a “dead/decayed mouse” and hundreds of droppings around the restaurant’s dry food storage, records show. Dozens more droppings were also found near the dish sink, by the soda syrup storage area and in the drive-through, and the operator killed a dying Turkestan cockroach that was crawling across the floor during the inspection, according to the inspector’s report.

The inspector also saw sewage surfacing from the floor drain behind the front counter when toilets were flushed and handwashing sinks were run, though a plumber arrived on the scene mid-inspection and repaired it. Dairy Queen reopened Tuesday after passing its reinspection.

High-profile restaurants such as Mas Taco Bar in the R Street Corridor, Scott’s Seafood on the River, Benihana Grill in Citrus Heights, Star Ginger and Zocalo in The UV shopping center conditionally passed their inspections in the last week.

Correction: A previous version of this article described 5060 Madison Ave. as being in Arden-Arcade.

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM.