Three weeks before San Francisco’s high-profile international summit event brings thousands of visiting foreign dignitaries, the city is doing everything it can to bolster its reputation. For many of Chinatown’s restaurants, however, rolling out the red carpet can also mean increased scrutiny.
In recent weeks, inspectors from the San Francisco Department of Public Health have visited multiple Chinatown restaurants for routine inspections, shutting several down temporarily over health code violations and causing a panic wave in the community
Steven Lee, owner of the century-old Sam Wo restaurant, told The Standard that his business was shut down briefly. And soon, a Google user posted a photo of the “CLOSED” notice that was then displayed on Google Maps.
He later posted the restaurant’s “PASS” notice on the Google review, hoping to control any damage to Sam Wo’s reputation.
The city is putting pressures on small businesses to meet the standard,” Lee said, “but where’s their responsibility to keep the street clean?”
Kathy Lee, Far East’s second-generation owner, said the restaurant passed its inspection earlier this month, and she understands the city may want to be stricter.
Little Paris, a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant on Stockton Street, was recently cited for food temperature issues but received a conditional pass. Owner Xiaolan Mei told The Standard that she had to throw food away because inspectors determined it wasn’t hot or cold enough.
The Department of Public Health issued a statement to The Standard confirming multiple inspections and the temporary permit suspensions in Chinatown but denied that the crackdown was related to APEC.
Normally, the department conducts inspections twice a year with a focus on foodborne illness risks to “ensure health and safety to all San Franciscans and visitors.”
“We want to make sure the world knows Chinatown,” Lee said. “We want to show the world that we are not the shithole that everybody says we are.”