Beloved South Bay restaurant temporarily closed after viral video allegedly showing an employee slamming meat on ground

Milpitas restaurant PhoLove has been temporarily closed by the county’s health department after a viral video showed an employee slamming frozen ribs on the ground outside of a restaurant.

The restaurant owners, however, claim that the video is sabotage from a former employee, and say they are collaborating with the health department on an investigation.

“I’m concerned as the people, and I understand the outrage,” said PhoLove owner Uyen Tran in a message to this news organization. “We will work our best to address the situation.”

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 the 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.

According to a statement from Santa Clara County Environmental Health Director Marilyn C. Underwood, representatives from the department conducted a full investigation this morning. While investigating the rib incident, the inspectors noted other “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 has been closed until the owners can address the issues and “demonstrate acceptable food handling practices.”

Prior to the incident, county health inspections over the past year had shown only minor violations prior to those shown in the viral video.

The connection between the restaurant and the video also led to an outpouring of outrage, with scores of one-star reviews referencing the video from users throughout the northern hemisphere – including as far as eastern Canada.

Yelp has since disabled reviews for the restaurant.

Tran responded to the allegations in comments on the site by saying that the video came from a former employee trying to “bring my restaurant down” and noted at one point that those who were commenting likely had never been to the restaurant.

“We’ve seen the video being shared online, and we are as concerned as you are. The behavior shown does not represent our values or our training. This was a deliberate act by a former employee and an accomplice, and we were never involved,” said Tran on Yelp. “We have already filed a report with the police and will support their investigation fully. Thank you for your support as we work to uphold the standards you expect from us.”

Officer Michelle Sanchez, Public Information Officer for the Milpitas Police Department said that the department was aware of the video but was “not investigating the incident at this time because it does not have any criminal conduct” and would fall under the jurisdiction of the county health department.

In a message to this news organization, Tran said he is currently working with the health department on an investigation into the incident.

Prior to the viral video, the restaurant was beloved by online reviewers, with 4.9 out of 5 stars on Google’s review platform and scores of positive reviews on Yelp.