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New Vietnamese restaurant on Dot. Ave. rejected

In an unusual move, the Boston Licensing Board today rejected a couple's request to let them turn an old Chinese restaurant into a new Vietnamese place, because of the husband's criminal past and his failure to fully own up to it at a board hearing this week.

The board rarely turns down applications for simple food-serving licenses, such as the one sought for the proposed VN Express, which would have replaced China Pagoda at 1616 Dorchester Ave. in Fields Corner.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Khanh Nguyen said he and his wife, Nhung, wanted to serve Vietnamese and Chinese breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Nguyen worked at China Pagoda when it was cited for illegal gambling in March. When board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer asked for details about his criminal record, Nguyen said he had once been convicted for cocaine possession but that that was a long time ago.

But Timothy Golden, BPD District C-11's community services officer, who attended the hearing, said Nguyen had an extensive criminal record that included both drug and firearms offenses.

When Ferrer asked Nguyen again about his record, he admitted that he had also been convicted of illegal gun possession in 1991 or 1992, but that he had forgotten about that because it was a long time ago.

Board member Milton Wright, a retired judge, said "everyone is entitled to a second chance," but expressed concern that Nguyen had not mentioned the gun conviction.

In the couple's application, Nhung Nguyen, who has no record, was listed as the owner. Khanh Nguyen said he would work mainly as the cook.

Both Golden and the mayor's office opposed granting a license to the Nguyens, citing both the gambling citation at the former China Pagoda and Nguyen's record.

The restaurant would be "a bad fit for the neighborhood and could adversely affect the quality of life for the neighborhood," Golden said.

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Comments

VN Express is already at that location.

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And now they definitely don't have one.

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Or at least every time I ordered the Crab Ragoon...

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This is the kind of place that keeps Dorchester Avenue so ghetto looking. It’s just an ugly shack in an expansive parking lot. About a year ago, they installed some massive wood planters, but they never planted anything in them but weeds.

Funny fact: One may follow Doug Bennett’s failed political ambitions just by looking at that restaurant’s side wall on Google Map’s street view. It has been plastered continuously with Doug’s campaign signs since 2009. You can see it for yourself by entering “1616 Dorcheter Ave.” on Google map, and going back in time in “Street View” mode (a nifty feature that was recently added to Google map).

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The fact that I've seen crackheads panhandling with higher quality signs than his most recent campaign's and that they are still in evidence everywhere is a good indicator of his quality as a candidate.

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the "Sheriff" of nottinhead out of this.

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Which explains the parking lot and shack look. At least the new owners took out the old pump island and rusting old light pole.

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They should just knock China Pagoda/VN whatever down and put in a Starbucks.

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store!!

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