‘Bummer’: 4 PSU food carts need to move by July 1
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — PSU grad student Clayton Ragan often eats at the Khao Niew food cart on campus.
“At least once a week, if not three times. Yeah, two or three is pretty, pretty typical,” Ragan told KOIN 6 News. “We know the guy who runs it is a lovely person. And we like hanging out with him and supporting him.”
That guy, Nong Phimmoungkhoun, has been serving Lao food to PSU students for about two years. But he and 3 other food carts in the pod near the Millar Library are being forced to pack up by July 1.
“It’s just sad that I have to leave these people to see that they actually really care about this spot,” Phimmoungkhoun said.
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The issue affecting the 4 carts revolves around a lack of wastewater infrastructure at the site. The City of Portland issued a violation notice to PSU after inspectors found grease in the stormwater planter in July 2023. That can attract vermin and is bad for the environment. The university would need to connect a hose to bring the water to a central disposal area.
“I’m heartbroken that this had to happen,” Phimmoungkhoun said. “I wish we could fix that.”
Ragan, one of his favorite and most loyal customers, was more direct.
“It’s a pretty big bummer,” Ragan said. “I mean, it’s like a huge part of, I think, the culture of at least our department.”
In a statement, PSU said the campus planning office spent months going back and forth with the city but weren’t successful in getting regulatory relief. They said they don’t have the funds available for the renovations, which “would cost between $40,000 and $50,000 and funding would need to come from our retail business operations — which haven’t fully recovered since COVID.”
Ragan said he’d be fine with that money “coming from part of my tuition that I pay.”
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And Phimmoungkhoun said fixing the issue is a good investment. “Even if it’s not for us, it’s for the people that come in the future.”
The 4 affected food carts need to find a new location, possibly off-campus.
Phimmoungkhoun said he “told the students and all this that I would try to stay as close as I can here because I love them, you know.”
But he may lose Ragan as a customer.
“I take the bus. I don’t know if I can bus down to wherever they’re at, then get the food. It’ll be a loss.”
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