Boulder Pho renewed but must check in monthly for six months after sales‑tax lapse

Chair Leah Roberts and city licensing staff pressed the owner of Boulder Pho to explain months of missed communications and overdue sales‑tax filings during a continued renewal hearing on March 18.

Penelope Rhodes of the City of Boulder’s licensing team told the Authority that Boulder Pho was “not in good standing with sales tax” but that the business was working with staff and accounting support to remedy missing filings. Owner Duy Nguyen said his accountant had been hospitalized, some mailed payments had bounced and that “90 to 95% of the balance” should be resolved within days. He also said he would update the restaurant’s contact information with the city and attend to remaining filings promptly.

Roberts and other board members said the city had spent significant staff time attempting to get a response and wanted guarantees that the business would stop repeating missed communications. Roberts asked how the owner would prevent a recurrence; Nguyen said he would update his contact details, bring missing documents to the sales‑tax office and “communicate more with the people from the office.”

Licensing staff said past promises had not all been kept; Rhodes said she could not yet express confidence that the business would follow through based on prior history. After board discussion, Roberts moved to renew the license with conditions: Boulder Pho must appear for administrative check‑ins with licensing staff for the next six months, and the board will consider suspension if the licensee is not in good standing or fails to communicate. Member Ginger Barnes seconded the motion and the Authority approved it.

What happens next: The board will expect the licensee to…