Pho Hoa Vietnamese restaurant now open, if you can find it

Independence Avenue needs a new Vietnamese restaurant: Pho 97 at 2605 Independence Avenue still hasn’t reopened since last month’s fire destroyed the adjoining Vista Theatre building, and Viet Hoa at 3616 Independence Avenue has been shuttered for a long time.

Beginning this week, there is a new Vietnamese bistro on the historic avenue, the first local franchise of the San Jose-based Pho Hoa Noodle Soup chain. But you have to be diligent to seek the place out: The one-week-old restaurant is almost invisible from the street.