Noted chef Charles Phan who opened the popular and acclaimed Vietnamese restaurant The Slanted Door in San Francisco, has died at the age of 62, reports the San Francisco Standard.

The family confirmed his passing on Instagram.

“We are grateful to our community for your support and kindness. Please respect our privacy as we take the time to grieve,” the statement read. “For now, let’s honor Charles’ extraordinary life and legacy by keeping his spirit alive in the way we savor and share meals with one another—always family style.”

The company told the San Francisco Eater Pham’s restaurants would continue to operate under its current management.

The Vietnamese immigrant who fled his home country with his family at the age of 13 and opened the original Slanted Door in San Francisco’s Mission District in 1995. Nine years later he would move to the upscale Ferry Building along the city’s Embarcadero waterfront. The Beard Foundation named it the outstanding restaurant in the country in 2015.

Pham also received recognition by James Beard as best chef in California in 2004.

The Slanted Door closed during the pandemic and never reopened, but Pham had plans to reopen back in the Mission district this spring.

His outlets in Napa, the San Francisco suburb of San Ramon and an international restaurant in Beaune, France remain open.

The San Francisco Chronicle described Pham as a “national leader in reinventing modern Vietnamese food in America.”

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