San Francisco, CA
Bay Area chefs remember renowned SF Chef Charles Phan of Slanted Door who died at 62
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The community is remembering legendary San Francisco Chef Charles Phan of Slanted Door.
The 62-year-old chef died over the weekend after having a heart attack.
For decades, he’s been a pillar of the restaurant community.
Supporters say Slanted Door elevated Vietnamese cuisine to a national level after opening in 1995.
The death of celebrated Chef Charles Phan is hitting Bay Area chefs hard.
Many chefs say Phan was a visionary and a trailblazer.
“He really inspired lot of chefs in Bay Area,” said Chef Hoss Zare.
At Fang Chinese Restaurant near Moscone Center, Chef and Owner Kathy Fang appreciates what Phan has done.
“He really paved the way for all of us,” said Fang. “He created a modernized elevated version of it and won awards and won a lot of accolades for a cuisine that I feel is often times misunderstood. And that’s the case for a lot of Asian cuisine.”
Peter Fang, owner of House of Nanking, knew Charles Phan. “This news for me really hurt,” said Fang. He said Phan had eaten at his restaurant and Fang had eaten at Phan’s establishment.
“He was one of my best friends. He’d been here for a long time.”
The Slanted Door Restaurant was at the Ferry Building for more than 15 years. The restaurant and the chef had a lot of fans.
“I remember coming specifically to the Ferry building. It was always yummy and delicious,” said Marla Simon, a former Bay Area resident about Slanted Door. “Everything you ate (was delicious)– garlic glass noodles.”
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Ferry Building officials shared this statement on Tuesday saying:
“Chef Phan’s innovative approach to Vietnamese cuisine and his commitment to sustainable, locally sourced ingredients created a dining experience that shaped the Ferry Building’s legacy as a culinary destination.”
“It’s really sad to hear– a legend in our game of someone who elevated Vietnamese food and just the dining scene in San Francisco,” said Chef Matthew Ho with Bodega SF, a Vietnamese Restaurant on Mason Street. “It was really cool to see and how he’s grown his restaurant and to be able to move into such an iconic building like the Ferry Building as well.”
Phan came to the U.S. from Vietnam at the age of 13 and was a self-taught chef. He won several big awards–including the James Beard Award for Best California Chef in 2004.
“He’s one of the big giants. I stand on his shoulders to get to where I am today,” said Chef Tu David Phu with Gigi’s, a Vietnamese-inspired wine bar in San Francisco.
“The road that he has built– not just for myself, but for other young culinary chefs in the industry, the Vietnamese culture, Asian American culture, brown people, people of color– the success he’s achieved, and the things he contributed in that space…we’re not going to see that for a long time. I thank him and his family, not just for the Bay Area, but also for Vietnamese cuisine.”
Renowned chefs across the Bay Area are remembering phan.
Chef Casey Thompson who was a contestant on Top Chef posted this:
“You will be missed. Memories of what you created will not be forgotten.”
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Chef Hoss Zare, a celebrated San Francisco-based chef and lead operational training executive chef at Bon Appétit at Google, said he has lost a dear friend.
“We had many meals together,” said Zare. “His personality, added to culinary skill, what he established as a legacy in the Bay Area, is a blueprint for us to follow,” said Zare.
Charles Phan– a well-loved and well-respected chef –who many say exemplified the true American dream.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco could vote again on whether to allow cars on the Great Highway
In San Francisco’s Sunset District, controversy continues over what to do with the Great Highway.
Friday, the newly-appointed supervisor for that district, Alan Wong, confirmed he is running to keep his job. He also shared that he would support a ballot measure that would bring cars back to the now-closed stretch of road. Some residents in the district already said they would be prepared to fight back against that ballot measure if it came to fruition.
This has been a politically tumultuous year for the Sunset District. In November of 2024, San Francisco voters narrowly approved Proposition K, which moved to close the highway along Ocean Beach to cars and to transform it into a park. In March of 2025, the stretch of road was permanently closed to cars, and in April, the area was officially reopened as Sunset Dunes Park. In September, voters recalled then-Supervisor Joel Engardio, with many in the campaign against Engardio expressing frustration with his support for turning the Great Highway into a park. In November, Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz as the new supervisor for District 4, only to have her resign a week later amid growing questions about her actions as a small business owner.
At the start of December, Mayor Lurie swore in Alan Wong as his new appointee to serve as supervisor in District 4. Wong grew up in the Sunset, attended Lincoln High School, and has served as both an elected member of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees and as a legislative aid to former supervisor Gordon Mar.
In an interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday, Wong shared that he has not hidden the fact that he voted no on Prop. K in the 2024 election. However, in his first three weeks in office, Wong said he set out to “have conversations with different constituent groups and listen to them” about the issues.
“After three weeks of listening and having these conversations, I believe that my values and how I voted before align with the majority of the district,” Wong said.
San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong supports a ballot measure that calls for cars to return to the Great Highway.
“And as the district supervisor, I need to take a leadership role in representing the district that I am here to serve,” he continued.
Wong said he is now prepared to be one of the four supervisors supporting a ballot initiative to reopen the Great Highway to cars on weekdays.
Molly Rose, with Sunset Parent Advocates, worries that when Wong was listening to community voices over the past three weeks, some voices may have been left out.
“If he talked to the Sunset residents, he didn’t talk to me, and he didn’t talk to us– the family groups I am a part of,” Rose said.
“We are all very pro-park, we use it very heavily as a park,” she continued.
Rose said there are several hundred parents involved with her group. As a parent, Rose said her children love going to the park there.
“Sunset Dunes is the place where I take my kids to have a safe place to play,” she said.
Rose said that she has been asking for Wong to meet with her group, but has been waiting to hear back from his scheduling team.
Wong’s office confirmed that Rose is in touch with their office and that Wong’s scheduler is “actively coordinating a time” for them to meet.
“While I do think there is a very loud, anti-park contingent of people in the Sunset, I don’t think they’re the majority,” Rose emphasized.
San Francisco, CA
New SF supervisor supports reopening Great Highway on weekdays
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Alan Wong, the new supervisor for District four in San Francisco, has publicly expressed his support for reopening the Great Highway to vehicles on weekdays. This statement comes amid ongoing debates surrounding the highway’s conversion into a park last spring, which was met with mixed reactions from the community.
The Great Highway was transformed into a public park earlier this year, a change that many residents have embraced, while some local neighbors have pushed back. Joel Engardio, the former supervisor who supported this conversion through Measure K, was recalled this year, highlighting the division among constituents in District four.
Wong, who was appointed as supervisor following Engardio’s recall, filed paperwork to run for the elected position on the board. His term is set to last until January 2027, during which he aims to solidify his platform around reopening the Great Highway.
In his statement, Wong emphasized, “I believe my values align with a majority of Sunset residents who support reopening the Great Highway to cars on weekdays. As a result, I am prepared to be one of four supervisors needed to sponsor a ballot initiative to restore that compromise.” This suggests Wong’s intent to address community concerns head-on while building a wider consensus.
Prior to its conversion, the Great Highway allowed vehicles during the week and served as a park on weekends, a compromise Wong supports restoring. He aims to return to this model in response to feedback from local constituents.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
San Francisco, CA
Women’s volleyball professional team headed to San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – Pro volleyball will soon be coming to San Francisco and this latest team is part of a surge of women’s sports.
League One Volleyball officially launched this year with six teams. Now the league has announced it’s expanding to nine teams, and that one of those expansion teams will be based in the city by the bay.
Three-time Olympic volleyball medalist Kelsy Robinson Cook is on the ownership team for LOVB San Francisco, bringing professional volleyball to the city. “Can tell you it’s going to be amazing,” said Robinson Cook. “Then, when you bring in the fandom of the Bay Area and SF I think personally it’s going to make for an incredible atmosphere.”
Team ownership said starting a team in the Bay Area is a natural with colleges and universities in the region turning out top talent. “It’s the number one sport for women and girls and I think that just speaks volumes as to where we’re headed, not only in club and college, but professionally,” said Robinson Cook.
Pro women’s volleyball is part of a growing list of professional women’s sports teams calling San Francisco and the Bay Area home.
The women’s professional baseball league announced plans for a team in San Francisco. Bay FC and the Golden State Valkyries are already proving there is a market for professional women’s sports.
When pro-volleyball was looking to expand, San Francisco was a natural choice. “You’re seeing Bay FC, the Valkyries, the success that they have, and this market loves sports, and they’ve also proven they love women’s sports,” said Robinson Cook.
San Francisco leaders said the city has already proven that it supports pro-women’s teams, and will welcome professional volleyball. Mayor Daniel Lurie pointed to the city’s rich sports history and enthusiasm to support the home teams. “Now, as we saw with the Valkyries selling out every single home game last year, there is an appetite, there is a fan base, and this new league understands that,” said Mayor Lurie.
At this time, there are still a lot of questions up in the air, including exactly where LOVB San Francisco will play. Organizers say they have a lot of plans in the works to get the team ready to bump, set and spike starting in January 2027.
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