Help ZAAP through a family tragedy

ZAAP is not only one of the best Thai restaurants in Portland, but also one of the few truly family-owned and family-run restaurants in town -- the work of the incredibly talented and kind Tebuteb family. Unfortunately, I received some tragic news from them recently: only four months after diagnosis, ZAAP's chef and Tebuteb family matriarch Bunlai has passed away from cancer at only 64 years old.

This is a heartbreaking and unexpected loss for their family and for the community as a whole. Of course -- being entirely family-run -- they need to keep the restaurant closed while they plan her funeral and settle her affairs. In the restaurant industry at the moment, margins are very tight. In the midst of their overwhelming grief, the Tebuteb family is also having to worry about keeping the restaurant open. With their permission, I've created this GoFundMe to help reduce their burden over the next few weeks.

Bunlai arrived to the United States in 1998 and worked for two decades at various Thai restaurants in Incline Village, Nevada. Moving to Portland and opening ZAAP in 2019 was a dream come true for her. Cooking was her passion -- after working at ZAAP six days a week, she'd still spend many days off trying new recipes at home. Even through her sudden illness, she was insisting that she'd be making a return to the ZAAP kitchen.

Bunlai originally learned to cook from her mother while growing up in the rice fields of Roi-Et, Thailand. She has passed on her culinary talents to her daughter Sirimanee ("Siri"), who has now taken over as chef. Along with her brother Anirut ("Beer") and their cousins and aunts, they're determined to honor their mother by keeping ZAAP open for years to come.