Tea Cafe on the Corner, the Asian fusion restaurant at 788 Asp Ave. that has fed OU students and Norman regulars for two decades, remains closed indefinitely after the death of co-owner and head chef Viet Hoa Nguyen on July 30. He was 47.

Nguyen and his wife, co-owner Rita Weng, took over the Campus Corner restaurant from Weng's family in 2006 and built it into what Fitzgerald Funeral Service's obituary called "a cherished Norman institution." Inside the kitchen, Nguyen kept a notebook full of handwritten recipes he developed through trial and error. His niece Nini Wu told the OU Daily that the dishes customers know are Nguyen's personal creations, refined over years.

The restaurant's reach extended well beyond Campus Corner.

During his 2018 Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, former OU quarterback Kyler Murray shouted out Tea Cafe as the spot where he'd take his offensive linemen every Wednesday. "You may hurt my pockets on Wednesday at Tea Cafe," Murray told his linemen from the podium. "I'd run through a wall for you boys."

Nguyen was more than a chef to the people who worked for him. San Cho, a longtime employee, told the OU Daily that Nguyen mentored young workers and made Tea Cafe a first job for many college students. Cho credited Nguyen with teaching him work ethic and business fundamentals at a young age.

Longtime customer Tammie Richard remembered Nguyen and Weng greeting regulars by name when they walked in. The couple would watch the restaurant's security camera to see who had arrived, then come out to say hello. Richard told the OU Daily that Nguyen treated every customer like they mattered and worked to make each visit memorable.

Before becoming a restaurateur, Nguyen earned a mechanical engineering degree from OU in 2002 and worked at Lockheed Martin in California designing satellites. He moved back to Norman in 2005 to marry Weng, whom he had met at a house party three years earlier. He was also a former all-state wrestler who won the 1997 Class 4A 130-pound state championship at East Central High School in Tulsa. During the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2025 NBA championship run, Nguyen bought a single ticket to Game 7 of the Finals and attended alone.

Five days before his death, Tea Cafe posted on its Instagram account that it would temporarily close due to a family emergency, with no reopening date. As of Aug. 18, the restaurant's Instagram bio states it "will remain closed until further notice." No announcement about the restaurant's future has been made by Weng or the family.

Nguyen is survived by Weng, their daughter Roselyn Nguyen, his parents Lieu and Hien Nguyen, his brother Nam Nguyen, and his sisters Tiffany Do and Kim Xiong. Customers can follow @okteacafe on Instagram for updates on the restaurant's status.