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The popular Puerto Rican food vendor made a name for himself serving up scrumptious delights to the Columbia Heights community of Washington DC.
His food even drew raves from the Washington Post, which profiled Chef Ziggy and his cheery attitude despite his troubles at Christmas 2020.
Unfortunately, Chef Ziggy died last week and the community that he served is coming together to remember the way he loved "sharing his food, humor and culture with others in DC."
"He will be sorely missed by his community," fan Charles Moran wrote on a GoFundMe page for Segui. "Those of us so deeply impacted by Eliezer would like to get in touch with his family."
Fans held an impromptu memorial for Chef Ziggy in Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, on Thursday, May 19. The funds from the memorial were given to Consuela, who is the mom of Chef's Ziggy's son.
"His Puerto Rican sidewalk restaurant was known across the region," a Facebook post from Beloved Community Incubator read. "He gave so much love to his community and to Columbia Heights, and was loved in return."
Segui started his food stand after he lost his job as a cook at the convention center in March 2020 because of COVID-19, he told the Post.
His then 10-year-old son contracted the virus at Christmas, forcing the then 52-year-old to spend the holidays alone. Segui decided to spend the day feeding the hungry, and even giving away food to those who couldn't afford it.
While working on his "second act," someone threw all of Chef Ziggy's gear into a dumpster and rendering it beyond the point of repair.
The GoFundMe was set up to replace Segui's food cart after someone destroyed it last year. They wanted to raise $2,500, but actually ended up raising more than $8,700 — more than three times their goal — from 330 donors.
Through this endeavor and the recent memorial, it is clear that Chef Ziggy left a long-lasting impact on his community. "May his memory be a blessing."
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