{"id":258725,"date":"2026-04-09T03:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T03:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258725\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T03:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T03:51:11","slug":"beloved-fresno-chef-hospitalized-after-best-week-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/258725\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Fresno chef hospitalized after best week ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie Wutangsy<\/a>, the kind of guy he is, is fielding calls from a wheelchair parked in the spring sun outside Community Regional Medical Center. It\u2019s the first time he\u2019s been outside since he was admitted there last week.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d forgive the beloved chef and restaurant owner for being more subdued than normal. His heart is pumping at 15-20% capacity, he told The Bee on Tuesday, well below what it should be.<\/p>\n

And yet, he\u2019s still landing jokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning a business is not for the weak-hearted. No pun intended,\u201d says the 31-year-old, whose My Guy Market helped popularized the chopped cheese sandwich<\/a> in Fresno.<\/p>\n

Chef Eddie hinted at his health issues in a social media post last week, announcing My Guy Market would close for the day<\/a> while he went to get some X-rays. He\u2019d been experiencing symptoms but kept working, despite calls from his business partner to take a few days off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a hard-headed person. This was me, pushing myself to the limit. It just finally started to stack up.\u201c<\/p>\n

Ironically, My Guy Market was having its best week ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut me, I was at my lowest.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is My Guy Market?<\/p>\n

Wutangsy was a known personality before opening My Guy Market, having done kitchen work at restaurants such as KuniSama, Benaddiction and Chef Paul\u2019s Cafe. He was also known to pop up, sometimes on stage, maybe, dancing at community events, particularly in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n

My Guy Market was inspired by a walking trip through New York City, where Wutangsy was introduced to the chopped-cheese<\/a>, a sort of deconstructed hamburger that gained popularity the past few years. As he told The Bee in 202<\/a>3, he walked 20 miles from Manhattan into Brooklyn, through the neighborhoods made famous by rappers like ODB (Old Dirty Bastard) and Mos Def. He tried 20 different sandwiches, from 20 different bodegas (New York\u2019s version of the corner store).<\/p>\n

His original menu had four items: the NY-style chopped cheese; a bacon and cherry pepper version called the Chop Smoke; the Hippy Flip, with shitaki and enoki mushrooms; and a bacon egg and cheese (another bodega staple). Since then, he\u2019s added the viral-worthy<\/a> Checkmate sandwich, made with slow-smoked \u201cdino\u201d short ribs. The bone is meant to be pulled straight out of the wrapper.<\/p>\n

He also created a menu of Laotian dishes for a series of pop-up events.<\/p>\n

The restaurant took on the chef\u2019s personality \u2014 full of energetic chaos, optimism and love. For a time, he took to hiding banded stacks of cash ($100 in dollar bills) inside to-go bags, as a way of giving back (quite literally) to customers. Sometimes, he just handed out the money, in person, just to see the reaction.<\/p>\n

As such, My Guy Market became one of Fresno\u2019s most buzz-worthy eateries. Fresno Bee readers overwhelmingly voted it the most underrated restaurant in town<\/a> in 2023. It placed first or second in five categories in the Best of Central California readers poll<\/a> for 2025 including best sandwiches and best curbside restaurant.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing news of Eddie\u2019s health issues, the community quickly rallied in support, raising more than $25,000<\/a> via a GoFundMe campaign. The money will help offset the loss of income while the restaurant is closed, along with medical costs.<\/p>\n

Wutangsy says he is currently uninsured.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s surprised by the support, even if he knows he shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie: It\u2019s very emotional,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m speechless.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s an odd thing for him.<\/p>\n

If things go well, he thinks the hospital stay should last another week. It will probably be a week or so after that before he\u2019s able to get back into the kitchen, he says. \u201cMy main focus is just to make sure that I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the My Guy Market crew is hosting a Lao BBQ pop-up<\/a> \u201cin honor, love and support for our CAPTAIN chef EDDIE.\u201d The meals feature Eddie\u2019s take on Laotian cuisine including Lao sausage, sticky rice and jeow som (dipping sauce). A limited number of Checkmate sandwiches will also be available.<\/p>\n

The meals are online, pre-order onl<\/a>y with pick up 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12.<\/p>\n

Several of the dishes are already sold out.<\/p>\n

\"A A Chopped Cheese sandwich from My Guy Market, photographed Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.\n <\/p>\n