The founder of Surin West in Birmingham, which became a chain of Thai restaurants and spread across the South, has died.

Surin Techarukpong died on Jan. 6. He was 67.

“Surin was one of a kind,” said Terrill Brazelton, owner of Troup’s Pizza, which opened in 2020 in Birmingham with Techarukpong as a business partner. “He truly was an immigrant who came over with nothing in his pocket from Thailand, didn’t speak English, and started a restaurant dynasty.”

Techarukpong opened Surin of Thailand in Five Points South in Birmingham in 1995 and it quickly became one of the city’s favorite dining spots.

He later opened Surin of Thailand in the Crestline neighborhood of Mountain Brook and Surin 280 on U.S. 280 in Birmingham. He owned two Thai restaurants in Atlanta that started in the 1980s, and also had locations in Huntsville and Knoxville, Tenn.

The Surin chain has at least seven restaurants, including the first two in Atlanta that are still operating, and Techarukpong has invested in other restaurants including Troup’s, helping start others restaurants, Brazelton said. Techarukpong was no longer involved in day-to-day running of the restaurants, although relatives still operate them, and there is expected to be no disruption of service at the restaurants.

The success of the Surin brand emanated from the universal appeal not just of the food, but Techarukpong’s bright personality.

“He was always smiling,” Brazelton said. “He was always happy.”

Techarukpong’s life message was, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything,” Brazelton said. “His goal was to be able to pursue that American dream. He gave me the opportunity to live my dream. He always wanted me to be successful.”

Techarukpong’s “parting words” were “focus and discipline yields intellect” and “just be happy, don’t try to seek happiness or avoid unhappiness,” according to his obituary.

Techarukpong came to the United States from Thailand as part of a Catholic mission program, although he was known for his devout Buddhism.

He earned a master’s degree at Loma Linda University and worked at a pizza restaurant in Los Angeles before moving to Alabama.

“Everyone he met, he made them feel better about themselves,” Brazelton said. “He was part of the family; we were part of his family.”

Techarukpong didn’t talk a lot about himself or his own accomplishments, Brazelton said.

“He was always focused on you,” he said. “It felt like the sun was shining on you and you alone. It’s been hard to accept that I’ll never see him again.”

“We all loved him,” said Brazelton’s wife, Ashley. “It’s a huge loss for our community.”

Techarukpong was survived by his wife and two daughters.

An outdoors celebration of life service will be held at the Techarukpong farm, 2484 Eastern Valley Road in Leeds, on Saturday, Jan. 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.