Vadim Lapin, founder of the Ginza Project restaurant chain, has died.

Vadim Lapin, co-founder of the international restaurant holding company Ginza Project, died at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer. The company's press service announced this on its Telegram channel on January 16.

"We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our founder, Vadim Valentinovich Lapin. This is a great loss for Ginza Project. The company expresses its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and everyone who knew and worked with Vadim Valentinovich," the statement read.

The date and time of the restaurateur's farewell will be announced later. Management of the business will now pass to his son, Mark.

Vadim Lapin was born on November 2, 1963, in the Leningrad Region. In the mid-1990s, he imported food and clothing from Europe, and in 2003, together with his partner, Dmitry Sergeyev, he opened the first Japanese restaurant, Ginza, which later grew into a group of the same name. Ginza Project currently includes over 100 establishments in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Tula, as well as London, Baku, and Batumi. Since 2018, the holding has been developing its hotel business, managing mini-hotels in St. Petersburg, as well as hotels in Rostov-on-Don and Tbilisi.

Photo: spbginzaproject/Telegram