She was 96.
Born in 1923, Chase grew up in Mandeville, but moved to New Orleans as a teenager in order to attend high school because no schools on the Northshore admitted blacks in segregated Louisiana. A job as a waitress soon followed, a job that began her desire to pursue a restaurant career.
Dooky Chase's opened in 1941. Leah Chase's marriage to Edgar "Dooky" Chase II came five years later, and she worked to transform what was originally a corner po-boy joint into a New Orleans dining institution.
During the Civil Rights movement, the restaurant became an important meeting place for local leaders and activists. Hosting patrons both black and white, the establishment was violating segregation laws, but authorities would not intervene.
"I was just feeding people," Chase said in a 2018 interview, downplaying her role in the history of the movement. But her influence in the realm of politics was undeniable, as she went on to serve meals to U.S. presidents.