From social media stardom to quadrupled order quantity, right here’s how Lee modified 5 restaurant homeowners’ trajectories.
These interviews have been edited for size and readability.
Janel Prator, Proprietor of The Puddery in Houston
The Puddery is a self-described “pudding bakery” that serves dishes like Biscoff cheesecake, an Oreo croffle (a croissant-waffle), and its well-liked banana pudding.
What was enterprise like earlier than Keith Lee’s evaluate?
I opened up The Puddery a couple of yr in the past, initially simply delivery the desserts I make out, and enterprise was gradual—perhaps 5 to 10 clients per day on a busy weekend day. I left my job to open The Puddery, and it was so gradual I questioned if I had made the proper choice. There have been days once I sat within the kitchen on my own, and simply questioned how lengthy I may maintain this up. I had adopted Keith Lee for 5 – 6 months, however I didn’t begin actually reaching out till he introduced he was coming to Houston. I used to be like, “Oh my God, that is my alternative.” I tagged him in posts every single day, and requested my followers to tag him.
What was enterprise like after his evaluate?
Keith got here together with his household, and the day after he posted his evaluate, we had 130 clients. Two months later, we nonetheless have 100 clients every single day. I put a pause on my delivery enterprise as a result of it was so busy, and I’m searching for a bigger storefront to develop.
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Hector Garcia, co-owner of Pleasure Burgers in Las Vegas
Pleasure Burgers serves loaded burgers with toppings like onion rings, chipotle dressing, bacon, and jalapeno pesto.
What was enterprise like earlier than Keith Lee’s evaluate?
My spouse and I opened Pleasure Burgers in December 2022, and we had a tough begin. We didn’t have any gross sales for 2 months, and we have been paying hire out of our personal pockets. When individuals tried our meals, we obtained nice critiques, however enterprise stayed very gradual for a lot of the first yr. We had regulars that got here each week, however not sufficient to maintain the enterprise. The issue was that no person knew about Pleasure Burgers.
What was enterprise like after his evaluate?
After Keith posted his video, individuals began reaching out from around the globe. The day earlier than, we had 24 followers on TikTok. The day after the video we had 6,000, and the day after that 120,000. The day after his video, there was a line exterior earlier than we even opened. The variety of individuals visiting our restaurant principally tripled, and whereas it was once simply my spouse, the chef, and I working right here, I needed to rent 10 workers to take care of crowds. That was just a few months in the past, however within the new yr enterprise has settled somewhat bit—I’ll have to scale back employees somewhat bit because the numbers have leveled off.
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Chris Cascio, proprietor of The Meat Wagon in Las Vegas
The Meat Wagon is a meals truck and restaurant serving burgers, sandwiches, and tacos.
What was enterprise like earlier than Keith Lee’s evaluate?
We began as a meals truck in Vegas in September 2022, and at first, there have been days we solely took in $100—generally $50, and even no cash in any respect. I used to be behind on my mortgage. To start with, no person is aware of who you’re and Vegas doesn’t have a extremely robust meals truck presence. I’ve been on this enterprise for 30 years, so I knew it will be gradual, however I assume I figured since we constructed such a badass meals truck it wouldn’t take lengthy for phrase to get round.
What was enterprise like after his evaluate?
Surprisingly, his video didn’t herald loads of new enterprise. I feel it is due to the best way he ordered his meals—you need to truly watch your complete video to really perceive what occurred. He requested for all the pieces on the facet. When he ate [the burger, chicken sandwich, wings, and taco], he did not put any of the sauces on it till after he seemed within the bag and was like, “Oh, here is all of the stuff.” Then he put it on and ate all of it, after which did one other evaluate. So should you simply watch the primary a part of the video you’re like, “Oh, this place sucks.” I used to be disillusioned and bummed out. I used to be like, “Man, what are we doing fallacious?” We’ve constructed up our viewers of locals by phrase of mouth, however the Keith Lee Impact by no means actually occurred for us.
