NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The Lexington Candy Shop in New York City has served burgers, fries and shakes to hungry patrons for decades. Last remodeled in 1948, the diner is the definition of old-fashioned.
But that hasn\u2019t stopped it from getting a wave of new fans.
In August 2022, this old school business met the new world when Nicolas Heller, a TikToker and Instagrammer with 1.2 million followers known as New York Nico, popped in for a traditional Coke float \u2013 Coke syrup, soda water and ice cream. Naturally, he took a video. It went viral, garnering 4.8 million likes.
\u201cThe next day (after the video was posted), the lines started forming at 8 in the morning,\u201d John Philis, the diner\u2019s third-generation co-owner, recalls with amazement. \u201cAnd it was like, huh!\u201d
When a smaller restaurant unexpectedly goes viral on TikTok or other social media, the sudden demand can be overwhelming. Owners have to adapt on the fly, revamping operations to quickly serve a crush of people. But savvy business owners who are able to adapt can parlay newfound fame into a lasting boost for their business.
Ali Elreda opened Fatima\u2019s Grill in Downey, California, in 2016, drawing in customers with an eclectic range of tacos, wraps and burgers.
He sprinkled Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos in some of them, inspired by his daughter\u2019s love of hot chips. By 2020, Elreda had worked hard to develop his restaurant\u2019s social media presence, shooting videos with music. But after a TikToker dubbed @misohungry posted a video of Elreda\u2019s Flaming Hot Cheeto Fusion burger that August, things suddenly \u201cjust went crazy.\u201d
Lines to get into the restaurant ballooned to two to three hours \u2013 for months. At first, the store wasn\u2019t ready for the influx.
\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t adjust,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would stay late hours to prep for the next day and then the lines would continue and continue and continue and continue.\u201d
Opening two nearby restaurants helped relieve the pressure. Elreda now has 10 locations, including newly opened restaurants in Detroit and Brooklyn \u2014 an expansion started by one viral video.
\u201cSocial media can make you or break you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt catapulted us to starting to franchise and getting the name out there. It\u2019s been a blessing.\u201d
When Kevin Muccular opened Aunt Bill\u2019s soul food restaurant in Katy, Texas, just last year, crowds were sparse at first because Katy is a suburb about half an hour outside of bustling Houston. That all changed when a TikToker who goes by Mr. Chimetime posteda video in July lavishing praise on Aunt Bill\u2019s brisket hot dog, waffles and customer service.
The floodgates opened and didn\u2019t stop.
\u201cPeople poured in from everywhere, every seat taken, the lines, down the street and around the corner, a three, four-hour wait, wait time in line in the middle of the Texas summer,\u201d Muccular said.
He rushed to prepare food and put his vendors on standby, but the demand was overwhelming. He bought all of the ingredients he could find at nearby Sam\u2019s Club and Walmart stores, and had friends check stores in their areas. The fire marshal was called twice about the crowd.
\u201cWe were ill prepared for exactly what happened over the next two weeks of our business,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were hiring staff on the spot. I cooked more than I ever have in my entire life.\u201d
Muccular hired a consultant to help figure out how to revamp his business to serve the crowds in an efficient manner. Among the changes: He shifted walk up to-go orders to an online system and created a reservation system for tables.
Two months later, the restaurant is still bustling. The restaurant now serves 800 to 1,000 people a day, up from 200 to 250. Longer term, Muccular has plans to open a food truck to serve people all over Texas.
\u201cWe refer to everything as pre-Chimetime and post-Chimetime,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat Mr. Chimetime did for our small business changed the fabric of what we are for forever.\u201d
At the Lexington Candy Shop, Philis thought the craze of last August would die down after Labor Day, or during the holidays. But a year later, the crowds are still going strong.
On a recent weekday, Australian vacationer Max Ferfoglia, 32, stopped by the diner for a float. He said he had found the diner via social media.
\u201cWe were looking to try and find what are the \u2018must do\u2019s\u2019 in this beautiful city,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the diner was one that just was constantly being recommended as iconic via YouTube, TikTok. \u2026 So we just had to come and try it out.\u201d
For Philis, the boost in business is a welcome relief after the diner suffered from a steep drop in customers during the pandemic. Before Nico\u2019s visit, he sold 10 Coke floats a day. Today it\u2019s 200 on weekdays and 500 a day on weekends. He hasn\u2019t raised his prices. A float is $12.50 including tax. Plus, people who come in for a float may order a burger, fries or other menu item.
\u201cEvery day we\u2019re going home and we\u2019re tired,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a good tired.\u201d
One person who knows about going viral is Dominique Ansel. In 2013, before most people knew the term \u201cgoing viral,\u201d the French pastry chef created the \u201cCronut,\u201d a cross between a croissant and a doughnut, at his newly opened New York bakery. The Cronut created a craze the old-fashioned way, through newspaper and TV news reports.
Ansel remembers the frantic early days, when the bakery had to hire security to control the line:
\u201cIt was chaos in the morning. People were lining up at 2 a.m. in the morning, hitting each other. Neighbors were calling the police,\u201d he remembered.
Ten years later, Ansel has plenty of other bestselling pastries and store locations in Hong Kong and Las Vegas. But there\u2019s still a line outside the original Dominique Ansel bakery for the Cronut. These days the line is cheerful. The bakery even hands out umbrellas when it rains and roses on Valentine\u2019s Day.
\u201cI think the most important thing is not to overreact in the beginning,\u201d he said. He was approached to do deals for mass producing the Cronut, but he declined.
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to kill the idea because you want to make money,\u201d Ansel said. \u201cYou want to build something real, and you want to invest into the longevity of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n