TikTok food critic Keith Lee boosts business at Virginia restaurants – NBC4 Washington

A TikTok food critic with millions of followers demonstrated how a single video can determine the success or failure of a restaurant during his visit to the Washington DC area this week.

Las Vegas native Keith Lee stopped by Okonomi Asian Grill — also known as “Asian Chipotle” for its custom-made rice bowls — in Fairfax, Virginia, and business is booming.

“I literally opened this by myself,” said owner Alex Kang. “I worked 130-hour weeks for six months.”

There were times when he only received six orders a day.

“I can’t keep up with six orders,” he said. “That’s about $60. What do you do with $60?”

Since Lee posted a video about Okonomi, they have had to put up signs on their door saying that due to high volume, they can only serve customers who order online.

“It’s definitely crazy,” Kang said. “I mean, it’s every restaurant owner’s dream to get that much attention.”

Lee also went to the Flavor Hive food truck in Alexandria, where one of the specialties is the walking nacho. Customers bring their own bag of chips – any size, same price – and fill them with meat and toppings.

“We’ve had people bring in a village-sized batch,” said owner Shihan Chowdhury. “We’re still refilling it.”

Flavor Hive also serves quesadillas and tacos.

“It looked really good,” customer Alexia Urieta said of Lee’s TikTok. “When you saw the picture, you could tell the taste in the picture. So I was really keen to go out and try it.”

If you can’t afford the food, Flavor Hive will give it to you for free.

“Some people come and say, ‘Hey, I don’t get paid until today, I don’t get paid until that day, can I pick up a meal?’ We’re always open to that,” Chowdhury said.

Lee donated $3,000 to Okonomi because they have been struggling with theft problems recently. Kang said he will use some of the money to feed local teachers and the rest for bonuses for his staff.

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