Fashion restaurants have always existed in New York. Places such as The Odeon and Raoul “S even Torrisi and 4 Charles Prime Rib have been establishments to see and be seen, with reputations built over the years through mouth to mouth, specialized criticism and celebrity sightings.
Now a single video can turn local restaurants into tourist attractions overnight, even before the establishment notices.
The Isidori family has known both sides of this trend, running restaurants since 1954. Vodka sauce and garlic bread recipes have been passed through generations, now a tribute from chef and owner Joe Isidori to his family and traditional Italian food.
Isidori already had a faithful New Yorker audience when he decided to share a tomato sauce tutorial on Tiktok to mark the opening of a new venture.
In just 72 hours, it became a viral sensation and in a week, Arthur & Sons-with its wooden, red leather and stained glass, and a red sauces menu that evokes the classic New York Italian style-had reservations sold out for 90 days and a second dining room had to be built.
“My chef said to me, ‘They are all here because of you,” Isidori told CNN International. “I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He replied, ‘They see you on Tiktok.
Although they had created the content, Arthur & Sons only found that it had become viral when the hall began to fill from visitors from outside the city holding its phones to record.
It was even more surprising for MEI LAI WAH, a Chinese bakery of three generations in the heart of Chinatown, when it viralized due to customer videos.
They were worshiped by local residents, especially Chinese and Philippines, by their dim sum And pineapple pork breads, but owner Ben Chen said they had no wide range.
“Tiktok and social networks have given us worldwide recognition, so there are more people who know our products now,” he said.
Although they are enjoying the new clientele, they are not changing in search of viralization. “We are just maintaining our fundamental value of being oriented to the customer and our best to provide high quality food, quality service and only ourselves,” said Chen.
Tiktok videos are typically short, but the impact can be lasting. In the east of Manhattan is Glace, an ice cream shop and neighborhood candy.
It became a winter sensation when a hot chocolate video went viral by 2023, and two years later, the line still doubles the block, although at the height of summer the hot chocolate is a cold version.
“You think you have a glass supply for a month and then it ends in two days, or we start running out of chocolate,” said Sasha Zabar, owner of Glace.
Lafayette opened in 2013 as a coffee and bakery offering French cuisine in the city center. He developed the Croissant cream -packed Croissant when the city was resurfaced from Covid’s restrictions and shortly after its release, a client posted on him on Tiktok.
Chef Confectioner Scott Cioe observed how on the first day they started gaining traction, the candy sold out. On the second day, two people were waiting to open and on the third day there were an entire row of customers, he said.
“The first customer said, ‘I want two’, the second customer said, ‘I want four’, and the third customer said, ‘I want everything you have!” He recalled.
Cioe summed up the impact of Tiktok on Lafayette as extreme volume, very quickly. “There was no way to prepare for that,” he said. “We didn’t create a croissant to be viral or something. We just wanted something visual, like all the sweets in the history of the French confectionery.”
A beautiful bakery product can sharpen your appetite even before you can buy it or even feel it.
Sunday Morning on East Village makes cinnamon breads, seven days a week, in a variety of flavors.
He used Instagram and Tiktok as part of his launch plans and future customers were posting and replacing even before the store opened, generating a buzz that accelerated as soon as the breads were available for tasting.
“It happened very quickly,” said co -owner Ahmet Kiranbay.
“In the first week, we were booming on Instagram and then on Tiktok. And I think Tiktok took everything to another level.”
One crucial point was to give them an opportunity to be noticed. “This offers a great field for small family businesses,” he said.
How to remain viral
In December 2024, when Tiktok faced a possible ban in the United States, 94% of business that used service in the state of New York reported that the application allowed them to expand its operations, including hiring more employees, increased sales and expansion to new locations, according to the app.
Between breads stuffed with Supreme Pork and Croissants, Tiktok can trigger a flood on social networks, but what matters most is what happens after posting.
For Apollo Bagels, which serves an open version of the traditional New York Bagel, maintaining simplicity is critical.
The establishment held temporary events and built a faithful base of customers before opening its first permanent location at East Village. Founder Joey Scalabrino said his goal was to “make very good food and be kind to people.”
“We are not chasing trends – we are focused on consistency, quality and creating a great experience every time,” he said.
A viral video on Tiktok can also have unexpected consequences. When Gautier and Ashley Coiffard were raising backgrounds to launch their “Appartement 4F bakery, they decided to offer a limited amount of” Croissant “cereal as an incentive.
They published on Tiktok, and the requests and the money started to arrive. The cereal was hard to do, said Gautier Coiffard, but they spent a year fulfilling the orders and finally opened their first physical store at Brooklyn Heights.
“As soon as we opened the doors of the physical store, people came to us looking for the cereal. So we quickly realized that we would have to put it on the menu daily,” said Coiffard.
Restaurants interviewed by CNN International They agreed: Although Tiktok can attract people to the establishment, only real food, service and narrative can keep the clientele.
“We are authentic. We are the true New York, you know,” said Isidori from Arthur & Sons. “And we have the attitude, energy and food to prove it.
Translation revised by André Vasconcelos
