San Francisco restaurant closes after chef rejects influencer’s collab request; Internet comes in support of eatery

A San Francisco restaurant has shut down permanently after a viral TikTok video exposed how its co-owner dismissed an influencer for having “too few” followers. TikTok influencer ItsKarlaBB shared a video detailing her experience at Kis Cafe in Hayes Valley, claiming she was invited for a promotional collaboration. But once she arrived, the chef and co-owner, Luke Sung, reportedly decided her 15,000 followers were not worth the effort.

What did the influencer say in the video?

“He said my audience isn’t the kind of people who would come to his restaurant,” she said in the video, adding that Sung seemed to imply her followers couldn’t afford to eat there. The chef then allegedly asked her, “Do you know who I am?” before bragging about being a James Beard nominee and mentioning his daughter had 600,000 followers.

The video quickly gained traction and gathered close to 25M views and created widespread criticism of the restaurant’s approach. Soon after the backlash, Kis Cafe announced it would be closing, with its final night of service held on Saturday. But the damage may extend further: Domo Sushi, another restaurant affiliated with Sung, is reportedly also closing down, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

“So tired of these influencers”

Netizens slammed the influencer over the restaurant’s decision to shut down. A user said, “Why are people celebrating this? At absolute best it was an ego battle between a guy with actual accomplishments and an influencer that gets paid to shill things to people who think she really likes the products she advertises. That she won attacking as a “victim” is an indictment of our dumb culture and nothing more.”

“I seriously doubt that a restaurant will close down after some irrelevant opinion of one individual with the label “influencer” is tacked on. What an idiotic joke. Influencer of what exactly? As if their opinions have actual magical powers by the herd of pointless followers they have accumulated, it’s not only absurd, it’s obscene! Leaving thousands of fake reviews within a short time is not the reason either. It has to do with the restaurant’s long decline in business revenue,” added another.

“This is clearly the restaurant owner’s error. Why even invite the influencer for a collab if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites?,” noted a netizen.

“First of all, she is not a reviewer. She does not deserve the dignity of the title. This is yet another reason why people dislike the media. Real Restaurant reviewers pay for their food and often dine under anonymity or with a fake name. This is a marketing collaboration. Free food in exchange for a positive review. The Restaurant should’ve checked how many followers she has before they agreed to the deal, but it sounds like she’s got more than enough to justify a free meal. bottom line this is a sleazy deal on behalf of both parties,” questioned a user.

“Influencers” provide nothing of value, at best they are entertainers for a bored and stupid populace,” claimed another user.