Growing up in the Bay Area, there was always a nervous energy when we had company coming over. We would furiously clean the house and put away anything that would be unclean, unpleasant, and undesirable. But so far, the Bay’s visitor has given a lot of love.
Keith Lee, a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and social media food influencer, announcing that he would be coming to the Bay Area got every business, food or otherwise, metaphorically shoving “bippers” into the back of the closet because we know that “company is coming over.” Known for reviewing a lot of mom-and-pop, independently-owned shops – often ones that might be struggling – a visit from Lee could result in a massive line out the door the next day.
Within 72 hours of the announcement that he would be making the Bay Area the first stop on his food tour, the warnings about the car thefts, commonly known as “bipping,” began. “Bipping” stems from the phrase “burglary in property,” or BIP, and usually refers to car windows broken into, for those who don’t know. (The Bay Area is gonna find slang for anything and everything).
Amidst the buzz, I popped into Oaklandia, a cafe and bakery in downtown. Through casual conversation, owner Latorra Monk posed a question to me: what was the long term impact of the buzz – and would a well known influencer bring people out to restaurants?
Over the past several years, Oakland and Bay Area restaurants and many other businesses have closed, citing any number of reasons from break-ins to rising costs of operations. But the biggest complaint that I heard from restaurateurs that I’ve grown to know was that people weren’t coming out anymore.
So upon seeing the announcement, I had thoughts. The first question was, why did it take Keith Lee announcing his arrival for people to start recognizing and supporting these beloved businesses?
What Lee’s announcement did was generate buzz that made the community pay closer attention to the businesses that may need some extra love. He arrived within days of his announcement, it seems, and at the time of this article being published, had visited The LuxeBox in downtown, Mama T’s in Uptown, and Chef Green in West Oakland.
With over 15 million followers on TikTok alone, Lee’s food review videos get a lot of eyes on the restaurant he visits. In an Eater article, Janel Prator, owner of Puddery in Houston, Texas said she campaigned in Lee’s comment section and direct messages for him to visit, despite him saying that he was not a fan of sweets. Prator explained she went from six customers a day to 150 a day after Lee’s review.
When the announcement was made that he would be visiting the Bay Area, people began sending messages and tagging businesses in the comment section as a way to campaign for local businesses to be highlighted. While this frenzy for attention, campaigning, and potential increase in business is being called “The Keith Lee effect,” it’s not a guarantee for an increase in business for anyone.
At bare minimum for the rest of the businesses that he didn’t visit, the act of tagging the businesses in comments has probably increased the search engine optimization (SEO) engagement. It also generated some curiosity, because who doesn’t at some point find themselves reading the comments?
The second thought I had was the Bay Area has no shortage of influencers who have been reviewing local restaurants and creating social media content. It’s an unexpected industry that didn’t exist a decade ago. The most well known among them is Darion “Bay Area Foodz” Frazier, who welcomed Lee at his second stop (after visiting S.F.) to outdoor vendor Chef Green’s.
“The influx of new – and returning – customers has to continue long after Lee has moved on to the next city.”
Ashley Reddy, Andrew Tours SF, Hey Kay In the Bay, Boozie Brunch, CheyChey From The Bay, The Snack Sensei, Angie Hilem and many other influencers have been reviewing restaurants and creating content but it took someone from outside the area for us to get excited about our neighbors, friends, and family businesses. In addition to my own published food articles, I have written food content on my own blog and created TikTok reel or two.
I welcome Lee’s ability to bring new attention to a wider audience of people, possibly even global, but the question remains if there’s a long-standing impact to the businesses.
In between Monk personally going through her Yelp reviews, while simultaneously taking orders by phone, she explained to me that repeat customers are what create sustainability and how many restaurants survive.
The influx of new – and returning – customers has to continue long after Lee has moved on to the next city. Compounded with the bippers contribution to increasing our car insurance premiums with every broken window, reports of COVID-19 cases on the rise, and day-to-day costs of living, going out has seemed like a luxury that many of us have put on the back burner.
Even with restaurants in highly visible tourist locations, it’s not for lack of advertisement that businesses are losing out. People who are already present in the towns he visits have to keep their businesses alive.
Otherwise, what was the point of all the hype?
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Editor’s Note: The day after this was published, Lee announced an abrupt end to his food tour in the Bay Area. Learn more about what happened through the podcast: The As Told By Podcast by Kahja Elliot “It Was All Good Just A Week Ago: The Keith Lee Effect on the Bay Area, where Brandy Collins is interviewed, or at Brandy Collins’ I Have Questions podcast.
Brandy Collins is a writer and public services advocate born and raised in the Bay Area. She is a 2019-2020 cohort graduate from Oakland Voices, a blogger, and the funny one in numerous group chats. She is concerned with civic engagement and leadership development toward making public works more efficient for the people. Brandy is full of Scorpio magic and self-proclaimed Professional Aunty. Follow her on Twitter @msbrandycollins or Instagram @story_soul_collecter.
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