At the end of a viral TikTok attack upon a co-founder and executive chef Luke Sung, the wine lounge in Hayes Valley, Kis Café, closed its doors, as it promises a great future ahead. The influencer, who goes online by the name @itskarlabb, shared a detailed video that gained millions of views in no time, describing an encounter she felt was humiliating in the collaboration context with Sung.
A TikTok influencer shared a video of an encounter at a restaurant that upset her, leading to the temporary closure of the establishment in San Francisco. The restaurant’s co-founder chef was also let go.
One of the videos from Kis Cafe went viral. Later, the cafe will reopen with a new chef, the other owner of the business told NBC Bay Area. The restaurant, which is situated in the Hayes Valley district of San Francisco, opened earlier this summer.
“When we’re ready, we will restart differently, separate from chef,” the co-owner said. “This way my staff can also continue their livelihoods.”
The influencer breaks down in tears during a discussion with Executive Chef Luke Sung in the five-minute video. The TikToker first reported hearing a discussion between the chef and a host who had arranged for her to visit.
In her account, Sung was said to have stared directly into her eyes and crack jokes about her with only having a 15,000 TikTok-following, blaring her videos out for all to hear in the restaurant and dissing her concoction, finishing off with questioning her worth as a social media collaborator in the very presence of paying guests. The online backlash against Kis Cafe had been instantaneous, with countless negative reviews pouring in on Google and Yelp. Management: “Some prompt fire-fighting measures were a must.”
In their Instagram statement, the remaining owners concluded that Sung’s conduct was totally unwarranted and starkly contradicted with the spirit of the cafe; therefore, the owners let him go in every capacity. They regretted what had happened and stated that they would now restructure the business to reopen under new leadership with a new development approach based on respect and inclusion.
The incident helped accentuate the changing interface between traditional hospitality and the powerful social media influencer culture. While the involved influencer counts as a micro-influencer due to her tiny follower base, her experience clearly lays out the reality in which social media ability presently stands tall in damaging reputations and guiding consumption. Discussion in service circles and among the public has been flaring ever since as to whether social media status means anything when it comes to treatment of all patrons and collaborators.
Many weighed in on the threads of Reddit, stating that hospitality should be based on respect and kindness rather than egoism. The temporary closure weighed heavily on local patrons and food lovers, who felt betrayed by Kis Cafe, which had rapidly become a pioneer of good vibes and good offerings. However, the owners hold that this pause will provide a moment of reflection to address changes that need to occur, aiming at a rebuilding of trust and a more positive working environment moving forward.
Some neighbors, meanwhile, said that they had intended to visit the location. “Compared to the previous restaurant that was there, this one seemed more approachable and had a decent menu. I was therefore excited to give it a try,” Brian Rohde remarked.
In the end, the Kis Cafe debacle is a cautionary tale for establishments as they travel the distance of merging integrity in service with creating viral content on digital platforms, illuminating all parties involved that a reputational consequence could arise, at best, at the click of a moment.
