People Are Flocking To This Cleveland Deli Just For Its Chicken Salad
A small deli in Cleveland has seen a recent boost in sales, and it's all thanks to chicken salad and a friendly TikTok promotion.
It's no secret that the social media platform TikTok has begun to affect the success and failure of restaurants and businesses. Nation's Restaurant News reports that an MGH study shows more than half of Millennial TikTok users have visited or ordered from a restaurant after seeing it on TikTok. More than a third of all TikTok users have also said the same thing. That's a total of more than 50 million diners that are making decisions based on the popular app.
Contributing to this are restaurant reviews like those done by The VIP List, which Bon Appétit says are defining a new genre of restaurant criticism. It's also given a platform to culinary creators like Eitan Bernath. There are also unexpected trends, like the negroni sbagliato which wasn't spawned by any influencer, but instead by a video promoting the new "Game of Thrones" spinoff "House of the Dragon."
Now, the E. 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio is experiencing the powerful effects of the popular social media app for itself.
'Come up here and get one of these'
According to News 5 Cleveland, the deli has seen demand for its chicken salad (as in salad topped with chicken, not the kind with mayonnaise) skyrocket recently. Owner Wael Herbawi claims that customers have been flocking to the deli from all across Ohio, and the rest of the country as well. Yahoo! claims that three friends even traveled more than 1,200 miles to see what all the hype was about for themselves. It's all thanks to the TikTok endorsement of a long-time customer.
News 5 Cleveland says that Tenisha Godfrey visited the deli in August to have her usual chicken salad topped with banana peppers, pickles, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions. Herbawi decided to film Godfrey for a TikTok, and her description of the food, and an entreaty to others to "come up here and get one of these," charmed viewers. The video now has more than 1.6 million likes, and more than 10,000 comments. News 5 Cleveland says the video was even reshared by pop star Lizzo, which added to its popularity.