MANTECA — The looming TikTok ban has brought mixed emotions, but for influencers and even some restaurant owners in the San Joaquin County city of Manteca, this is a big hit.
On North Main Street sits BBQFromTheCurb, a locally owned shop that has only been around for a year. But you couldn’t tell that from the amount of attention this place has been getting — a huge portion of it from a viral TikTok.
The business has received nearly a million views and tens of thousands of shares on the platform which has brought people from all over the state to the small local kitchen in Manteca.
“I had a line around the corner. I couldn’t keep up, 100% I couldn’t keep up. It was like an overnight sensation,” said owner and head chef Jose Dominguez.
Dominguez doesn’t really use TikTok but knows firsthand its power.
“It made the biggest impact on my business just by the video going viral. One video. One video, so that goes to show,” he said.
Marco Molina posted the viral video on Dominguez’s business. He based his platform, @FatBoyGrubbin, on trying out local restaurants and posting his food reviews when he only had a couple of thousand followers. Now, Molina’s got over 25,000.
“It’s kind of crazy when a video goes viral. It feels like hitting big on a slot machine,” Molina said.
But that jackpot may be running out. A ban on the app is set to start Sunday for its 170 million American users. Congress and the White House cited national security concerns with the Chinese-based company.
“It really is unfortunate,” said Molina. “It really is going to have an impact on content creators, and in my instance, where I go and promote business, the small businesses I promote, I’m losing a whole platform.”
Without it, Dominguez says his restaurant wouldn’t have been as profitable.
“If I didn’t have it, I’d be a lot slower. I’d be struggling to try and get out there more,” he said.
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