How "Keith Lee Effect" has taken the food world by storm
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TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee at a basketball game in Las Vegas. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
TikTok star Keith Lee's presence is enough to put a city's entire food scene on high alert.
Why it matters: Lee's ability to boost business at restaurants in cities across the country has been dubbed the "Keith Lee Effect" and made his visits highly sought after for local food scenes.
- His reviews of offerings in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans and his hometown of Las Vegas routinely generate millions of views on TikTok where he has more than 15 million followers.
Zoom in: Guiliano Raso's Las Vegas food truck 303 In the Cut went from two to 21 employees and from 50,000 followers on TikTok to more than 350,000 after Lee's review in November 2022.
- "His review blew us into a different category," Raso tells Axios. "The next day we had 140 people waiting in line when we opened."
- Things took off for Lee in January 2023 when he gave Frankensons, a Las Vegas pizzeria on the verge of closing, a 10 out of 10 in a review that generated more than 50 million views on TikTok.
- Frankensons went from almost no customers to selling out night after night.
Flashback: A native of Detroit, Lee moved to Las Vegas 10 years ago to become a mixed martial arts fighter like his brother, former UFC star Kevin Lee.
- With his MMA career on pause during the pandemic, Keith began posting food reviews on TikTok, rating items on a scale of 1 to 10.
State of play: Lee has reviewed the food at Disney World, made Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and had Kevin Hart fly him out to Beverly Hills to review the comedian's vegan restaurant.
- "I think it's just the fact that he's genuine," Rosa says of Lee's popularity. "I think people appreciate his honesty and positivity with stuff."
The other side: It hasn't all gone smoothly for Lee.
- He sparked controversy with his polite criticism of the Atlanta food scene in November.
- And Brian Howard, owner of Half Bird Chicken & Beer in Las Vegas, says Lee's review calling the eatery's chicken "too salty" in March 2023 "hindered business more than it helped."
- But Howard still respects the Keith Lee Effect, telling Axios: "Let me know if there's a possibility to get Keith back in for a second opinion."
