Notes on a Scandal
Ugh. Queen.
Making bean milk for the lolz has paid off: not only did I land a gig making TikToks for Square where I traveled and interviewed hot chefs across the country, it also seems people are interested in what I actually have to say sometimes. That was the case at last week, when I was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle about my thoughts on the closing of Kis Café.
In case you’ve been distracted by our country’s ascent into fascism or the arrival of Early Girl tomato season or whatnot, a micro-influncer who goes by Karla planned a collab with a three-month old SF natural wine bar called Kis Café. She planned it with one of the managers, showed up early, and the chef, Luke Sung, didn’t know about it. Not only was livid at the fact that some random influencer with way less followers than his daughter who doesn’t really know about his storied past (he was nommed for a James Beard etc.) was going to post a video that may affect how people perceive his restaurant, he let her know exactly how he felt publicly and in front of her. This made her cry, she posted a video. about her experience, and it garnered millions of views, rocketing her to macro-influencer status. Meanwhile, Kis Café was hate-bombed so much that the chef decided to not only step away but close it permanently. The power that influencers may now yield may be greater than it was even a year ago, and all restaurant owners, not just those that make collabs with Mr. Beast, must take note if they’re to not only survive but stay relevant in our economy fueld by random people on the internet telling us to do stuff.
Any time some one is cancelled, there is a collective of the “good” person who was victimized and the “bad” person who gets what they deserve. Unlike the cases of Harvey Weinstein or Mario Batali though, not every case is so cut and dry. Luke didn’t deny any of Karla’s accusations, his daughter had to apologize on his behalf, and his decision to close the restaurant due to the haters may indeed be because he’s a messy bitch who loves drama more than anything else – another concept is opening up in the same space soon and an interview he conducted with the SF Standard doesn’t exactly make him seem less like a dick. But before he closed it, he took accountability by stepping away as the chef, and he also genuinely apologized for his actions. Meanwhile, Karla’s videos post-scandal aren’t nearly as popular as the one that made her viral, and she posted a video using a sound from the right-leaning Sydney Sweeney commercial in what seems like a non-ironic way as well. Also, even though she didn’t mention Kis Café by name, she made it pretty obvious for people to figure out where she was talking about if they wanted to based on how she described it. Granted, she also probably didn’t expect it to blow up to the degree that it did, or for her actions to lead to the restaurant actually closing.
So, what can restaurant owners and influencers alike take away from this all really?
If you’re a chef or restaurant owner, you have no control over who posts a video about your restaurant or not, just like you have no control over what people think about your choice to price two slices of baguette that come with two skinnty anchovies at $14 and while you price a hanger steak at $18… or that most natural wine is gross, whose dick do I have to suck to get a normal glass of wine around here?
If you’re an influencer, there’s no correlation between the power you have and the quality of your content. What does “quality” mean on social media, even? It certainly doesn’t mean production value, otherwise I’d be so fuckin’ rich rn. Perhaps it means your ability to be as funny, hot, and/or smart as possible in a way that feels “effortless” and “authentic.” Perhaps the best way to go viral fast is to post about external trauma you experienced from someone in hopes will people will feel so much sympathy for you that they’ll have to comment and share, the livelihood of said other person be damned. But don’t expect all your other videos to keep going viral after that, or that you’re above being cancelled yourself if that’s your thing. Why don’t you post about things you actually find interesting? Like bean milk?
There are few things better in life than gossip, especially when it’s about people we know. But we also gossip about people we don’t know. You can try to avoid it by being boring, but people will still find a way to talk about how boring you are. So embrace it. Partake in it. Be a cunty-ass bitch.
Skinnty.
