This Popular Food Critic Was Once on SNAP Benefits – And Now Has 17 Million TikTok Followers. This Was the Moment That Changed His Life.
Keith Lee, 29, is a food critic who focuses on visiting small, locally owned spots.
This article is part of the America's Favorite Mom & Pop Shops series. Read more stories
Key Takeaways
- In December 2022, two of food influencer Keith Lee’s videos went viral on TikTok, causing him to gain millions of followers seemingly overnight.
- Lee’s reviews spotlight local businesses, leading to more customers and revenue, a phenomenon known as “The Keith Lee Effect.â€
- Lee is partnering with American Express and Main Street America to launch a new grants program awarding 250 small businesses $20,000 each.
In December 2022, everything changed for Keith Lee.
Lee had been on (SNAP) benefits, or federal food assistance for low-income individuals, from 2020 to 2022. He started his TikTok channel by filming videos cooking for himself and his wife when she was pregnant.
“That turned from me making food to me trying local restaurants around me,” Lee tells Â鶹Éç in a new interview.
The end of 2022 was the first time Lee started documenting his experience eating at local restaurants on social media. At the time, he was also working as a delivery driver and professional fighter. His days consisted of training at the gym, delivering packages and sampling food.
Related: He Went From Food Stamps to Co-Founding a $9.3 Billion Startup. Here’s Why He Walked Away.
In December 2022, Lee went to the food truck and , both of which are in Las Vegas, to eat and film videos. The next morning, those videos had racked up more than 30 million views.
“My mom woke me up and said we were on the news, and everything changed from there,” Lee says.
Lee had eight million followers on TikTok within a week and went from eight million to 13 million within the next month. He has on TikTok today.
Lee’s review of Frankensons Pizzeria, which emphasized the owner’s kindness and exceptional food, gave the struggling family-owned business a much-needed surge of customers. After Lee’s review, the once-empty pizzeria .
This impact, which has repeated itself at other restaurants Lee has reviewed, has come to be known as “.” Lee’s reviews lead to more visibility, customers and revenue for local businesses.
Now, Lee wants to bring cash to more businesses. He partnered with American Express and Main Street America to launch the , which will award 250 businesses $20,000 each. The opened on November 29, and the deadline to apply is January 16.
Lee recently met with a recipient of a separate American Express grant. Earlier this month, he visited , a Black-owned business that was one of 50 historic small restaurants chosen to receive $50,000 from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
“I recently just found Drew’s Place,” Lee says. “And not only did they receive a grant, but they also received support from us going. We shot a full video.”
Lee’s examined the impact of the grant on the business. The restaurant is planning to use the money to paint a mural to beautify the main entrance, purchase an ice machine and change its lighting.
Lee says that he focuses on going to small, locally owned spots that represent the people within a community. About 90% of the time, it’s a place that invites him. The other 10% are places that followers will recommend he visit on Instagram. “We listen to the locals,” Lee says.
Lee is usually home only three or four days of the month, traveling the rest of the time to test out food at small businesses. He goes to new cities with his wife, their three children aged 5 and under, and their extended family, a group of about nine.
“There’s no downside to it,” Lee says. “I get to enjoy being around my family. I get to eat food with them. We get to travel the world together. I get to see my kids grow up in person.”
Related: He Started an eBay Side Hustle at 14 – Then Grew It Into a $92 Million Business
Lee’s philosophy when it comes to reviews is to stay mindful of the “passion of love” that is a small business. He says he’s never intentionally left a negative review, preferring instead to be constructive.
“Small businesses are deeper than just a business,” Lee says. “It’s a family-run spot that not only pours a lot into the community, but has done a lot for people around them. So I would be remiss to go in and do anything that I feel like is intentionally negative.”
Lee says he “eats everything” and doesn’t necessarily have a favorite food. In his day-to-day, he usually eats grass-fed beef, potatoes and vegetables.
Lee’s fighting career is on hold while he pursues social media, but he credits fighting with giving him an entrepreneurial spirit. “As a professional fighter, you’re an independent contractor,” he says. “It has kept me in the mindset of a small business.”
Related: This Founder Solved His ‘Biggest Mistake’ to Go From 0 to 500,000 Customers
Ready to explore everything on Â鶹Éç.com? December is your free pass to Â鶹Éç+. Enjoy complete access, no strings attached.
Key Takeaways
- In December 2022, two of food influencer Keith Lee’s videos went viral on TikTok, causing him to gain millions of followers seemingly overnight.
- Lee’s reviews spotlight local businesses, leading to more customers and revenue, a phenomenon known as “The Keith Lee Effect.â€
- Lee is partnering with American Express and Main Street America to launch a new grants program awarding 250 small businesses $20,000 each.
In December 2022, everything changed for Keith Lee.
Lee had been on (SNAP) benefits, or federal food assistance for low-income individuals, from 2020 to 2022. He started his TikTok channel by filming videos cooking for himself and his wife when she was pregnant.
“That turned from me making food to me trying local restaurants around me,” Lee tells Â鶹Éç in a new interview.
