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Why was Kis Cafe closed? San Francisco eatery's top chef fired after leaving TikToker in tears
Kis Cafe, a San Francisco restaurant, was temporarily closed after a TikToker posted a video describing an interaction at the eatery that left her distressed.
A San Francisco restaurant was temporarily shut down after a TikTok influencer posted a video describing an interaction at the eatery that left her distressed. The co-founding chef of the restaurant was also fired.
A video taken at Kis Cafe went viral. The restaurant's other owner told NBC Bay Area that they plan to reopen the cafe with a new chef later. The eatery first opened earlier this summer, and is located in San Francisco's Hayes Valley neighborhood.
"When we're ready, we will restart differently, separate from chef," the co-owner said. "This way my staff can also continue their livelihoods."
The individual, who did not want to be named, stressed that he responded as promptly as possible after seeing the video featuring an interaction between his executive chef and the local TikTok influencer, itskarlabb.
What does the video show?
The five-minute long video shows an exchange between Executive Chef Luke Sung and the influencer, with the latter being left in tears. Initially, the TikToker described overhearing a conversation between the chef and a host, who had set up her visit.
"This guy pulls up my TikTok and says that I have 15,000 followers, and some videos have millions of views, whatever, and this guy is not happy about it," she said in the post.
She said that the chef approached her and had a direct conversation about her social media profile. "After scrolling like two times, he says to me that he doesn't think my videos are at the level at which he wants his restaurant to be represented," she said in the post.
The restaurants issued an apology within two days and confirmed that Sung was not working with them anymore.
Meanwhile, some neighbors said that they had planned to check the place out. "The menu looked decent, it seemed like a more approachable restaurant than the previous one that was in there. So, I was eager to try it," Brian Rohde said.
Jacinth, another neighbor, said, "It's unfortunate that social media has turned to a state where you can type something, it can go viral from people who have no context of the situation, and ruin somebody's career."
Meanwhile, the co-owner said he might now have to rename the restaurant and relaunch it. While he understands this will be challenging, he is ready to try and make it work, as are the rest of his staff.
"I don't want to quit yet," he said. "This is my American dream. It's also my staff's."
