What do barbecue breakfast burritos, hot stone pho, and croissants all have in common? Each of these dishes has gone viral in Denver in the last year.
At Smok, a barbecue restaurant in The Source Hotel & Market Hall, an enormous breakfast burrito featuring chorizo, brisket, tater tots, eggs, queso and green chile unexpectedly took Denver by storm in January when Dallas-based influencer Blondes Who Eat posted about it.
“I mean, it is so incredible,” Kristi Keith said as she ate the burrito — terming it a “hunk of love” — in a video posted on the TikTok account, which has 399,200 followers. Those words carry weight. Some of the posts on Blondes Who Eat have run into the millions of views, including her review of Smok’s burrito, which currently sits at 2.7M views.
“I didn’t know it went viral until [Kristi] messaged me and said, ‘You’re gonna sell a lot of burritos,’” recalled Bill Espiricueta, the head chef and owner of Smok.
Amazing #breakfastburrito in Denver!!! #smokbarbecue #denverfood #denverfoodscene #denverrestaurant #denver #tiktokfood #fyp
♬ original sound – Blondeswhoeat
And he did sell a lot of burritos. The first Saturday after the video went live, Espiricueta’s team served more than 370 burritos – a trend that continued every Saturday for the next month or so.
But going viral didn’t come without challenges. “It actually crashed our system because there were so many online orders,” Espiricueta recounted.
A crowd standing in line at Smok in Denver after its breakfast burrito went viral. (Provided by Smok)
The attention was also somewhat overwhelming. When Smok first launched the breakfast burritos, the intent was to sell them in the mornings via online ordering only. However, the sudden demand didn’t leave Espiricueta enough time to get the right information out, resulting in customers showing up at the wrong hours or when the restaurant was closed. Smok even issued an apology on its social media channels about the miscommunication.
“Even if we were to put all the correct information right at the top of the post and on the website, I’m not sure it would have made a difference. I think that’s the downfall of going viral, so many people look so quickly and no one pays attention to details,” Espiricueta said.
Smok’s employees also faced some not-so-nice behavior from TikTok fanatics, he added. “Some people were cussing out staff if the burritos were sold out or unavailable. I wish people would remember the human element, and get back to treating each other with respect and kindness.”
The viral moment wasn’t entirely an accident, though, and Blondes Who Eat didn’t just stumble into Smok and post about the burrito – Espiricueta specifically invited them in to try it.
Similarly, Toan Le, owner of Now Pho, 1195 S. Federal Blvd., created a viral moment with the Vietnamese restaurant’s hot stone pho by inviting Denver Food Scene, a local social media influencer, in to post about it.
“We always wanted to work with Denver Food Scene because they’re so well connected locally. We knew if they featured us we’d attract more business,” he explained. “After following up with them on social media and email for around six to eight weeks, I finally heard back.”
Owner Toan Le of Now Phở poses for a portrait at the restaurant in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
But the exposure wasn’t going to come for free. Like many influencers, Denver Food Scene charges for their attention. The cost, Le said, “was a bit out of our budget at the time, but my partner and I agreed it would be beneficial in the long run.”
While that’s not uncommon, not all influencers charge. Blondes Who Eat, for instance, didn’t charge Smok for its post. All Espiricueta had to do was supply them with an $11 burrito (which now goes for $14).
In Now Pho’s case, the investment was worth it. The weekend after Denver Food Scene posted the hot stone pho (which has 176K views on TikTok), sales of that dish jumped from 10 a day to over 100 a day and remained that way for several months. Additionally, overall sales that weekend were double Now Pho’s usual average, Le said.
Stone Bowl Pho (bubbling hot broth in the stone bowl, premium beef rib, meat ball and tendon) of Now Pho restaurant in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Denver Food Scene, run by Yesenia Chinchilla, declined to share her pricing structure with The Denver Post, but she did say that “Our work involves a mix of trade, personal investment, and paid partnerships.”
As for long-term benefits, all the restaurateurs we spoke to said the widespread visibility of their viral posts continues to draw in new customers to this day.
Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, managing partner and pastry director at Izzio Bakery, 2669 Larimer St., said Denver Food Scene’s posts about its eye-catching Crown and Roulette croissants (which have each earned millions of views) helped introduce the business to a broader audience.
“It significantly increased our visibility and brought a surge of new customers through our doors. Of course it also came with challenges, such as managing the unexpected demand and ensuring our quality remained consistent,” she shared.
Chinchilla provided some insights into what she thinks makes a food item go viral. “Presentation is definitely important–how the dish looks (whether it’s cheesy, saucy, interactive, or just over the top) can make a big difference. Other factors, like whether the dish is already trending in other states or countries, also play a role, as that often indicates it will be popular here too.”
She also offered some sage advice to business owners on dealing with sudden internet fame.
“Customer service can sometimes slip when a restaurant experiences a surge in business. It’s important to stay mindful of this if you want these new customers to return. If you see the view count climbing, make sure your team is prepared for a busy week, especially on the weekend.”
And, most importantly, she added, “[Don’t] underestimate how many people might show up.”