The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s something good is the power of social media.
Like any tool humans have at their disposal, social media can be used for ill or for good. We hear a lot of bad about TikTok, but today we have a story about just how good it can be.
Frankensons Pizzaria is a new family-owned eatery located in Las Vegas. Opened four months ago, it is the long-time dream of Frank Steele. Unfortunately, the restaurant hasn’t been doing very well – making only around $400 a day and barely making ends meet.
Enter Keith Lee, a TikTok food reviewer based in Las Vegas. A Frankensons employee emailed him, explaining the dire situation the eatery was in and requesting that he review their food. So, he showed up and told Frank he would do an honest review.
Keith tasted all the dishes he ordered and raved about them all, rating the pepperoni pizza a 9.8/10 and the lemon-pepper-sauce chicken wings a 10/10. In the TikTok video, which went viral and gained millions of views, Keith said the food was great, as was the service, and there was no way Frank should be unable to make rent. He told his followers to go eat at Frankensons.
And they did. By the next day, Frankensons had gained tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and was absolutely inundated with customers. The line was out the door and down the sidewalk.
Frank, who ended up working 16-hour shifts to help meet the demand, told Insider, “Our phone never stopped ringing. I’ve sold more lemon-pepper wings in the last two days than I have in the past four months. I have people coming in from Iowa, people from California, Lake Havasu. I had people come down from Utah, all because of this video.” He continued, “The response has been so overwhelming. I’m working to get stocked up on supplies and food. I am bringing everyone in to help. All I can say is thank you. This has been life changing.”
@keith_lee125 Frankensons Pizzeria Taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic ♬ original sound – Keith Lee
@keith_lee125 Frankensons Pizzeria 4 day update @keith_lee125 💕 2-3 hour wait times ALL DAY , line down the street , him and his family are working 16 hour shifts EVERYDAY 💕 God is amazing, God bless you all 🙏🏽 #foodcritic ♬ original sound – Keith Lee
As for Keith, he gained followers by the tens of thousands as well and responded to Frank’s gratitude on the national news by saying, “That wasn’t about me. That wasn’t my moment. Watching him be that thankful and cry on national news was more than enough for me.”
Using whatever influence one has to help someone else is something good. Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good!
