A fairly new trend that is sure to pick up speed in 2023 is to have social media influencers parlay their fame into brick-and-mortar success stories. Smart investors and savvy mall operators did this in 2022 by keying in on the high traffic clicks from YouTube and TikTok in order to find their next star tenant. Fortunately these well-known personalities are able to promote their physical locations on their respective social media sites, thus guaranteeing a large customer turnout. Sites in tourist-heavy markets with strong foot traffic tend to work best for these viral-to-physical concepts.
Perhaps the best example of this was the MrBeast Burger restaurant opening at the American Dream mall in New Rutherford, N.J., in August. At 7,745 s.f., the restaurant was based on the success of the YouTube star, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, who is famous for his various recorded stunts, such as his “Going Through the Same Drive Thru 1,000 Times” clip. Although Donaldson already had his McBeast Burger available nationwide through ghost kitchens on delivery apps since December of 2020, due to a partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts, the physical restaurant still attracted a long line of 10,000 people on its opening day. The MrBeast Burger concept has since hinted at future franchising goals, and the name brand recognition is sure to attract customers far and wide at any upcoming site.
Another social media star who helped buoy the success of a brick-and-mortar concept is Dylan Lemay, whose 4,000-s.f. Catch’N Ice Cream shop, which opened in July in Manhattan’s NoHo district, was founded on his TikTok popularity. Lemay, who partnered with MG2/The Lionesque Group to create his first physical store, anticipates opening a second location in his home state of Michigan. Lemay built up a viral following through video clips of himself literally tossing balled-up ice cream scoops into the air while he worked at Cold Stone Creamery. Therefore, the Catch’N Ice Cream shop involves employees tossing ice cream balls to customers in hopes of landing the scoops into their cups. It is comparable to the interactive fish-throwing/catching experience between the staff and the customers at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. Almost every customer that agrees to this will record the act of attempting to catch the scoop, and the video clip is then posted on various social media sites, ensuring even more and more traffic to the shop. The location also hosts group parties and offers behind-the- counter experiences for an extra fee, so that customers can participate in the creative process of forming their own loaded scoops of ice cream.
The social media star/brick-and-mortar morphing trend had already experienced some traction in 2021 with two separate vintage store openings founded by TikTok influencers on New York City’s Stanton Street, which has since been dubbed “TikTok Block”: the Bowery Showroom opened by Matthew Choon, and Rogue opened by Emma Rogue. Both shops frequently host special events, whether runway shows or art show activations, to fully immerse their customer base. Expect even more social media personalities with a large following to open unique physical store or restaurant concepts in the future.
