Local Restaurant Scene Prospers: Social Media Star Alex Kim Is Bringing Droves of Diners to the City

Chelsea’s Civic Design and Engagement Specialist Mimi Graney brought Alex Kim on board to promote local food businesses through TikTok, a popular social media platform.

Kim had the impressive credentials to converse about all things food. He is a graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and has worked in the Boston high-end restaurant scene for 10 years.

But neither Graney nor Kim could have predicted the amazing response or the thousands of viewers that Kim would attract with his unique perspective of Chelsea’s restaurants.

There have been more than 26,000 views and 1,000 followers in the first month alone, which by TikTok standards is extremely high.

A social media producer, Kim, 32, has been making eye-catching and humorous videos that spotlight Chelsea’s restaurants. His videos have to-date featured mostly restaurants in the Latino business community.

Prospective diners are not only watching the videos but they are traveling far and wide to visit the restaurants in Chelsea, thanks to Kim’s quick hits on TikTok.

“Because Chelsea is such a diverse pocket of so many different Latin American countries, there’s a hunger for content specifically for Puerto Rican or Honduran food that is so intense, but there’s not a lot of media about Latino food,” said Kim.

Kim has been channeling his message through Graney’s Chelsea Prospers program, which lists one of its goals as advancing the local economy in the city through the design and active use of the public realm.

And Kim is creating an unmatched following among aficionados of Latino food establishments.

“The Latino community is sharing it on social media, getting excited about it, and displaying their flags of cultural identity within the comments section,” said Kim. “It’s pretty cool. Each different restaurant that we feature becomes a little, mini-chatroom for so many people.”

What has been Alex Kim’s recipe for success in his TikTok videos?

“I have a great appreciation and education in the food industry, so I’m able to take that perspective of not just working in the industry but doing a lot of solo food traveling and bring that style to shooting food videos for Chelsea,” related Kim.

One hidden treasure that Kim found in Chelsea was La Mesa Restaurant, where Kim got a taste of what it’s like to be a foodie celebrity,

“I went to La Mesa where they sell the best birria tacos,” said Kim. “When I went there, these two guys were in there buying a dozen birria tacos each. I asked them, How did you find out about this place?’ They said, ‘It was on TikTok and then he Facetimed his wife, and she said to me, ‘Hey, you’re the guy from the Chelsea TikTok.”

 If you haven’t seen Alex Kim’s creativity and style, his light, high-energy videos are worth a look. As Alex says, “there are a lot of cool restaurants and places in Chelsea to get food and I intend to showcase them.”

Team Graney/Kim has found a winning formula. “This is far beyond what Mimi and I expected in terms of enagement, response, and interaction,” said Kim.

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