Social media food critic Keith Lee circled back to Chicago last week to patronize and review local restaurants. This time around, the former MMA fighter tried some different spots on the West Side and up North.
“He could have went anywhere and he chose Watta Potato. We are forever grateful and blessed to have him patronize our business,” Watta Potato owner Keayana Washington said today in an interview with The TRiiBE.
The “Keith Lee effect” is known for giving local eateries a financial boost. During his food tour of the city last fall, he visited Harold’s, Uncle Remus and Sharks to see how they ranked among each other — he crowned Harold’s as the champ. He also visited super local spots such as Soul Prime in Lincoln Park.
Lee made sure to include Black-owned businesses in his tour. Last week, he stopped by the West Side-based Watta Potato, which serves oversized, innovative baked potato dishes.
In his video critique of Watta Potato, which he posted online on July 25, Lee ordered a chicken Philly-loaded potato, an Italian beef-loaded potato and a jerk lamb chop-loaded potato. The post ended in an overall positive review for the West Side establishment, which he described as a place that doesn’t “skimp on no ingredients” and gives you a bang for your buck with affordable prices and a generous amount of food.
Washington said she first reached out to Lee last year in November when the business had only been open for 32 days. She was shocked that he visited them; however, she was out of town when he finally came by.
“I posted on my personal page [on July 23], as well as the business page, and said, ‘Hey, everyone, you guys know that we’re based in the Austin community? You guys have been supporting us heavily thus far. We heard [Keith Lee] will be coming to the Chicagoland area. Do us a favor, please tag his account, we would love for him to patronize,” Washington said.
Washington said that business has increased for the restaurant which saw 1,400 in-person customers this past Sunday, which is the typical amount of customers they usually bring in over a week’s time. The influx of customers translated to a daily increase of roughly $5,000 in sales.
“We’re talking about turning what once was a weekly number into a daily number on each platform,” Washington said about how both in-person and online orders on platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats increased in daily orders.
The impact of Lee’s review is not lost on Washington who said that the critique has also led to a surge in more diverse customers coming in to try their unique potato creations. She expects to see even more business now that Lee has posted his review on both his TikTok and Instagram pages.
However, due to the stigma people have put on the West Side, she said she feels the impact of Lee’s review of her restaurant is less than what’s been reported for other restaurants he’s visited in neighborhoods up North or on the South Side. After Lee’s visits, those restaurants have had lines “wrapped around before their opening hours,” she said.
While in town, Lee’s visit tackled the war between two popular Italian beef chains Al’s Beef and Portillo’s — he chose Al’s as the victor. He also left his mark on the Buena Park Italian restaurant Amici, which was reportedly on the brink of closing but got a boost that “quadrupled” their business.
“I just think by people placing that big stigma, ‘always dangerous or it’s Out West, Illinois,’ we are not reaching our full potential of people that will come and patronize because a lot of people are on the fence,” she said.
In Lee’s review, he described the area surrounding Watta Potato, located at 5202 W. Washington, as being “good but hood,” and cautioned viewers that the restaurant may be in a location “you ain’t supposed to be at.”
Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington feels that such generalizations can hurt businesses in neighborhoods such as Austin, where Watta Potato is located.
“I think it discourages people that are unfamiliar with the West Side to be on edge about coming that way,” Washington said. She added that she’s from Over East, and she initially had the same negative uninformed thoughts about the West Side.
“I did feel a way but I’m not holding it to heart because, again, I did have that same stigma before owning a business over here,” she said about Lee’s comments.
Chicago-based food critic Vinnie Dwayne, who goes by Cousin Vinnie on social media, also reviewed Watta Potato in February after it had been open for three months. Washington said Dwayne’s review also led to a boom in business and lines out the door.
Dwayne said he doesn’t usually spotlight the environment where a restaurant is located. In his reviews, he hasn’t seen a difference in impact for a West Side business or North Side business.
“I wouldn’t tell anybody to watch their back, but I understand why that is important, just for the disclaimer,” Dwayne said about Lee’s comments.
He said he has noticed a disparity in how the media has focused more on places up North when it comes to stories about the impact of such viral reviews. He added that more attention has been placed on restaurants like Amici.
Washington said she believes that the negative attitudes that potential customers carry about Out West are influenced by conversations by Chicagoans who highlight — or even brag about — negative aspects of certain areas such as crime, which she said happens all over the country. Those conversations get repeated by people who are not from here.
“Keith Lee is seeing what other people are saying,” Washington said. “He’s only going by what Chicagoans are saying.”
