Dubb’s Grubs finds tasty food spots and digital fame in Dallas-Fort Worth

When Dallas resident Jordan Williams got tired of eating from the same places every week — Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Wingstop — he decided to try a new restaurant he found through social media. Four years later, his search for new food spots has landed him thousands of social media followers, brand deals and priceless local recognition.

It started when he posted photos of meals from small businesses to his personal Instagram account. Williams said his friends and family members kept asking where the food was from, so in 2019 he started a separate account called @dubbsgrubs where people could go and stop asking him questions.

“It didn’t really work with the question part, but it was the start of something really good,” he said.

Now, the Dubb’s Grubs Instagram account has over 105,000 followers and remains his largest social media platform.

Williams’ posts consistently highlight taste, texture and overall flavor of dishes with close-up food shots and a voice over commentary. He goes everywhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to do reviews and said he has a significant Fort Worth following who make sure he keeps visiting.

Although he’s gained a significant social media following along with brand partnerships, Williams keeps his reviews split 50-50 between places he chooses and places that ask him to review their food.

“I feel like when the restaurants know I’m coming, it gives me less of a fair scope of the actual food,” he said. “So I do like to kind of pop up and see like, ‘Is it really good or is it just because I’m coming that they’re kind of dressing things up?’.”

Sponsors buy in as Dubb’s Grubs following explodes

Outside of Instagram, Williams said he occasionally posted food videos on his Twitter account, but it wasn’t until Barstool Sports made his turkey leg video showing the meat falling off the bone viral that he decided to get consistent on Twitter.

Barstool Sports resharing his video grew Dubb’s Grubs’ following by around 7,000 followers on Twitter and 10-15,000 on Instagram.

After hearing about TikTok, Williams caved and started an account about six months ago. Although he originally had no interest in using the video sharing app, his food videos have done well and he now has over 30,000 followers on TikTok.

Williams said he recently started posting on YouTube Shorts more and now has over 26,000 subscribers.

Consistency in posting across all his platforms has helped him maintain and gain a following, but Williams said word of mouth has been the biggest help in growing his digital presence.

After four years of growing his brand, Williams’ sizable following has landed him partnerships with Pepsi and the Texas Rangers.

Here are Dubb’s Grubs favorite Fort Worth joints

In Dubb’s Grubs reviews, the phone eats first — but not for long.

The first thing Williams notes when reviewing a meal is the presentation.

Looks aren’t everything, but you’re going to see food first, he said. Williams said he’s made trips to visit restaurants just because it looked good in a picture.

When Williams visited the recently opened Cheezy Does It food truck in Near Southside, he first opened the containers of food from owner Scotty Scott brought out and took a quick video for TikTok and Instagram.

He sets up a camera on a mini tripod and flips the digital display to face him so he can see what he’s shooting.

After presenting a cheesy sandwich to the camera, Williams takes his first bite and nods in approval, “That’s great, that is great.”

When reviewing, he’ll try multiple items off the menu to check for consistency in quality. He doesn’t post prices, opting instead for a shot of the menu.

If a meal misses the mark, Williams said he won’t post it and instead talks to the restaurant owners about what he didn’t like and tries it again another time.

Three of Williams’ favorite places are:

The Passion Cafe: 950 S Carrier Pkwy Suite 110, Grand Prairie. Serves soul food, wings, burgers.

“Every time I’ve been, some of the best food that I’ve had in the Metroplex,” Williams said.

Juicy’s Soul Food Cafe: 2220 Handley Dr., Fort Worth. Williams happened to drive past this location when he was hungry and in the area.

“It reminded me of my grandmother and my mom’s cooking, it was amazing,” he said.

Kajun Konnextion located in Local Tap and Table: 3333 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas.

Williams said you can watch a game and have a drink at this Dallas brunch spot.

Dubb’s Grubs followers ‘show up and show out’

While Williams tries to focus on black-owned businesses, he doesn’t discriminate on which restaurants or cuisine he tries and will post all different types of food.

Four years into establishing his Dubb’s Grubs brand, he knows a good number of his social media followers will show up to a restaurant he’s reviewed.

“I know my followers are very loyal to me to where if I post a spot and I say I enjoy it, they’re going to go and there’s going to be a lot of them that go. No matter what city it is, they’re going to show up and show out,” Williams said.

Sometimes he’ll go back to a spot a few weeks later to check in. Williams said he has seen customers form lines out the front doors after his posts and restaurant owners are appreciative.

“They’ll find my number, they’re calling me, they’re thanking me,” he said. “I’ve heard...that me posting them has been the best week of their life.”

Overall, Williams said his favorite thing about food is that it brings people together.

“People could have all types of differences and be from different cultures, different people, but with food it’s like we all come together,” Williams said.