The Internet Found The Most Creative Way To Save This Struggling Restaurant, And It's Proof That There Really Is A "Good Side" Of Social Media
This is Isabel Milan and her cousin Jordyn Chayhane. Their mothers, Sisouphanh "Joy" Milan and Kack Keomanivong, are the owners of a small carry-out taco shop in Glenview, Illinois (about 30 minutes from Chicago) called Taco-Bout-Joy's. Up until early December, they were serving fewer than 10 customers a day. But all that changed after they struck gold on TikTok in a truly unbelievable way.
On Dec. 8, Isabel took to Taco-Bout-Joy's TikTok account to post a 10-second video of her mother, Joy, waiting for a customer to walk in while business was slow. She alludes to this happening every day and even captioned the video: "I wish I could give her customers for Christmas."
The simple video ended up on the "right" side of TikTok almost immediately. As of Dec. 14, it's been viewed nearly 40 million times, received over 6 million likes, and racked up nearly 70,000 comments — the vast majority of them being some of the most wholesome and supportive comments I've ever seen on the app, TBH.
Even the universally adored TikTok creator Ophelia Nichols, who you may know as @shoelover99, stitched the viral video in a post to her 10.5 million followers. "Because I'm in Mobile, Alabama, I can't get to Glenview, Illinois right now. So I'm just sharing the video in hopes that others in the area will go try her restaurant out," she told her followers.
But if the support on TikTok was impressive, the video's IRL effects were downright life-changing. TikTokers drove from all over the Chicago area to try the restaurant's food, with many commenters mentioning they drove two or more hours to visit in person.
A quick search for "Taco-Bout-Joy's" on TikTok reveals hundreds of videos from TikTokers who actually visited the restaurant: trying their birria tacos, raving about the food, and filming the line to prove just how packed it was.
"I’m seriously still processing all of this," Isabel told BuzzFeed. "I think I've seen around a thousand customers daily, which is crazy to think about considering we used to have about 5–10 customers a day." With the unexpected boom in business, Isabel mentioned that they had to enlist help from their entire family to get through that first post-viral day.
In a follow-up the day after, Jordyn posted a video to her personal account of her mother and aunt tearing up while they counted their cash drawer. "This was the first time they were able to pay themselves since opening up the restaurant together," she captioned it.
Several commenters even pointed out the fact that the platform's algorithm "brought them back" to see the results of the restaurant's virality, even though the follow-up video above was posted from an entirely separate account. Judging by the thousands of likes on these comments, they were far from alone.
Support didn't end with folks visiting IRL, boosting the video's reach with comments, or sharing their food with their own followers. As of Dec. 12, more than 4,000 people had left 5-star reviews via Taco-Bout-Joy's Google listing — up from fewer than 100 in just a matter of days.
It's worth noting that since the 12th, it does appear that Google has removed the majority of reviews from folks who didn't visit in person. It's believed that Google monitors "large influxes" of reviews to make sure reviews are being collected "organically" — but it still goes to show just how passionate TikTokers were about giving this business a boost in any way they could.
Other TikTokers who didn't live in the area even offered to gift meals to folks in the Glenview area, so they could support the business from afar.
For Jordyn and Isabel's mothers — who manage every aspect of the restaurant while also preparing the food themselves — finding this unexpected success was a huge relief after a less-than-ideal start. Jordyn explained to me that Taco-Bout-Joy's was once a popular spot for Chinese take-out, which her mom and aunt took over as-is. But they were met with some resistance from long-time customers when they pivoted to serve the Lao and Thai dishes they grew up with. "My mother and aunt decided to open up a taco shop instead," Jordyn told BuzzFeed. "Although we are Laotian, my Aunt Joy learned how to make a lot of traditional Mexican food from her mother-in-law. She's been making Mexican food for our family for years and appreciates the art and effort it takes to prepare every dish."
In another TikTok from the restaurant, Jordyn shared that her aunt used food to connect with her Mexican mother-in-law despite their inherent language barrier. "Now, she honors her by carrying on the same recipes in her cooking," she said.
In the past few days, they've been overwhelmed by the response in the best ways possible. They've had customers reportedly wrapped around the block, local news crews inside the shop for interviews...
...and they've even had issues accommodating everyone's cars due to the small parking lot they share with neighboring businesses, Jordyn told BuzzFeed. But they're doing everything they possibly can to keep up with the demand — including hiring several kitchen positions now that they're able to do so, according to a Facebook post.
"Since the restaurant is owned by my mother, Joy, and my Aunt Kack, it's just been us three as the dream team since opening," Isabel told BuzzFeed. "We got my cousin Jordyn to start working here full-time, and my brothers Julio and Israel became part-time at their other jobs so they could help us out here as well. My dad and uncle are also here whenever they have time to spare."
"We're making some changes in the kitchen though: setting up the space differently to make the flow of completing the orders faster and easier on everyone, especially my mom."
As for what the future holds for Taco-Bout-Joy's — as soon as everyone on their team gets a moment to fully digest this once-in-a-lifetime overnight success — they're hopeful that they can turn the small taco shop into a dine-in restaurant.
"We would love to raise money for a standalone restaurant," Jordyn said. "Our space is currently just a carry-out joint, so we would appreciate opening up a bigger location that would have a dining room, bathroom, and a dedicated space to promote local artists and businesses!"
Though a social media expert I am not, I have a feeling that Taco-Bout-Joy's will be more than just a one-hit (or one-video) wonder. I mean, y'all: They've accumulated 250,000 followers in less than a week. In my humble opinion, I don't think those fans are going anywhere anytime soon.
You can follow Taco-Bout-Joy's on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. For their menu and more information on online or phone ordering, you can visit their website.
Oh, and if you order the birria tacos, please give me the full play-by-play on how delicious they are in the comments (so I can live vicariously through you until the next time I find myself in Chicago).
