Podcast Summary: "Ten Restaurants CRUSHING Social Media Right Now (ENCORE)"

Podcast: RESTAURANT STRATEGY

Host: Chip Klose
Episode: 388
Date: October 23, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights ten restaurants that are excelling on social media—from global icons to local favorites—aimed at inspiring independent restaurant owners to improve their organic social strategies. Host Chip Klose breaks down what these restaurants do right, discusses content pillars, and shares actionable tips for anyone wanting to elevate their digital presence. Throughout, the episode emphasizes not just trends, but unique perspectives restaurants can use to shape their own feeds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Role of Social Media for Restaurants

• Two Sides: Paid vs. organic – both are critical to a strong online presence.
• Purpose of Organic: More "confirmatory" than "discovery" for most diners.
  • "Instagram, for example, TikTok, for example, is not where people go to discover new restaurants… it's where they go to confirm what they've heard or what they want to believe." (Chip, 07:45)
• Content Style for 2024-2025:
  • 4 out of 5 posts should be vertical video, the rest photo carousels.
  • Photo-only posts are largely "dead," unless presented as carousels.

Content Pillars—What Restaurants Should Post

• Five Key Categories:
  1. Food
  2. Beverage
  3. Space
  4. People
  5. Community/Neighborhood (wildcard)
• "I like to think in terms of content pillars… food, beverage, your space, probably your people, and probably your community or your neighborhood…" (Chip, 10:30)

Originality Matters

• Stand out by doing things differently; your brand’s unique personality should drive your content.
• Scrub Daddy’s viral (and off-brand) TikTok is referenced as a gold standard for playful, unpredictable content—even for non-restaurants.

10 Restaurants Crushing Social Media

1. Noma (Copenhagen) [13:30]

• Strength: Communicating ethos and experience; features behind-the-scenes, dining room/"space," menu development, and global pop-ups.
• Notable for showcasing what it feels like to dine at Noma, not just the food.

2. Fry the Coop (Chicago suburbs) [15:15]

• Strength: Trend responsiveness and humor; instantly leveraging popular memes, songs, video styles, and making them hyper-relevant.
• "They don't deliberate, they don't wait, they just jump right on the trend. And they're funny." (Chip, 16:07)

3. Wendy’s (Global) [16:50]

• Strength: Iconic, distinctive voice on Instagram—edgy, humorous, "chippy," often poking fun at competitors.
• Prediction: Their social voice will influence all their branding.
• "Wendy’s… is such a stark departure. I think the way they use their Instagram feed is totally different than the way they do the rest of their branding." (Chip, 17:45)

4. Bad Roman (New York City) [19:00]

• Strength: High-impact food, beverage, and space visuals with short-form, engaging vertical reels—easy to replicate.
• Emphasizes action shots: "They’ll do a video where they serve a dish and sauce the dish tableside and that’s the whole video, maybe 10–15 seconds…"

5. Hard Rock Cafe (Global) [20:18]

• Strength: Brand unity across locations, leveraging celebrity and influencer content while celebrating diversity between cities.
• Useful model for multi-location brands.

6. Handcraft Burgers and Brew (New York City) [24:02]

• Strength: Crystal-clear identity, active owner-as-spokesperson, creative holiday/national day promotions.
• Owner Rev Ciancio is highlighted for being front and center: "Rev puts himself front and center… he's an influencer himself and he does that really well."

7. Oshō Moko (Brooklyn, NY) [26:45]

• Strength: People-forward feed—spotlighting both team members and diners, two out of five posts.
• "Highlighting your people is a really key way, and they've just put it front and center." (Chip, 27:44)

8. Shake Shack (Global) [28:45]

• Strength: Energetic brand vibes; clear market differentiation from legacy fast food giants by promoting an "upscale fast casual" image.

9. Crumbl Cookies (US) [29:53]

• Strength: High-fashion, almost "perfume ad" aesthetic—elevates cookies to a luxury product category.
• "They are not everyday, they are not normal… they’re shooting this like a perfume company… but it’s cookies. It’s sort of tongue-in-cheek." (Chip, 30:08)

10. Speedboat Bar (London) [31:18]

• Strength: "Food porn" energy; uses bright, energetic carousels and video to express flavor and vibe.
• "This feed is bright, it’s energized, it’s got personality. The color for me translates to flavor." (Chip, 31:38)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Social Media’s True Purpose:

  • “People aren’t going looking for discoverability... There’s no purchase intent on the social media platforms. Not in the same way as Google or even on Yelp or TripAdvisor.” (Chip, 08:22)

• On Content Pillars:

  • “Food, beverage, people, space, neighborhood or community… That’s just me. But certainly you can do with that fifth whatever you want.” (Chip, 10:58)

• On Video Dominance:

  • “Four out of five posts on social media… should be video... And as I’m recording this, it should be vertical video.” (Chip, 05:36)

• On Platform Primacy:

  • “Instagram continues to be the most powerful platform for restaurants… I don’t think you’ll get the kind of audience and the reach [on TikTok].” (Chip, 16:38)

Practical Tips & Takeaways

• Post Frequency: 4–5 times per week is ideal, but consistency and quality matter more than volume.
• Video Reigns: Prioritize vertical, short-form videos; aim for carousels with photos.
• Unique Voice: Don’t be afraid to stand out. Use your feed to showcase what’s special about your restaurant.
• Owner as Spokesperson: It’s effective for independents to have a public "face" of the restaurant.
• Celebrate People: Highlight both your team and your guests to humanize your brand.
• Adapt Trends Quickly: Being timely and relevant can set you apart, even as a small operation.

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Social Media’s Importance & Philosophy | | 05:36 | Video vs. Photo—Content Guidelines | | 10:30 | Content Pillars Explained | | 13:30 | #1: Noma | | 15:15 | #2: Fry the Coop | | 16:50 | #3: Wendy’s | | 19:00 | #4: Bad Roman | | 20:18 | #5: Hard Rock Cafe | | 24:02 | #6: Handcraft Burgers and Brew | | 26:45 | #7: Oshō Moko | | 28:45 | #8: Shake Shack | | 29:53 | #9: Crumbl Cookies | | 31:18 | #10: Speedboat Bar |

Final Thoughts

Chip encourages listeners to use these examples as templates:

"If you say, ‘Well, I don’t really know what to do or I don’t know how to do it,’ just go see what other people are doing and literally copy them." (Chip, 33:20)

For deeper tactical insights, listeners are encouraged to revisit episode 386, which delves into practical approaches to organic social.

End of Summary.