Walked past that old viral donut shop in Portland and it was a ghost town

I was in Portland last weekend and decided to check out that place that had people lining up around the block back in 2019. There was nobody there except one guy on his phone behind the counter. I asked the owner what happened and he said the TikTok hype lasted about 4 months then totally died off. Has anyone else seen a trend spot go from packed to empty like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielm801d ago

Yeah I read something about that recently actually. There was a study or article I saw that said something like 60% of viral restaurant spots lose half their business within a year after the initial hype wave. The problem is most of these places build their whole model around being a TikTok destination rather than just being a solid neighborhood spot. Once the algorithm moves on and the influencers stop posting, you're left with a regular donut shop that everyone already tried and decided was just okay. I think the owner was probably smart to ride that wave while it lasted but most of them don't plan for the crash.

the_viola1d ago

Read something about how quick restaurant trends burn out if the food is just ok.

willowr961d ago

Disagree with this though, @the_viola. Places around me with just okay food still pack people in if the vibe or location is right, so that can't be the whole story.