From Coke floats to Cronuts, going viral can have a lasting effect on small businesses

The Lexington Candy Shop in New York City has served burgers, fries and shakes to hungry patrons for decades. Last remodeled in 1948, the diner is the definition of old-fashioned. But that hasn’t stopped it from getting a wave of new fans. In August 2022, this old-school business met the new world when Nicolas Heller, a TikToker and Instagrammer with 1.2 million followers known as New York Nico, popped in for a traditional Coke float – Coke syrup, soda water and ice cream. Naturally, he made a video. It went viral, garnering 4.8 million likes. “The next day (after the video was posted), the lines started forming at 8 in the morning,” John Philis, the diner’s third-generation owner, recalls with amazement. “And it was like, huh!” When a smaller restaurant unexpectedly goes viral on TikTok or other social media, the sudden demand can be overwhelming. Owners have to adapt on the fly, revamping operations to quickly serve a crush of people. But savvy business owners who are able to adapt can parlay newfound fame into lasting changes that boost their business for years. But going viral doesn’t lead to expansion for everyone. Some are just happy to enjoy the boost in their existing establishment. One person who knows about going viral is Dominique Ansel. In 2013, before most people knew the term “going viral,” the French pastry chef created the “Cronut,” a cross between a croissant and a donut, at his newly opened New York bakery. The Cronut created a craze the old-fashioned way, through newspaper and TV news reports. Ansel remembers the frantic early days when the bakery had to hire security to control the line. “It was very overwhelming. I have to say, it’s not a feeling of like joy and happiness, the feeling of stress and pressure,” Ansel recalled. “When we first launched the Cronut, we only had like four employees in the bakery, two in the kitchen and two barista. That’s it. So we were a very lean team,” he remembered. “It changed everything because we had to like, produce more. We had to hire more people.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.