An Influencer With a Mission: Supporting New York Restaurants

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by Jacob Solomon May 29, 2023 News
An Influencer With a Mission: Supporting New York Restaurants

More Than Likes is a show about people on social media trying to do good.

On a gloomy April afternoon, he arrived at Renee's Kitchenette in Queens, where he was raised. He wore a navy blue suit with a beret and sunglasses. A camera pointed at Mr. Cho's face as he sat down at a window table.

Mr. Cho is the public face of a website that spotlights small New York restaurants run by immigrants and minorities. The business of so-called food porn is not one of the things that Righteous Eats is involved in. Butter boards and cheese pulls are common attempts at going viral in the crowded market of foodinfluencers. The people who make up one of the world's most diverse cities are the focus of the show.

At left, Renee Dizon surrounded by members of the Righteous Eats crew. At right, Ms. Dizon’s sister, Beth Chu.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

In his videos, Mr. Cho starts with a long "Yo!" and walks viewers through the history of the food and the people who made it. Mr. Cho and his team don't have the resources to finance their own marketing campaigns. Mr Cho doesn't accept free food.

Brian Lee said that they wanted to bring empathy through representation. The way his company presents a variety of cuisines can help people realize we are all the same.

Ms. Chu transfers pancit canton, a Filipino stir-fried noodle dish, to a takeout container. Renee’s only has 10 tables, but also does delivery.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
Through a cloud of steam, Rob Martinez, an executive producer at Righteous Eats, gets footage of a cook at Renee’s holding a plate of sizzling sisig (chopped pork, onion, chili pepper and an about-to-be-placed egg).Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

Mr. Cho started the series on his personal TikTok account after learning that one-third of the city's 240,000 small businesses might never reopen. He uploaded his first video at Renee's, a 10-table family-run Filipino restaurant in one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. Mr. Cho says it's the modern-day Ellis Island.

Mr. Cho wore a black surgical mask at the end of the video.

Many of the establishments Mr. Cho highlighted in those early days survived the swine flu. Earl Dizon said that there was a wave of people coming in to try out the food.

Mr. Cho was going to bite into a plate of sizzling sisig that was placed on the table by Ms. Dizon's sister.

You have lost weight. Ms. Chu smiled.

Is there any lost weight? It's really? Mr Cho chuckled. I gained weight with everything I have eaten.

Mr. Cho tries a heaping portion of pancit canton on camera.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
Mr. Cho holds another of Renee’s specialties: skewered, grilled chicken.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

Mr. Cho moved to China when he was 6 years old. His family moved back to Queens after three years. He was raised in a dingy, first-floor apartment five blocks from Renee's.

Mr. Cho said that his family didn't speak English very well. Most of the students in his school were immigrants. How do we tell ourselves who we are in the United States? What are we going to do next?

Mr. Cho was attracted to hip-hop. He was introduced to aspects of U.S. history that he didn't know about in his textbooks. He was starting to talk like his heroes. A documentary about the lives of four Korean American hip-hop artists was produced by Mr. Cho after he graduated from college. He became a co-owner of Alumni in two years.

Mr. Cho was born in South Korea, then moved to China when he was 6. Three years later, his family immigrated again, to Queens. He grew up in a dingy, first-floor apartment in Woodside, Queens — five blocks from Renee’s.Credit...Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

Mr. Cho uploaded his second-ever TikTok, a step-by-step guide on how to make tteokbokki, Korean spicy rice cakes. The clip had amassed more than one million plays.

Mr. Cho uploaded a lot of cooking videos. His audience went crazy.

Mr. Cho shifted his focus to the small restaurants that were struggling in the city. The people who worked the stove, chopped vegetables and cleaned tables were people like his parents who needed to make ends meet in a foreign land.

The audience on Mr. Cho's page were eager to support those most affected by the swine flu. It caught the eye of Mr. Lee, a media executive with experience working with social media creators, and in April 2022, they officially started Righteous Eats as a stand-alone page.

If you have never seen oxtails on pizza, please watch the video.

Do you know what it smells like? Mr Cho walked through his old neighborhood and asked if he could go to Renee's. A mix of Thai, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and other cuisines could not be achieved in the most daring fusion restaurant. The scent was always a part of the community.

Mr. Cho was able to keep his anonymity, even though he was approached four times by fans during a later shoot in Queens.

Mr. Cho said that 10 out of 10 people in the audience are English- or culturally-New York-literate.

Mr. Cho believes that spreading the word to a larger audience is satisfying the mission.

He said the goal was to have more cultural dialogue through food and introduce people to places they wouldn't normally visit.

Mr. Cho sat down with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at Evelia's Tamales in Corona, Queens, as part of an ongoing push for the brand into longer form. Helen Cho is a former producer for Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Mr. Cho and Mr. Lee have a plan to help small restaurant owners scale.

The plan is contingent on the continued appeal of Mr. Cho, who chatted with fans at the Korean-inspired Between the Bagel. Mr. Cho had his cameraman record him as he ate his food.

Mr. Cho nodded and said it tasted like home. It is similar to New York.

He stopped. My hometown.