Award-nominated chef fired after a micro-influencer’s experience led to SF wine bar closure

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A San Francisco wine bar is shutting down after a viral TikTok exposed a micro-influencer’s emotional experience during a collaboration. The creator, Karla (@itskarlabb on TikTok), described leaving the restaurant in tears after the owner allegedly questioned and belittled her "small following" of 15,000. Despite not naming the business, users quickly identified the establishment as Kis Cafe along with its co-owner and chef, Luke Sung — who was once nominated for a James Beard Award over two decades ago  Backlash was swift and widespread, hitting the restaurant’s Yelp page, Instagram, and even the TikTok of Sung’s daughter, a popular influencer herself. Kis Cafe soon issued a public apology, confirming Sung was no longer affiliated with the business and announcing plans to close and restructure.   Karla has since gained over 200,000 new followers, brand opportunities, and posted a follow-up video thanking supporters and addressing the online harassment that followed.

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00:00A San Francisco wine bar is closing after an influencer left in tears, and although the owner

00:04previously called it a no-ego space, TikTok says ego is exactly what got him shut down.

00:10A small TikToker whose love language is food is going viral after sharing her experience

00:16collaborating with a San Francisco neighborhood restaurant offering small plates and curated

00:21wines. In the video, which now has over 14 million views, the influencer, whose name is Carla,

00:27explained she was still emotional after just leaving the collaboration crying.

00:34And for anyone unfamiliar, a restaurant collaboration is when a creator like Carla

00:39visits a restaurant and makes a video to promote it to their audience. In exchange, the meal and

00:44drinks are usually comped, and sometimes the creator gets paid too, depending on how big their

00:49following is. Unfortunately, this was not the fun collaboration experience for Carla.

00:54I know that they're talking about me because I can hear them saying TikTok, views, followers,

01:00so I start listening in. The TikToker explained the chef started questioning her followers,

01:06and when he learned her audience size was around 15,000, he became even more dismissive.

01:11He was saying that I have two little followers and that this was a mistake.

01:14The owner eventually approached Carla directly and things only got worse.

01:18He goes on to say that my audience and my followers are not the kind of people that are going to be

01:24at his restaurant. Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, Carla says she left the restaurant

01:28in tears before she could even finish the collaboration. Since going viral, Carla has

01:33received an outpour of support, gaining over 200,000 new followers, along with a comment section full of

01:39brands eager to work with her and a promise to boycott eating at the restaurant. One comment stated,

01:44so instead of him swallowing his ego and $250, he's lost hundreds of potential customers and even

01:51more money. Then he says, not to be snobby, but do you know who I am? Although Carla didn't name the

01:57restaurant in her video, TikTok detectives worked fast. Within hours, commenters had identified the

02:03spot as Kiss Cafe and the co-owner as Luke Sung, a chef who was nominated for a James Beard Award over 25

02:10years ago. One TikTok user even found an interview by the San Francisco Standard where the co-owner

02:15stated he wanted Kiss to be a no-ego place where people can just come and feel free to chillax.

02:21But to many online, the situation looked like the opposite and they made their feelings known

02:25and the backlash quickly spread beyond TikTok. Kiss Cafe's Yelp page displays a message that reads,

02:32this business is being monitored by Yelp's support team for content related to media reports.

02:37After being flooded with one-star ratings, many citing a rude owner. Even more personal,

02:42users tracked down Luke Sung's daughter's TikTok, an influencer with over 600,000 followers,

02:48and began flooding her comment section with criticism, many repeating the phrase,

02:52do you know who I am? Following the backlash, Kiss Cafe posted a public apology on Instagram

02:58and the official statement confirmed that Luke Sung is no longer part of the business

03:03in any capacity. The statement read, that behavior does not reflect the remainder of our team.

03:08We want to create a space that's welcoming and respect to everyone. In this instance,

03:13we fail to do so. Sharing, Luke had personally apologized to Carla and announced that the

03:17restaurant would be closing and restructuring. The post ended with a request for the public to

03:22avoid turning this into an excuse for racism or hate speech, asking for empathy towards the staff

03:27still affected by the fallout. Carla has since posted an update video thanking her supporters

03:32and also addressing the bullying and harassment that followed in the wake of her viral post.

03:37Do you want to make it clear that I do not condone any type of bullying or slander to

03:42unrelated family members? Share your thoughts below and follow us everywhere at What's Trending.

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