James Beard-Nominated Chef To Leave Bay Area Restaurant Following Influencer Kerfuffle: Report

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A James Beard-nominated chef who made disparaging comments about a TikTok micro-influencer has found himself out of job at a popular San Francisco wine bar, according to the SFGate.

The chef worked at Kis Cafe, located in Hayes Valley. He had also been one of the wine bar’s co-owners before allegedly driving the influencer to tears.

The TikTok self-described “micro-influencer” who posts as “itskarlabb” shared a video on the social media platform about a negative experience she had at Kis Cafe.

“I had a TikTok collab with a new restaurant in Hayes Valley that I was really excited for,” she said in the video. “I had it planned since last week. My reservation was at 5:30 but I went a little early, at 5:10, so it was just me.”

After introducing herself to the host, she decided to walk around the restaurant and film its interior with her smartphone.

“I like to do that early on when there's less people,” she explained. “And after filming for a bit, I sit down at the table that's prepped for me, and it's a bar counter seat. I'm continuing to film the setup in the kitchen and stuff, because it's really cute.

While sitting, she overhears the chef/co-owner complain to the host that she didn’t have enough followers to warrant an invite to the restaurant. As she mentions in the video, he was standing nearby when he was making remarks about her.

“It's a small restaurant,” she explained in the video. “He's like two or three feet away from me, so I could hear everything they're saying. I know that they're talking about me, because I could hear them saying, TikTok views, followers.”

When he approaches her, she said she told him that she’s excited about the collaboration, at which point he questioned her knowledge of Kis Cafe.

“Immediately he says, ‘Did you do any research on this restaurant? Do you know what we do? Do you know who we are?’ And mind you, they're really new,” she said, adding, “They don't have a website, but I know their menu front and back, because whenever I go to a restaurant, I study the menu, because I know what I like to order, and I want to know what the restaurant is that I'm collabing with.”

He then began reviewing her TikTok posts, she said.

“He starts scrolling through and playing my TikToks on full volume at the restaurant and not even my page, just the page that comes up when you search my name,” she stated in the video. "After scrolling, ... he says to me that he doesn't think my videos are at the level at which he wants his restaurant to be represented. He goes on to say that my audience and my followers are not the kind of people that are going to be at his restaurant.”

Ultimately, she left the restaurant in tears, as she shared in the video. Posted mere days ago, the video now has over 10 million views and 22,000-plus comments – the latter of which are overwhelmingly supportive of the influencer.

"Well, he was right about one thing," posted one commenter. "Your followers are not going to be eating at this restauarnt."

Though she hadn’t referred to the restaurant by name, other TikTok users were quick to identify its name and neighborhood and who the person was who had commented about and spoken with her.

On Thursday, Kis Cafe posted a statement on their Instagram page: “Our chef’s behavior was unacceptable, and he is no longer part of the team as a co-owner, a chef or in any other way. As of this post, he (Luke) has reached out to the creator with a personal apology."

The statement continued, “That behavior does not reflect the remainder of our team. We want to create a space that’s welcoming and respectful to everyone. In this instance, we failed to do so.”

The post included the announcement that the restaurant will be “closing soon and restructuring after these events.”

"In the meantime, we hope to still be able to sustain the livelihoods of our team members and their families,” it also read. “[W]e understand the frustration and anger, but please do not use this lapse in our values as an opportunity to foment racism and hate speech towards us and our loved ones.”

On its Instagram page, Kis Cafe is described as “a local neighborhood spot w/ small plates and curated wines,” with “Kis” explained as a reference to “keep it simple.”

Patch was unable to reach Kis Cafe for additional comment.

According to SFGate, Kis Cafe opened in May of this year in the space that was formerly Dominique Crenn’s Petit Crenn.

For SFGate’s full story, go here.

The TikTok video of itskarlabb discussing the incident can be viewed here.