'It is like a miracle'; Daughter's viral TikTok rescues her family's struggling Santa Rosa restaurant
SANTA ROSA -- The power of social media can turn people's lives in a whole new direction.
Just days after a TikTok video was posted by the daughter of a Santa Rosa restaurant owner standing in his empty business, their kitchen has never been busier.
The restaurant industry is not a walk in the park. Put a global pandemic in the mix and the struggle to make it day to day becomes a tiresome battle. Even more so, the Tubbs Fire in 2017, forced Vuong Le to keep his doors closed for months with the risk of the fire's proximity to his restaurant.
"People don't go out anymore at nighttime," Le, owner of Lee's Noodle House, said. "It is very stressful, there is no customer at all. We cannot afford to hire employee, so we just try to make any money we can just to survive."
For 20 years, Le has owned the Noodle House. His employees are just his wife and his daughters, with the help of his daughter's friends. The slow service has been taking a toll.
"When we didn't have like a lot of customers, it was hard seeing my parents like struggle," says 17-year-old Jessica Le. "Like going to work with them and just seeing them sad when we come home."
"Sometimes I wonder like how come night time, nobody go out eating at night time, it is weird you know," explains Le. "And like restaurants, all the restaurants, people go out and I think what is wrong with me?"
Lee's Noodle House could not qualify for pandemic fiscal support. The bills have been piling up.
"In the pandemic, we don't make money and we owe PG&E a lot of money, and the government don't give any funding at all because they say we don't have enough employees," says Le. "That's why we don't get any money for us, not even one cent. So we got behind with the PG&E bill, open up and we owe them like $20,000. Hopefully this time, I can pay them off."
Who would have thought it would just take a TikTok post, showing Le in his empty restaurant just waiting for people to serve, to bring customers back in the door.
"I never see that before, you know," Le said. "It is like a miracle. I don't know! Never seen this in my life."
A miracle, brought on by a seven-second video posted by his daughter, who is actually 500 miles away at college in Long Beach.
"Once it hit like 100,000 views, that's like when I started to realize, like, 'Oh, people are starting to see it,'" Jennifer Le said. "And especially my dad, he was like super surprised about everything, he was like in shock."
Vuong Le is no longer standing behind the bar with nothing to do, he is on the constant move to just keep up with his customers.
"From last month of business, it's like 10 times [the amount of customers]," Le said.
"Three days ago, the restaurant was still like completely empty," explains Jessica Le. "And now the last few days we have been flooded and we haven't even been able to answer our phone calls. We have been really busy.
If you come in for the lunch hour, it is standing room only to get a table.
"I have been coming here for about 8 years and I have never seen it this busy at lunch time," said John Harley of Santa Rosa. "I have never had to wait."
The TikTok garnered the attention of new customers, driving long distance just to support and give the food a try.
"I live in Lake County," said Lucy Archuleta from Lakeport. "I have an appointment here in Santa Rosa, I usually go to Panera for lunch. And when I saw the video, I said you know I was going to try it out and see."
The social media post was also a reminder for former customers to come back in.
"I had just seen the TikTok video and it's been a long time since I used to come here, I used to come here all the time before," said Stephanie Jordan of Santa Rosa. "But then when I moved across town, I just haven't been back."
It is as simple as supporting local, a system that keeps our communities strong.
"After the TikTok, the people come in, local," Le said. "They come in and support us. I am very grateful they come. I mean without them, I don't know what to do. I am very happy. Thankful for the people who come and support us."
Like Le, many of us are all just trying to make it, even it takes sweat and heartbreak to do what we can for the people we love.
"To support my kid to go to college," Le said. "That is my main goal. Try to make sure for her to get enough money to go to college. That is Asian-style."
What tastes better than knowing the kind of peace you can bring to your neighbor by simply sitting down and eating a hot bowl of pho.
