A growing TikTok trend is introducing the culinarily curious to hidden gems while simultaneously breathing new life into local businesses.
The trend, called the “lunch in my city” challenge, goes something like this: hop onto the app, go to the search bar, and type “lunch in my city.” Then, grab your next meal from the very first small business that pops up (TikTok will automatically tailor the search to your area). Folks are also encouraged to film themselves at the spot they found (don’t forget to tag the restaurant!) and show the dish off to the camera—no need to be a food influencer, just a person with an appetite and a phone.
These views drive attention to small, often family-run eateries that might go unnoticed. Mom-and-son duo Tabby Moschetti and Ethan recently did this with La Famosa, a small taqueria out of League City, Texas, near Houston. Their video, praising the tortillas as “perfection” and the meat as “heavenly,” recently got 16 million views.
Watch Moschetti and her son give La Famosa a 10/10
In an interview with Today, the family that’s operated La Famosa for 22 years said that, previously, some people in their own area had “never seen” them. But thanks to the video, even folks from nearby towns are stopping in to check out these highly renowned hand-pressed tortillas.
See more of the “lunch in my city” challenge
These are far from the first small restaurants to discover just how powerful a little TikTok love can be.
In 2022, Upworthy covered the story of Taco-Bout-Joy‘s, a family-owned restaurant in Glenview, Illinois, that was struggling to bring in customers.
The owner’s daughter, Isabel Milan, posted a video of her mother sitting inside the nearly empty restaurant, writing, “It breaks my heart to see my mom watching the door every day, waiting for a customer to walk in.”
The video racked up nearly 39 million views, and the following day, Taco-Bout-Joy’s was so busy that the family had to bring in extra help to keep up with the orders.
Then there was the case of Frankensons Pizzeria in Las Vegas, which received a visit from TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee.
The family-owned restaurant had been struggling to pay rent, and the owner told Lee that the food was good, but the business simply lacked marketing.
Lee’s review went viral, and suddenly people were lining up around the block. The owner said the restaurant’s phone “never stopped ringing” and that he sold more lemon pepper wings in two days than he had in the previous four months. People even traveled from states including Utah, Iowa, and California to try the food for themselves.
And in April 2026, 19-year-old Alexander Quinones turned to TikTok when his Detroit restaurant, Detroit Loves Tacos 2, was in danger of closing.
He shared the story behind the business and how much he had invested in making his dream a reality. The heartfelt video took off, bringing a wave of customers to the restaurant and even leading to several sell-out days.
Point being: sometimes a small business doesn’t need a massive advertising campaign to get noticed.
Often, it just needs someone to tell its story and a community willing to show up.
“Visibility matters so much for local restaurants,” says Nate Butler, a food blogger who regularly highlights surrounding eateries with his TikTok videos.
“Because there are incredible places all around that people would love but just have never heard of yet. And a good food review gives people a real reason to go…the goal is not just to generate views for me. It’s to help turn viewers into customers.”
TikTok might not be perfect, but if it helps us appreciate the goodness just outside our doorstep, that’s a pretty good reason to savor what it offers.
