An American runs a restaurant whose annual turnover is in the seven-figure range.

But there is a catch: he has never had a customer.

Drew Talbert’s hugely popular creation is Bistro Huddy, a fictional restaurant found only on TikTok.

Here’s everything we know about it.

Source of income

The comedy sketches about the catering profession on the fictional restaurant’s TikTok account now have almost 4.5 million followers.

His business is doing so well that he now earns an income in the “upper six-figure range annually,” although according to New York Post.

All thanks to merchandise sales, Patreon subscriptions, and brand partnerships.

“We have put ourselves in a financial situation that we could only dream of five years ago,” said the former waiter turned comedian NBC News, adding: “We were barely getting by from month to month and can now save for retirement.”

Talbert and his wife spend about five to six hours writing and editing simple videos.

Talbert attributes the quick turnaround time to her background as an actor and in social media.

“It’s exciting to see normal people who look like us,” Talbert said.

The fictional restaurant

Bistro Huddy is named after his son Hudson.

“If you don’t write with the Pilot G2, are you even a server?”
✍️: @drewtalbert#PowerToThePen #PilotPen #DoYouG2 #serverlife #restaurantlife #Job interview #IHeartG2 pic.twitter.com/pidh7ONAN0

— PilotPenUSA (@PilotPenUSA) July 23, 2024

After working in restaurants for 22 years, Talbert pursued a career as an actor and became a teacher at a nearby sketch comedy school, according to NDTV.

His wife sent him sketch comedy videos on TikTok during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which encouraged him to make his own.

Apart from his huge fan base on TikTok, he also boasts 776,000 Instagram followers and 1.5 million YouTube subscribers.

Addressing the difficulties of being a waiter, dealing with rude customers or overseeing a bossy boss, Talbert has created educational videos about restaurant employee compensation and the low minimum wage that waiters receive in response to the growing discussion about tipping culture.

Wearing his wife’s outfits and wigs from his sketch comedy class, he plays several roles in a sketch based on an incident at work.

“Everyone is looking for their niche,” Talbert said loudly New York Postadding, “I was able to use my sketch comedy background that I’ve been working on for years. The script, the acting, the characters – all of those things just kind of came together.”

His enthusiastic fans have asked Talbert to turn Bistro Huddy into a sitcom. He is happy with his reputation, but has already spoken to literary agents and other people interested in raising his profile.

“It doesn’t get much better than what’s happening right now,” he said. “We have full creative control. We’re at home with our kids.”

He has some advice for his followers, according to NDTV“Tip your waiters.”

His popularity

Today, fans watch Bistro Huddy because of its familiar storyline and drama surrounding a core cast of characters, such as hostess Amber, bartender Clint, assistant chef Pickles, and manager Terry.

They say his sketches bring back memories of their time in the catering industry, while others claim that the characters are so believable that they don’t notice that they are all “played by the same guy,” as in the New York Post.

Blonde waitress Nicole, who is sarcastic and usually gets her way, is the crowd favorite. She currently has 693,400 followers. Talbert claims that his wife, whom he met while working at a barbecue restaurant, is the source of inspiration for Nicole.

“People see Nicole and imagine this beautiful blonde – they don’t see me anymore,” Talbert explained. “People have now projected their own idea of ​​what these characters would be like in real life onto me. I’m just the conduit.”

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a social media marketing strategy that leverages product mentions and recommendations from influential people, explains sproutsocial.com.

These individuals have a loyal following on social media and are considered authorities in their field.

Influencer marketing is very effective because social influencers have gained a lot of trust from their followers over time.

According to the Influencer Marketing Report 2024, 49 percent of consumers say they are influenced to make a purchase at least once a month. According to the survey, 86 percent of consumers make a purchase influenced by an influencer at least once a year.

It should come as no surprise that Influencer Marketing Hub’s latest report predicts the sector will reach $24 billion by 2024.

With contributions from agencies