The TikTok-famous food influencer visited Dallas in February as part of his quest to visit and review local restaurants across the country. “The Keith Lee Effect” is widely used to refer to his impact on the businesses he highlights, and it was undoubtedly felt in Dallas.
Lee’s visit to Dallas saw some highs (he gave Pakistani taco spot Halal Fusionz a glowing review), lows (the pizza at Thunderbird Pies didn’t have enough sauce) and some bizarre moments (a run-in with a food truck led to accusations of theft and a case of mistaken identity).
One local spot that Lee had high praise for was Brunchaholics in DeSoto, a brunch spot with a Creole twist that prompted him to leave a $2,000 tip. Last week, Lee teamed up with Brunchaholics again as part of his new collaboration with Microsoft: The Reheat, an online video series that sees Lee catching up with three restaurants he previously featured. Brunchaholics, which will be presented in the series' upcoming second episode, is singled out as a business that saw significant growth following Lee’s visit.
Growth can sometimes be hard to manage, however, and a TikTok trailer for the series presents long lines and overwhelmed kitchens as downsides of “the Keith Lee effect.”
“Sometimes when me and my family review a spot, [...] things can get a little crazy,” Lee says in the trailer. “Sometimes what comes with that is that some of these businesses might have to change overnight. And that’s not always easy.”@microsoft introducing The Reheat with Keith Lee, Presented by Microsoft. 🔥 @Keith Lee @Pretty Soul Kitchen @brunchaholics_ @Monday | Restaurant + Bar #Microsoft #FYP #KeithLee #TheReheatWithKeithLee ♬ original sound - Microsoft
Lee’s solution to the sharp increase in business is Copilot, an AI assistance software from Microsoft. Lee’s content may have sprung from a passion for food and highlighting small businesses, but Microsoft is largely in this game to plug its new toy.
Jessie Washington at Brunchaholics seized the opportunity to be involved in the project.
“They flew me out to LA for a couple of days and had a whole thing set up — camera crew, everything,” Washington tells the Observer. “I cooked some food and they filmed that part. Then they went through a presentation of Copilot and how to work on my business.”
Washington says that Lee broke down reviews that Brunchaholics has received on Yelp and Google and went through case-by-case solutions to issues brought up by customers. Washington says his catering service is one aspect of his business that's seen significant improvements since the show.
“I was having a bit of an issue keeping up with it all because I didn't have like a dedicated catering manager,” Washington says. “So with Copilot, it really just helped a lot as far as being able to organize orders and communicate effectively with prospective catering clients.”
Copilot is advertised as an "everyday AI companion,” and a demo of the software on Microsoft’s website features conversational styles such as “creative” and “precise” and prompts suggestions such as “invent a new fusion recipe that combines Italian and Japanese cuisine.”
(We clicked on that prompt and were recommended vegan risotto with mushrooms and samphire. For comparison, we gave the free ChatGPT app the same prompt and it recommended “sushi pizza.” Copilot wins this round, we suppose.)
On The Reheat, business owners are given tutorials on how to make catering request templates on Copilot. Only a few clips of the Brunchaholics episode of The Reheat have been released so far. What we do know is that regardless of what he learned, Washington had a great time making The Reheat.
"It was very flattering, to be honest," he says of being chosen to participate in the show. "Very surreal."
Will The Reheat act as an extension of “the Keith Lee effect?” Will Brunchaholics, newly armed with Microsoft goodies, soon face even more overwhelming growth that not even an AI assistant can cope with? Only time will tell, but we hope that Lee will come through with further support and another on-point brand deal if it does indeed come to that.
The Reheat with Keith Lee is streaming on the Microsoft website. Brunchaholics is at 208 N. Hampton Road, Suite A, DeSoto. Wednesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.
