Pittsburgh Restaurant Owner Calls Out An Influencer with 15 Million Followers Who Demands $1800 to Eat at His Restaurant: “We aren’t interested in that”

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Jun 11, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

Influencers are often called audacious, and this food influencer's wild offer is a great example of that.

Fame can go to your head, and that's certainly the case with some influencers. They're making daily videos, sometimes multiple per day, and their fans are constantly hyping them up in the comments section.

There are endless niches for content creators to get into, but they say posting consistently is key. So for the food reviewer type of influencer, eating out at restaurants constantly is basically their second job.

And that cost adds up quickly! Although a viral video or two might help with the bills, influencers might have to find other ways to pay the bills.

This influencer has a strange way of trying to make money off their Insta-fame. They have been just messaging restaurants straight-up, asking them for 4-figure paychecks.

In return, the restaurant gets a handful of videos. Presumably, they'd also get an influx of followers on their socials, and perhaps if they go viral enough, they'd get a bunch of new customers in their stores, too.

Why did this restaurateur turn down an influencer with 15 million followers?

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Group of friends view footage from food influencer while eating at restaurant, in a depiction by 4 models.
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via Daniel

A crowded restaurant full of hungry diners, in a depiction by models.
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via Eaters Collective

Influencer snaps a photo of an aesthetically pleasing restaurant meal, as represented by a model.
After reading through the conversation, there are a few points that could be considered.
For example, this restaurant is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. How can the content creator guarantee that PA residents are going to be the ones seeing the content? He can't.
Is that better advertising than just putting up billboards or handing out flyers with coupons on them locally? Probably not.
People may see the content, but if people aren’t coming in to buy meals (and maybe post about it themselves!) then it’s probably not worth it for these restaurant owners.
Also, paying someone to chow down at your place of business is the exact opposite of what an eatery even does. These places run on slim margins, they really don’t have the kind of money to just waste on an influencer’s video.
If an eatery wants to go viral in the first place, they need to have a really photogenic or trendy food item. They won’t have to seek out any hype. It’ll find them.
The influencer here was also a mukbang content creator. People are split on this type of content. Some really enjoy watching people gorge themselves on massive amounts of food, often making a mess as they go. Others, myself included, find it hard to stomach. So just by the type of content the food influencer creates, he’s going to be bringing in this hyper-specific audience. It’s perhaps not the most mainstream appeal.
It turns out that this guy has messaged other restaurant owners, and the story gets even juicier.
Another restaurant owner weighed in

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This guy actually agreed to it

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via Mohamed hamdi

Food influencer holds hand at an awkward angle to get the right photo of a pastry, in a representation by a model.
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$2500!?!

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The food speaks for itself, this guy says, no need to pay for positive buzz

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Also, "Let them know you're doing ads" is very good advice, seeing as that needs to be disclosed according to FCC guidelines.
People couldn't believe that this influencer operated this way and found it pretty silly

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via DeanoNet
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via chefphoteamuh

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Pittsburgh Restaurant Owner Calls Out An Influencer with 15 Million Followers Who Demands $1800 to Eat at His Restaurant: “We aren’t interested in that”

Influencers are often called audacious, and this food influencer's wild offer is a great example of that.

Another restaurant owner weighed in

This guy actually agreed to it

$2500!?!

The food speaks for itself, this guy says, no need to pay for positive buzz

People couldn't believe that this influencer operated this way and found it pretty silly

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