'Mullet Review': Restaurant reviewer helps local businesses with his viral food videos
There's a long list of restaurants in Greater Cincinnati that have announced their closure due to the high cost of food and labor.
A rising Cincinnati social media star is trying to help.
You may recognize the Mullet Review guy. He's a Loveland mailman who started sharing videos of local restaurants nine months ago. He doesn't tell them he's coming, he just shows up, then others follow.
Lori's American Grill in Goshen was on the verge of closing last summer. At the time, Lori Ellen's son was waiting for a kidney. She prayed for help.
"By June 21, at 3 a.m., we got the call that he was going to get his kidney. And on the same day as we're sitting at the hospital, I start getting text messages from my staff saying 'We're really busy, and we've not been busy in a long time,' and, 'The customers are talking about this guy with this haircut on the internet. Do you know what they're talking about?'" Ellen recalled. "And I'm like, I have no idea what you're talking about."
that started it all.
Mullet Review guy's real name is Brandon Elliot. His new social media side gig has helped highlight local restaurants.
"Well, when I was going to Taco Bell, and then the prices were, like, exactly the same as a little Mexican restaurant behind them. I'm not leaving there under $5 anymore, but then you go to the place behind it and you spend the same amount of money and you get more and better quality," Elliot said.
Millions of views later, foodies are making Cincinnati a destination for dishes like the crab Rangoon mozzarella cheese sticks at Lori's.
"We have on any given day, one hour waits, you know, or more, to get in this place. We had people coming from New York City. We've had people coming from West Virginia," Ellen said.
Lori's isn't the only success story. On his Mullet Review Facebook page, he shares spots that are struggling and encourages people to check them out to make their money count.