A local seafood eatery is changing the way it communicates with its customers, both in the restaurant and on social media.
The Big Crab Co., with locations at Baymeadows and Northwest of Avondale, has made use of its social media presence by setting itself apart from similar restaurants in the area, general manager EJ Olaes told the Business Journal.
The restaurant recently went viral on social media and video sharing app Tik Tok and has since seen an influx of customers thanks to a video the restaurant posted on "How to crack a crab claw" that got 3.3 million views and 400,000 likes.
"All of us kind of like do our own social media thing," Olaes said. "It kind of just happened one day when we were bored and noticed the crab lovers side of Tik Tok."
"Crab side of Tik Tok" refers to the algorithm that the app uses to match users to their preferences. If users like videos of seafood, the chances are high that they'll see it on their feed over and over again.
He said he and his coworkers started to brainstorm and said it was important to keep it family-friendly.
Olaes also said he's seen an uptick in business since then and that it's important to educate customers on the types of food the restaurant serves.
"Explaining things like why the food comes in a bag," he said. "The answer is always, 'Well, to keep it hot!"
There's also been a lot of interest in the secret sauce, Olaes said. Although he declined to fully disclose what the ingredients are, he said the base consists of traditional seafood dipping ingredients like garlic and butter.
He said it's also improved the camaraderie among servers in a time where most restaurants are short staffed.
"As long as we keep brainstorming and keep up with our goofy personalities, we will keep doing it," he said.
