San Francisco Chef Fired After Telling Influencer She Wasn't Famous Enough For a Free Meal

An award-winning San Francisco chef was fired and the restaurant temporarily closed after a TikTok influencer complained about being told she wasn't famous enough for a complimentary meal for herself and her husband.

The TikTok influencer, known as @itskarlabb, shared in a five-minute video that she left the restaurant, which she did not name but internet sleuths determined was Kis Cafe, in tears after what was meant to be a promotional visit turned into a tense confrontation.

The situation escalated when the chef, Luke Sung, who Karla did not name in her video, asked the restaurant's host who the influencer was and how many followers she had. Upon hearing that she had around 15,000 followers, the chef reportedly said that number was too low and that inviting her had been a mistake.

He then approached her directly, reviewed her content while she watched, an experience Karla described as embarrassing, and told her that her videos did not meet the standard he envisioned for his restaurant. He also accused her of failing to do adequate research before the visit. At one point, the chef asked if she knew who he was, and, when she said she did not, he listed his accolades and mentioned that his own daughter had 600,000 followers, implying that the influencer was not at that level.

Feeling "belittled and disrespected," the influencer told him she was no longer interested in collaborating. Before leaving, she told the chef she planned to document the incident, stating that she wants to advocate for micro-influencers, particularly within the Bay Area food scene.

"You don't need to have a million followers to be respected or feel like you're making a difference," Karla said. "I love spotlighting small businesses and I want to continue to do that and have fun."

The video has since gone viral, sparking an outpouring of support for the influencer, who now has more than 300,000 followers on TikTok. In response, the restaurant issued a statement on Instagram announcing that Sung was no longer part of the team, as a chef or co-owner. They also revealed Sung delivered a personal apology to the influencer.

"That behavior does not reflect the remainder of our team. We want to create a space that's welcoming and respectful to everyone. In this instance, we failed to do so," the Kis team wrote in its statement, adding that the restaurant would be closing temporarily to "restructure" following the incident. The post also urged the public to "not use this lapse in our values as an opportunity to foment racism and hate speech towards us and our loved ones."

After the video gained traction, the restaurant's Yelp page was flooded with negative reviews. One user wrote, "I don't normally do this but you left a guest feeling unwelcome at your restaurant over followers. Unfortunately, here to make it aware how foul the owner is. Social media is a powerful space, be careful next time."