TikTok can be a place full of drama. But like everything, if you look hard enough, you can find the good. And one Las Vegas TikToker is working hard to bring that good to those around him, by helping out local businesses using his platform.
Keith Lee didn’t even let his shellfish allergy get in the way when reviewing a local seafood business being run out of a truck. Lee posted a video that shared his meeting with food truck owner, Gary Shanks. Shanks runs Southern Taste Seafood, and when the pair met, the food truck was struggling.
Gary Shanks recently got a helping hand with his food truck from a TikTok creator and his followers. Photo courtesy of Shanks
“Today I spent $450 on a burger. Let’s try it and rate it 1 through 10,” Lee said in his TikTok. Lee, a former MMA fighter, told viewers that he had finished a bike ride, and passed the food truck on his way back. He said it was parked alone on an empty street. “The foodie in me got interested immediately,” Lee said.
So I said, ‘Let me go see what they’re talking about.’ I thank God that I did.’”
Lee quickly noticed that the menu was seafood. He told Shanks he was allergic to shellfish. The chef swung into action – he showed Lee all the other options, and said he’d make the food separate from where the fish was prepared, if Lee would agree to come back the next day. So that is exactly what Lee did. “He told me he’s just trying to survive right now. It’s very slow. He’s lucky if he gets five to 10 people in,” he said.
@keith_lee125 He isn’t on yelp so I tagged him on my IG 💕 Southern Taste Seafood taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic
The very next day, Lee went back to the food truck, surprising Shanks. The chef quickly made up a meal, burgers and fries, prepared safely for the TikToker. Shanks told him the meal was free, but Lee turned him down. He told the man, “I went live the other day with Miss Shirley, passing out food to the less fortunate,” referring another tiktoker, @beauty2thestreetz.
“During that live, viewers sent $450 worth of gifts. I took all that money and I sent it directly to (your) Cash App.” Shanks tried to give back the donation, but Lee wouldn’t allow it. “I love moments like that ‘cause I’m so thankful and grateful from the bottom of my heart to be a vessel, and to help people like that,” Lee said.
Shanks and his customers pose outside of his food truck. Photo courtesy of Shanks
Once Lee got back home, he filmed his TikTok review. He gave the fries an 8.5 out of 10, and the burger a 9.5. Biting into the burger, the video shows a shocked Lee. “Yeah, Gary. Gary, you about to make me cry.” “Delicious. It was juicy, it was cheesy … immaculate,” Lee said. “Especially to be a place that don’t specialize in burgers. He makes seafood!”
Lee, who is well-known for helping businesses get more customers based on his reviews, just wanted to help out those around him. Shanks said the support has been surprising. Strangers, he said, have been sending him money, which he didn’t understand at first. “I didn’t understand what was going on or what that was about,” Shanks said.
You know, a lot of scams and stuff are going on so I wasn’t expecting that. I was just expecting some customers.”
A second TikTok video was posted, and Lee shared that Shanks had received $30,000 within 24 hours of the first video posting. “I’m overwhelmed with it, but not overwhelmed in a bad way,” Shanks said. “You know, I get so many phone calls. People just want to say hi.” Shanks said that pure luck allowed him to meet Lee. “That was either the first day or the second day I’ve been at the new location,” he said. “It’s God-sent,” he said. “That’s what I’ll say.”
Source: Today
