TikTok turns the tables at a Montreal restaurant

When Tularosa opened in late March, business wasn’t exactly booming.

“It was a little bit slow at the beginning,” said Jov Ruiz, co-owner and chef.

But these days all it takes is one viral video to turn a local restaurant into a hotspot.

Lawrence Binding started posting reviews during the pandemic to support small businesses.

When his daughter craved Mexican food, they walked into Tularosa and were both blown away.

His TikTok review racked up 35,000 views in 24 hours.

“It went kaboom,” Binding laughs.

Trouble is, the Lasalle eatery wasn’t quite ready. Quickly, the number of customers was overwhelming.

“One of my friends called me up and said, ‘It took me two hours to get served.’ Come on. That’s ridiculous,” said Binding.

“Clean this, clean that, prep this, cut that ... we run, we run. Didn’t stop running the whole night,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz adds the restaurant was short-staffed and stretched thin. But when the complaints came in, his team didn’t waste time.

He’s no stranger to pressure, especially from his toughest critic: his mom.

“Even though we graduated from cooking school, she still goes like, ‘No, no, no. Don’t do that. That’s wrong. Throw it. Do it again.’ She gives her personal home touch,” Ruiz said.

They’ve since hired more staff, streamlined the kitchen and jumped back on TikTok.

“I would like to apologize, we are organizing ourselves to serve you better,” Ruiz said in a follow-up video, sitting next to Binding.

Ruiz’ authenticity resonated. His apology? Accepted.

And for customers, the food did the rest.

“The food, the freshness, the quality, the guacamole alone. The shrimp? Oh my God. And I’m not even a seafood guy,” said Binding.

The video may have gone viral, but what keeps people coming back is what’s on the plate.

And for restaurants like this, the local love goes a long way.