CASE: Fat Tony's

Content themes

Honesty

Nothing was polished in Fat Tony's content. TVs breaking in the first week, lobster running out and bad customer reviews were all covered on video just as openly as the successes. That's exactly what made the owner credible.

Popular topics have included:

• “Bad reviews and how we fixed them”
• “What broke in the first week”
• “What surprised us”

Behind the scenes

The kitchen, making smash burgers and building the restaurant, all opened up to customers. People want to see how the food is made and who makes it.

The numbers and the owner's everyday life

Opening-month sales were announced on video. Being open about the numbers is rare in the restaurant business, and it sets the account apart.

Background

Fat Tony's is a sports bistro founded by Tony Honkanen in Vallila, Helsinki, on the corner of Sturenkatu and Teollisuuskatu. An investment of over €1M, more than 200 seats and a concept never seen before in Finland. But a new restaurant lacks what an established one has: people who already know it exists.

"Working with Höyrymedia has been a hell of a lot of fun. Short-form video has probably been one of the biggest reasons our restaurant got off to such a strong start."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

The challenge

The restaurant business is fast and unforgiving, and an owner opening a new place has no time to sit editing videos. Content had to keep coming, and it had to hold up even when things didn't go to plan. The solution was to hand the whole chain to a single partner.

"It's the whole package, really: ideation, scripting, filming, editing, scheduling and replying to comments."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

Working together

Speed is at the heart of the partnership. Something happens at the restaurant every day, and the content has to keep up while it's still relevant.

"Aleksi and Aaron, who I've been working with, are great people. Really quick to react: if an idea comes up today, it can be done tomorrow."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

The content covers every part of daily life at the restaurant.

"Pretty much everything to do with the restaurant: from the problems to behind the scenes in the kitchen, interviews, improvisation and messing about."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

Results & lessons

Opening-month sales were €550,000, and the opening weekend alone saw 3,500 pints, 500 burgers and 450 lobster rolls sold. The popularity surprised even the owner.

The visibility quickly turned into recognition, all the way to the bar.

"You notice it most concretely when I'm behind the bar pouring beers and loads of people come up and say, wow, your social media content is great, or hey, you're the one from TikTok."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

Recommendation

"I'd recommend Höyry to pretty much everyone. Whether it's a new restaurant or a startup, any B2C business at all. These days I can't think of a single company that wouldn't benefit from this kind of partnership."
Tony Honkanen, Fat Tony's

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