Meet Kevin Tyrl: @foodie_anonymous | Social Media & Business Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kevin Tyrl and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kevin, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind redirecting my @foodie_anonymous marketing business was to save Atlanta’s Local and Small Restaurants that have been most affected by the pandemic, and to make sure they still remain to make Atlanta’s food scene colorful and unique. When I saw all my favorite restaurants’ sales dissipate due to fear, racism, or gentrification I knew I had to do something. For example, Buford Hwy is filled with the greatest selection of authentic local Maw and Paw restaurants with foods from all around the world, and where the owners sometimes barely speak English which simply added even more charm to the restaurants themselves. Sadly, what made these restaurants so uniquely beautiful and different lead to their downfall caused by xenophobia due to the pandemic, and lack of open communication with their customer’s (i.e. active engagement on social media). Once I was able to read the writing on the wall for what would soon come, I knew I had to step up and redirect my business and knowledge to better help save these restaurants.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
WHAT MY BUSINESS @FOODIE_ANONYMOUS IS ALL ABOUT: I have unofficially been doing restaurant, event, and business advertising since 2011. As the years have past, I developed and adapted my business in many directions since then. When I originally started my business it was to help businesses I love in exchange of free food or tickets while in college when I didn’t always have the a lot of money since I working full time to pay for college. However, right when covid happened I was reached out to by my favorite Asian restaurants, (Northern China Eatery) to help consult on how to bring in more and new customers since so many people were scared to eat at Asian restaurants. That is when it was really brought to my attention on how I could use all of my social media knowledge to help save the businesses I love that also needed my help the most. WHAT SETS ME APART FROM OTHERS? What sets me apart from others or my niche would be that I am very selective on which customers I work with. I only work and offer my very affordable options with businesses that need the help, and most importantly I truly love their food. I purposely offer very affordable pricing at half of what I would normally charge, because I truly want to help the businesses I work with during these tough times. More often than not they are small Maw and Paw owned restaurants that have become culinary landmarks within our community. So many would overlook these kind of businesses due to language barriers, cultural barriers, and because they would require the most start up work to get the ball rolling with social media. With the normal rates charged in the industry these businesses would normally not be able to afford that start up cost with their business sales being much lower than they use to. Also, I feel what sets me apart is that every year I focus on a variety of charities that I work with for free, because I have also learned that you don’t have to have 300k followers or be a millionaire to make a difference. I believe in paying it forward, and that good things will come your way. WHAT I AM MOST PROUD OF OR EXCITED ABOUT? I am so proud of my largest customer after all of our hard work this past year. We did so well together that now their current sales are doing better than their sales before the pandemic. Now their biggest concern is getting more help, because of all the added new business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Without a doubt, our trip would start and end on Buford hwy and throughout the Duluth area with a Culinary Expedition of restaurants from all around the world, because sharing food is how I show others that I love them. Some must eat at restaurants would be: Buford Hwy in Doraville/Chamblee:  El Rey del Taco – Authentic Mexican restaurant with delicious tacos, fajita loaded platters, and strong margoronas!  Northern China Eatery- Traditional Szechuan family owned joint that offers spicy griddled cooked fish platters, Mandarin pork belly with glass noodles, and a dumpling heavy menu that is so good Anthony Bourdain visited just to try them.  Best BBQ – The best Dim Sum in all of Atlanta that serves freshly cooked to order dim sum, and a variety of delicious roasted pork, duck, and chicken that will all rock your world.  Chicago Supermercado- One of the best kept secrets for authentic tacos, menudo, and an incredible butcher shop in the grocery store that offers the most delicious in house mexican sausages including 3 types of chorizo.  Buford Hwy Farmers Market- We would also stop in here to show them a grocery store that has food from all around the world, the largest selection of seafood, and ingredients to cook a delicious meal at home. The Duluth Area:  Masterpiece – A delicious and magical Szechuan joint that happens to be my favorite restaurant in all of Atlanta, Rated one of the Top three best restaurants in all of Atlanta, and twice nominated for a James Beard Award. Need I say more!  Jangsujang- An old school Korean restaurant that serves easily the greatest Korean food of my life on top of the most mind-altering delicious banchan (homemade variety of kimchi).  9292 Korean BBQ- My favorite Korean BBQ joint in all of Atlanta with quality cuts of meat, unlimited servings of yummy banchans, and the perfect selection of meat combos to choose from that are better suited for any amount of people. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes out to the Atlanta Blogging Community that in many ways joined me in helping save what we hold sacred, Our Local and Small Maw and Paw Restaurants and Businesses. They all worked together on so many different projects to make a difference. Such projects include Candy from @soupbelly_atl bringing awareness of racial imbalance within the Asian restaurant industry, Greg from @atlfoodie organizing a fund to donate tips to laid off/unemployed restaurant workers, and the entire community’s efforts to spend more money at the struggling places they wanted to see stay in business.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/foodie_anonymous?igshid=x6i6yq1lttyu

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/foodieanonymousatl/