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You know your restaurant is gone viral when it closes a California freeway off-ramp. That's what happened to me San Pedro Fish Market behind popular content creators Food animal made a video about “Super Seafood Tray”.
With its irresistible mountain of seasoned shrimp, onions, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, the family meal was destined to be popular. But no one at San Pedro Fish Market knew how famous it would become until the Foodbeast feature hit social media.
After the video went viral, racking up millions of views, San Pedro Fish Market CEO and co-owner Michael Ungaro received a call from the Los Angeles Port Police on a rainy March day.
The Port Police had to close the freeway ramps because they couldn't handle the traffic coming to eat at the fish market. Police were baffled as to why so many people were driving on a day that wouldn't normally see much traffic on the coast.
“That video went so viral that it brought in 30,000 customers in 10 days from all over the country and abroad,” says Ungaro. Restaurant influencers host Shawn Walchef. “People were calling from London, South America, Kansas and Florida.”
The super seafood platter has become one of the most loved dishes on Instagram. “We just started to understand, after telling our story and using these social media platforms, why people are visiting us,” says Ungaro, who started working out of his home. family fish market at the age of 7. “They're visiting us with family; they're visiting us for the experience. And the more we got that narrative out, the more powerful our brand became.”
Kings of Fi$h Series on Prime Video
San Pedro Fish Market's Foodbeast feature came after it had already started investing in its content. Her award-winning web show Kings of Fi$h began as a way to capture the family's vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, highlighting the lively and entertaining characters who have built and continue to fuel this thriving business. The San Pedro Fish Market serves 2.5 million people each year.
Now, the business expects to reach new heights of fame with its debut Kings of Fi$h SERIES on Amazon Prime Video on August 13.
Eight years after the fish market published its first Kings of Fi$h videos — and on the eve of Amazon Prime Video's debut — the impact of the family's storytelling strategy is palpable.
The San Pedro Fish Market has become a global phenomenon because the family chooses to tell their story consistently with content.
“We all have a story of traveling somewhere far away and seeing a Fish Market shirt,” says Ungaro. “I traveled to Europe and after college, same thing. I went down to Mexico to visit with some of our employees — Fish Market shirts. It's just crazy.”
This global recognition is a testament to the successful marketing of San Pedro Fish Market and narrator efforts, making him a household name around the world.
Related: This delicious Titan understands the power of hands-on experience and diversification
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