Chicago, Illinois
CHI12:00 PM
Shorty's had a following but no momentum: 1.5K views a month, one new follower in December. A major opening was weeks away and needed a line on day one.
The problem
Shorty's had 2,300 Instagram followers and a kitchen people already liked. What it did not have was anyone watching. In December the account did 1.5K views and gained a single follower.
Shorty's wanted a line out the door on day one.
What we did
Teaser reels signalled something was coming without saying what: a whiteboard countdown in the kitchen, a "you know the big news but can't prove it" bit. Views went from 1.5K in December to 26K in January.
Forty-six pieces of content in a month trained the algorithm before the announcement, so it would carry the big one. 58% of January views came from people who did not follow the account yet.
February 4: a single reel that read "It's Time." It did 15K views, 414% above a typical Shorty's reel, and brought 35 followers in a day against a usual 0–5.
Once the doors were open, the burger. The hero post reached 535 engaged accounts, the most of anything on the account.
The reels
Seven teasers counting down, the announcement, and the food once the doors were open. Tap any tile to watch it on Instagram. Counts are as of March 2026.
The photography
Two shoots: the menu in color, close and hot; the bar and kitchen in black and white. Everything on the account came from these.
The results
In the thirty days after the announcement the account did 82.9K views, 4.1K interactions and 245 new followers. Profile visits were up 1,118%, link taps up 860%. Nearly half the audience is in Chicago, which is the only place a restaurant needs it to be.
“The content itself was dope and super original; not only did views, followers, likes, and comments all go up, but we got the right views too. From the first countdown post, popular food influencers in Chicago who normally charge big fees for videos were sending DMs wanting to collaborate. So it took off almost immediately.”