CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It’s sometimes referred to as the “Keith Lee effect” — and from the look of the line outside of Amici-Chicago, located at the corner of North Broadway and North Clarendon Avenue — it is very real.
On Tuesday night, the popular TikTok food critic shared a glowing review of the small restaurant to his more than 16 million followers. He raved about the restaurant’s specialty: arancini, an Italian dish in which rice balls are stuffed, breaded and deep-fried. At Amici, the arancini is served in African, Mexican, Indian, Caribbean and Italian styles; together, the styles spell out “Amici.”
Less than 24 hours after Lee’s TikTok review, business at Amici was booming so much that the restaurant had to close early because it ran out of food. It reopened at noon on Thursday and had a line out the door, with folks crossing their fingers they made it in time.
Asked what brought them to the restaurant, several people responded: “Keith Lee.”
“I’m just really excited to try the food, try something different,” said one of the patrons. “To be somewhere that Keith Lee has been is really cool, too.”
Lee concluded his TikTok by giving the restaurant’s owner $3,000 to pay for other customers' meals, and a $1,000 tip.
Amici, which is usually open until 9 p.m., closed early again on Thursday. The restaurant posted to its social media accounts at about 3:50 p.m. that they once again sold out of food.
“We are working hard to keep up with demand, but you guys are quick,” the message reads. “Even after getting extra hands and multiplying the production, we have sold out of arancini once again. We will have even more hands tomorrow and will have more ready when we open.
“Thank you a million times. We are forever grateful.”
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