The Changing Landscape 

Minneapolis is a foodie's paradise! But with endless options to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start.

Enter foodie creators... These food-obsessed content creators have emerged as the newest kings and kweens of the influencer world and are playing a major role in helping restaurants connect with a new generation of customers.

Why? It's simple... people want to know what they’re getting into before going somewhere new. Yelp reviews, pictures of food on a plate, and radio ads just don't cut it anymore.

That's where Golnaz Yamoutpour comes in..

Golnaz Yamoutpour

Golnaz is the mastermind behind Eat Drink Dish, an Instagram page she launched back in 2014 with a simple mission: help people discover new and exciting places to eat in Minneapolis.

Over the years, Golnaz has built a community of over 75,000 fellow food enthusiasts, racked up millions of views, partnered with 100's of local restaurants, and earned countless awards for her contributions to the Minneapolis food scene.

How'd she do it? Through brute force and sheer willpower!

Posting three times a day, every day, for three years straight, she approached each new piece of content as a mini experiment. Dissecting the data and community feedback like a scientist to better understand which formats, concepts, and ideas resonated with her audience.

Through her relentless trial and error, consistency, and constant iteration, she eventually cracked the code on how to make viral content and hasn't looked back since.

Monetizing Distribution

These days, Eat Drink Dish has evolved from a personal account into a full-fledged marketing agency, helping restaurants, bars, and event planners in attracting new customers through engaging content.

Golnaz, stands as yet another example of a creator-turned-entrepreneur who has successfully built a business around a passion.

Her journey serves as inspiration for creators everywhere, especially Minneapolis foodies as the local food scene continues to flourish.

A New Opportunity

In the past decade or so, restaurants have mostly relied on traditional methods like Google, Yelp reviews, and local news outlets to draw in new customers. But as as online search habits change, these tactics are losing their effectiveness.

The shift towards short form video content provides restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and breweries, a new opportunity to showcase their unique characteristics and attract a brand new generation of customers.

Whether it’s the atmosphere, ambiance, an insane trivia night, or game-day... The secret sauce for success in 2023 and beyond, is a restaurants ability to bring their atmosphere to life on screen and in bite-sized content.