SF chef steps down, restaurant announces closure after viral confrontation with food influencer
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco chef has stepped down and their restaurant is closing after a viral confrontation with a local influencer.
According to our partners at the San Francisco Standard, content creator @itskarlabb recently shared on TikTok about an uncomfortable incident at Kis Cafe in Hayes Valley.
MORE: Astronomer HR chief Kristin Cabot resigns after viral 'kiss cam' moment at Coldplay concert
While at a collaboration event, she says the chef, Luke Sung, told her she did not have enough followers, and that the ones she did have "are not the kind of people that are going to be at his restaurant."
Supporters then started flooding her comments.
At the time of the incident, she had about 15,000 followers and now that number has grown to more than 370,000.
VIDEO: SF Standard explains what happened during altercation between SF chef, influencer
In a statement last week, the restaurant said in part: "Our chef's behavior is unacceptable, and he is no longer part of the team as a co-owner, a chef or in any other way."
It went on to say: "We are closing soon and restructuring after these events."
On Sunday, the restaurant issued a public apology on the Sung's behalf, "because he has no public social media pages. He is, however, no longer affiliated with the restaurant in any way or a co-owner."
The Instagram post is four pages and starts with an apology to the influencer, Karla: "I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to feel less than or unimportant, nobody does. Regardless, I thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson in kindness and respect."
Sung then goes on to take responsibility for what happened and apologizes to the staff at Kis Cafe.
Lastly, he apologized to his family for what happened.
