Tyler Kanwai — owner of TK Surf & Turf Kitchen, Denver’s first Black-owned seafood restaurant — partially credits social media for the viral success that transformed his business.
In 2021, not long after opening, a TikTok review of TK Surf & Turf Kitchen by Denver Food & Scene racked up 1 million views, marking a clear turning point for Kanwai. This single video transformed him from a fledgling restaurateur with a background mainly as a private chef and nightclub promoter into an internet sensation, boosting his business volume by 300-400%.
Long before TK Surf & Turf Kitchen’s abundant seafood platters and secret butter sauce amassed a devoted following, Kanwai grew up in Colorado as a stepson to a successful chef. He began cooking at just five years old (with adult supervision) and started to learn his stepfather’s techniques. Even though his stepfather passed away in 2011, Kanwai transferred the skills of those early years to dinner parties that he hosted for friends. He soon built a high-end clientele list through social media and word of mouth.
“Cooking has always been my love language,” Kanwai said. “Once people caught word of how good my food was, this was my breakthrough – giving people something they couldn’t just find in restaurants. And word just continued to spread.”
In 2019, while cooking for former Denver Broncos star Brandon Marshall, Kanwai’s family discovered a vacant restaurant space and secured it. In October 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they opened TK’s Surf & Turf Kitchen in Denver. Thanks to Kanwai’s established customer base, the grand opening was successful. However, it was a review by TikTok account Denver Food & Scene that truly put TK’s Surf & Turf Kitchen on the map. The review highlighted not only the signature plate piled high with shrimp, lobster, and crab, but also the restaurant’s décor honoring victims of social injustice like George Floyd and Trayvon Martin.
“A lot of restaurants don’t even know what it’s like to go viral. They know what it’s like to be busy, but after that TikTok, the entire mall parking lot, which is a good 15 stores, was packed with my customers,” Kanwai said. “Our volume had increased by 300-400% and was even mentioned on the David Rubenstein show on Bloomberg. … We had to fine-tune our operations to be able to take on the high volume.”
Not every TikTok sensation is able to sustain the momentum after an initial viral video. But Kanwai and his team are constantly keeping up with social media trends and bolstering the brand’ s presence across platforms. Most recently, TK’s Surf & Turf Kitchen tapped into the viral “She was a fairy” TikTok sound and dance to post their own version featuring the brand’s popular butter sauce. The restaurant’s version has so far amassed 50,000 views on the social media platform.
“TikTok has really opened us up to the world,” Kanwai said. “I’ve had customers come from overseas. At this point, I’m never surprised at who’s coming through that door, because I know that we’re on everybody’s phone.”
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