Keith Lee's most viral review faces new challenges

Frankenson's Pizzeria in Las Vegas faces new challenges in 2024.

The Las Vegas-based pizzeria, which became a viral TikTok sensation last year thanks to popular food critic Keith Lee, is facing tough times.

Owner Frank Steele recently chatted with The Blast to share how the business was doing before Lee's review, after his review went viral, and now, more than a year later.

Lee, who received an email in January 2023 that Frankenson's Pizzeria needed help to stay open, shared his honest review of the pizzeria. The TikTok video quickly went viral and currently has more than 54 million views. Just four days later, he also shared an update that also went viral, garnering more than 25 million views.

Thanks to Lee's videos and positive reviews, Steele's company was able to increase its customer base dramatically.

He gave top marks to every dish he tried – pepperoni pizza, white pizza, garlic knots, chicken wings, all-American burger, classic Italian sub and French fries – and people came from near and far to try the food.

Now, about a year and a half later, business is slow again and Steele is hoping to get it back on track.

The 2024 battle has been a real struggle for the pizzeria, which is located about seven miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Steele opened his dream business in late 2022 in the spot where another restaurant used to be.

“Because it was right after COVID, the place was closed for about a year. Nothing really happened at that location for about a year,” he told The Blast exclusively.

“It didn't gain traction for about a year before I bought it. Because of COVID, it was dead for so long that everyone was looking for other places, which eventually became their pizzeria or whatever it may be, their regular place for pizza and chicken wings. So I had to try to get customers back. The customers I got absolutely loved my food.”

In January 2023, Steele thought he would have to close his doors, but then Lee came along.

Thanks to Lee's visit and viral review, Steele immediately had more customers than ever before.

“I had a ton of customers, more customers than I could handle. I had to hire a whole bunch of new people,” he explained. “That went on for a good seven months. I was probably the busiest restaurant in Las Vegas and everyone wanted to come visit us.”

But then the economic situation changed and the business of Frankensons and many other small family businesses changed.

“Something happened to the economy, the economy kind of suffered, and we suffered a little bit, but we were still busy,” he continued. “Now, in the last, I would say six, seven, eight months, it's gone totally downhill. We can barely keep our doors open now. And then I was in the hospital for three weeks for foot surgery and my business suffered a lot because I wasn't there to oversee everything.”

The company also lost many employees as Steele had no choice but to cut costs to survive.

Although business has slowed significantly in recent months, Steele said he still gets a lot of customers who come in because they read Lee's review. (And while I was eating dinner there with my son, a family who was in the area came in because they saw Lee's viral video!)

Steele loves all of his customers, whether they're from out of town or live nearby, but he hopes to attract more repeat customers from the Henderson and Las Vegas markets.

“I'm constantly posting videos about our current specials,” he said. “I'm trying to raise awareness and attract people, but it's very difficult.”

Steele recently set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of saving his beloved business.

“I am asking the community and customers for help to keep our business open. Our business went viral over a year ago and customers came from all over the United States to enjoy our menu. The success has allowed me to hire several employees for what was once a family-run business. It is a true joy to be able to provide jobs, serve quality food, and take photos with my customers,” he wrote in the description on the fundraising page.

“Unfortunately, I was hospitalized for over three weeks for serious medical reasons and am currently recovering. Of course, the medical bills far exceed my financial means. Since I was not present in my restaurant during this time, the costs increased even more and I had fewer customers.”

So far, the site has raised more than $8,000.

Frankenson's Pizzeria is located at 8334 S. Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas. You can find them on TikTok and Instagram.