One day, you’re running a quiet small business, serving a loyal but modest customer base. The next, you’re overwhelmed—scrambling to fulfill an avalanche of orders, juggling media inquiries, and adjusting to a sudden flood of eager customers. All because of a single viral post.
Social media’s power to catapult a small business into the limelight is undeniable. In San Diego’s vibrant food and drink scene, hidden gems often thrive on word-of-mouth. But one viral TikTok or Instagram post can ignite demand at a dizzying pace. It sounds like a golden ticket—until it becomes a trial by fire. A rocky start.
Grange Garden, a Solana Beach retail shop and café, became one such overnight sensation in the summer of 2024, partly thanks to owner Melissa Biggs Clark, who brings her therapy rabbits along so they’re not left alone at home for hours. Clark recalls the moment everything changed: “No one was ever in there for coffee. It was just all retail. And then, one day, we came in on a Saturday, and the line was out the door and down the block. My husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘Something happened. What happened?’ And somebody in the line yelled, ‘You guys went viral!’ An influencer came in and took a picture of her holding one of my therapy bunnies [and] drinking a cup of coffee, and she posted it.”
That one photo garnered 1.4 million views in just three days.
The influx of attention was both exhilarating and exhausting. “We didn’t even have a phone, mind you. I only had one barista. I was making most of the drinks. It was pandemonium,” Clark says. Within days, she had to hire 22 new baristas, and even that wasn’t enough. Lines stretched down the street, and the tiny café struggled to keep up with demand. Clark believes that her extensive business background was the only thing that helped them pull through.
Beyond staffing and supply challenges, there was another unexpected hurdle: the bunnies. Clarks doesn’t view Grange Garden as a bunny café per se, but does enjoy having her 19 rabbits around while she works. As the business exploded in popularity, she had to take extra measures to protect them.
“The bunny pen expanded and expanded. I had to regulate it and start charging people $8 to go in and visit the bunnies. I mean, there are five million posts on the internet about us, and my bunnies are literally posted all over the world,” she says. “[There were] just a lot of growing pains and hiccups.”
While viral moments can be exhilarating, they can also be overwhelming. Many small business owners, like Clark, aren’t prepared for the rapid transformation and must quickly adapt. The unexpected demand can strain resources, staffing, and even the original mission of the business itself.
The Dark Side of Viral Fame
While going viral is often seen as a blessing, for some businesses, it can quickly become a cautionary tale. If supply chains aren’t ready, inventory runs out, or customer service suffers, that wave of internet excitement can turn into an avalanche of backlash. Frustrated customers, bad reviews, and operational chaos can quickly taint a brand’s reputation.
When CoCo Playa, a drive-through “dirty” soda (that’s soft drinks mixed with syrup, cream, and other goodies) and cookie shop in Point Loma, went viral in late 2024, it was all part of co-owners Tonya and Ryan Feghali’s plan. “We planned for this to happen. Going viral is a good strategy for business and free marketing,” Ryan says.
But even though the siblings anticipated growth, the sheer scale of the virality caught them off guard, and they ran into significant operational challenges. “We didn’t even know we’d need an ice machine four times the size of the original,” Ryan laughs.
They credit their solid team with helping them weather the rocky moments. “We can’t foresee something going viral, but what I can see and control is that everyone is happy here,” Tonya says. “Even if we’re busy, everyone is communicating.”
And when businesses are capable of staying light on their feet, they can sometimes translate a popular video or two into a broader internet presence. The Keep Coffee is a craft drink shop in Convoy that is currently going viral for whipped matcha and foam toppings. Co-founder Jongjet Khlueanthong says they had to make a number of quick pivots to handle the rush.
“We streamlined our operations by optimizing workflows, adding staff during peak hours, and ensuring our inventory could keep up with demand,” he explains.
Though the shop doesn’t even have a website of its own, many influencers have been filtering through the doors daily. “Most have been really kind and supportive, and their content has definitely contributed to the continued momentum,” Khlueanthong adds.
Surviving the Post-Viral Drop-Off
But what happens when the hype dies down? For businesses that rely too much on the viral moment, the drop-off can be brutal. A once-packed store can become eerily quiet, leaving owners with overstocked inventory, high overhead costs, and an uncertain future.
“The lack of strategy is what kills small businesses,” says Rafael Rodriguez, who handles marketing and media relations for San Diego Small Business Development Center (SBDC). SBDC’s team supports 5,000 to 6,000 businesses every year, and many face this issue.
Rodriguez advises resisting the temptation to add an influx of staff members right away. “I wouldn’t necessarily go out and hire a bunch of people, because it’s a short burst and it can go away,” he adds.
In moments when demand outweighs the ability of existing staff to handle it, communication goes a long way. “If you don’t see the tidal wave coming because you didn’t have any awareness of the virality, you’ve got to put on your customer service hat,” says Briana Wesinger, an associate regional director for SDBC. “You have people standing outside in line, waiting forever, and they’re not going to all be commenting positively online and that can be negative towards your business.” She suggests being honest with queues of customers about any capacity issues and offering to schedule patrons in for a later time to avoid excessive waits.
And Khlueanthong believes that, to convert one-time visitors driven by a TikTok into repeat customers, businesses need to deliver on the promise implied by influencers’ posts. “It’s important to always prioritize quality, no matter how busy things get,” Khlueanthong stresses. “Customers can sense the passion and care that goes into what you create, and that authenticity is key to building and maintaining a loyal customer base.”
Clark, for her part, has found a way to turn Grange Garden’s viral fame into long-term success. “I’ve not spent one dime on marketing or advertising. That’s amazing,” she says. “This was and is a very good opportunity for free marketing, [and I’m] excited to see where this takes us.” Even more rewarding, the exposure allowed her to build a nonprofit organization that’s rehomed over 100 bunnies in the past year.
She estimates that the number of baristas working at Grange Garden will double this summer. “We just had a record-breaking weekend and are up 60 percent this year,” she says. “Additionally, we are going to be on NBC’s California Live next month.”
For CoCo Playa, it’s all about fostering community. “People love our brand because of these moments,” Ryan Feghali says. “We had a few hiccups along the way, but we built such a great team to push through them together.”
