Daughter’s Christmas Wish for Mom’s Taco Shop, Posted on TikTok, Goes Viral & Saves Restaurant

Family restaurant, Taco 'Bout Joy's, was struggling to get customers in the door until the owner's daughter, Isabel, posted a TikTok that went viral—changing everything. 

"We opened Taco 'Bout Joy's in 2022, right outside of Chicago. The majority of the equipment I brought from home like the knives, the pots, the pans. It just makes me feel like it's real home-cooked food instead of industrial or commercial cooking utensils," Joy, the owner, explains.  

And starting a new small business from scratch isn't easy. Joy's daughter Isabel explained that when they first started out they were very slow. "It was scary because I had left my full time job to help my mom and I currently live with my fiancé and we were basically living on one income," Isabel says. "Some days I didn't even know if I was going to get paid," she adds.  

Joy ultimately made the decision that they would give it until 2023 and if business didn't pick up, unfortunately they were going to have to close down the shop.  

"I knew I wanted to set up a social media account for the restaurant, so during a slow day I thought why not. And, I posted a video to TikTok. I was just hoping to get some more people to come in and try our food," explains Isabel.  

The video was posted on December 8, 2022, with the caption "I wish I could give her customers for Christmas"—and it turns out her Christmas wish came true! 

When she woke up, she found that it went completely viral. "I looked at my TikTok and it had reached over 1.2 million views. I was speechless and didn't believe it at first," she says.  

"As soon as we opened the doors, we got phone call after phone call and there were cars lined up outside of our restaurant," Isabel says.  

And the rest was history!  

"People from far and near just come together for a simple video," Joy shares.  

"It's not just the video, Joy, it's your actual food," Rach says. And we completely agree!  

"It's such a beautiful story and I love that it's a mother-daughter story," adds Rach.  

Since Joy loves to cook with home pots and pans, Rach got her all set up with all of her favorites from her collection. Plus, she's made sure they have enough from their local restaurant supply store to keep feeding all those new customers that come through their doors each day.