Business owner’s fight to start over after his restaurant was canceled over chef’s clash with influencer

A San Francisco restaurateur is attempting to turn the page after a bitter online feud between his co-owner and a popular food influencer tanked his wine bar’s reputation.

Eric Lin, a first-time restaurant owner, recently reopened his Hayes Valley wine bar under a new name, Bosque, just three weeks after shuttering the premises in the wake of a viral social media controversy.

The original café, named Kis, became the target of online outrage after TikTok influencer Karla Marcotte posted a video detailing her ‘nightmare’ experience there with Lin’s former business partner, Luke Sung.

Marcotte arrived at the restaurant expecting a free meal, but instead claims she was belittled by chef Sung who told her she was not famous enough to warrant the treatment.

An immediate backlash followed and Sung was forced to step down. Now Lin says all he really wants to do is move past the tense confrontation.

‘It’s been really tough,’ Lin told SFGate. ‘I’ve turned myself off from social media a little bit.’

After abruptly closing Kis Cafe last month, Lin quietly reopened the business on August 7 under a new identity, reportedly named after his dog.

The rebrand was low-key, with Lin declining to offer a website, social media, and or even announce the re-opening.

‘I’ll probably have something, maybe a website,’ he said, adding that he doesn’t ‘see a point in being very engaged.’ 

The only trace of the new venture online is a Resy page describing the eatery as ‘a wholesome neighborhood wine bar that serves simple small plates’.

Lin’s Kis Cafe had opened only six months prior when Marcotte entered for what was supposed to be a ‘collaboration meeting’.

Instead, she posted a video accusing Sung of belittling and disrespecting her.

Following her controversial review of the northern California spot, her follower count surged from 15,000 to nearly half a million, and Kis Cafe’s Yelp page was bombarded with more than 3,000 negative reviews.

Lin even said that he, his employees, and even their families received threats as a result of the negative publicity.

Lin, who left a tech career to pursue food and hospitality, said the chaos was never what he signed up for.

‘I’ve never liked being the face of anything, and that’s not what this place is about,’ he said. ‘It’s about the food. It’s about the people who come to eat here.’

Though the restaurant dons a new namesake, little has changed inside the establishment. The dining room retains its denim-blue chairs and open kitchen and the menu remains largely the same, SFGate reported.

However, while the rebrand appears to have calmed some of the online fury, Lin says business has been slow.

‘I need to be a responsible business owner,’ Lin said. ‘I’m not made of cash.’

Sung has since shared his side of the story with The San Francisco Standard.

He claims Marcotte entered the restaurant without introducing herself or acknowledging his role, and that she appeared unfamiliar with the restaurant or his background.

‘I thought she’d say, “Hey, Mr. Sung, I read about you, and I am so happy to be doing this with you.” But she showed up and sat down and didn’t say hi,’ he told the outlet.

He admitted to questioning Marcotte’s qualifications, reviewing her TikTok content at the table, and expressing concerns about her representing his food.

‘I saw creamy spaghetti in a pan with sliced, overcooked New York steak on top,’ he said. ‘That night, I was running a special with this beautiful coho salmon. I didn’t want to be misrepresented by someone who doesn’t understand the difference between Atlantic salmon and king salmon.’

Marcotte, however, said she had introduced herself and even showed up early to shoot content.

She claimed that Sung and Lin were speaking negatively about her when she arrived.

Before leaving the restaurant, she also allegedly warned Sung, ‘The restaurant world is really small. There will be consequences.’

Following the viral fallout, Sung stepped down from both Kis Cafe and his other restaurant, Domo.

He issued a public apology on Instagram, writing: ‘Karla – I am truly sorry for my actions toward you. I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to be made to feel less than or unimportant, nobody does.’

Sung said the ordeal has left his personal and professional life in tatters.

‘Everything is broken into pieces. I have to try to pick it up and glue it back together. I have to just let it heal.’

Meanwhile, Lin is cautiously optimistic about Bosque’s future.

‘The food works,’ he said. ‘I don’t see a point in stressing, and I don’t have the money to overhaul everything right now.’

He hasn’t ruled out working with influencers again and acknowledges that it was ultimately his invitation that brought Marcotte into his restaurant in the first place.

‘I hope to do everybody proud, from Luke to Karla to all of them,’ Lin said. ‘At the end of the day, everybody likes good food, and everybody likes good drink.’