Drew Talbert is earning close to seven figures a year from his restaurant — but he’s never had a customer.
Bistro Huddy, a fictional eatery that exists only on TikTok, is Talbert’s über successful creation that has scored him 4.5 million followers on the platform, where he posts comedy skits about the food service industry.
Despite never serving a lick of food, business is booming — thanks to brand partnerships, Patreon subscriptions and merch sales — and he now rakes in an “upper six-figures range annually” in income.
“We put ourselves in a financial situation we could have only dreamed of five years ago,” the former server-turned-comedian told NBC News.
“We went from month to month, barely scraping by, to now be[ing] able to save for retirement.”
Bistro Huddy, named after his son Hudson, draws on Talbert’s 22 years of real-life restaurant experience for the viral sketches, in which he dons one of his many wigs to play multiple characters who are coworkers, customers and more.
“Bistro Huddy” has become Gen Z’s own version of “Cheers” — except all the characters are played by Talbert himself.
There’s the restaurant’s manager, Terry, as well as a line cook named Pickles, a hostess called Amber and a bartender who goes by Clint — all played by Talbert, who auditioned for acting roles and taught improv classes while worker in a restaurant.
Some personas even have their own profiles on TikTok, such as Bistro Huddy worker Nicole B., who already boasts more than 693,000 followers on the app.
Avid Bistro Huddy fans say the sketches remind them of their time in the restaurant industry, while others say the characters are so convincing that they forget they’re all “played by the same guy.”
“People see Nicole, and they picture this gorgeous blond — they don’t even see me anymore,” Talbert explained. “People have now projected their own idea of what these characters would be in real life over me. I am just the conduit.”
Talbert started making online comedy sketches during the pandemic after his wife showed him other creators on the platform — and it’s paid off. In addition to his behemoth following on TikTok, he touts 776,000 fans on Instagram and 1.5 million on YouTube.
For now, he’s not looking to expand his brand — despite talks with literary agents and other people who could help turn the show into a proper sitcom — relishing in the reality of having “full creative control” and the ability to be at home with kids.
“Everyone’s looking for their niche,” Talbert said.
“I was able to use my sketch comedy background that I’ve been working on for years. The writing, the acting, the characters — all these things kind of came together.”
