Drew Talbert earns seven-figure sums annually from his restaurant – but he has never had a single customer.
Bistro Huddy, a fictional restaurant that only exists on TikTok, is Talbert’s hugely successful creation, earning him 4.5 million followers on the platform where he posts comedy sketches about the restaurant industry.
Although he never serves a single bite of food, business is booming—thanks to brand partnerships, Patreon subscriptions, and merchandise sales—and he now makes an annual income in the “high six figures.”
“We’ve put ourselves in a financial situation that we could only have dreamed of five years ago,” the former waiter turned comedian told NBC News.
“We were barely able to make ends meet from month to month and can now save for retirement.”
Bistro Huddy, named after his son Hudson, draws on Talbert’s 22 years of experience in the real-life restaurant industry for the viral skits, in which he dons one of his many wigs to play multiple characters, including coworkers, customers and more.
“Bistro Huddy” has become Gen Z’s own version of “Cheers” – with the difference that all the characters are played by Talbert himself.
There’s the restaurant manager Terry, a head chef named Pickles, a hostess named Amber and a bartender named Clint – all played by Talbert, who auditioned for acting roles and taught improvisation while working in a restaurant.
Some personas even have their own profiles on TikTok, such as Bistro Huddy employee Nicole B., who already has 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 they forget they are all “played by the same guy.”
“People see Nicole and imagine this beautiful blonde – they don’t see me anymore,” Talbert explained. “People have now projected their own idea of what these characters would be like in real life onto me. I’m just the conduit.”
Talbert started doing comedy sketches online during the pandemic after his wife introduced him to other creators on the platform — and it’s paid off. In addition to his huge following on TikTok, he boasts 776,000 fans on Instagram and 1.5 million on YouTube.
He’s not currently interested in expanding his brand – despite talks with literary agents and other people who could help turn the show into a proper sitcom – and is enjoying the reality of having “full creative control” and being able to be home with the kids.
“Everyone is looking for their niche,” Talbert said.
“I was able to use my sketch comedy background that I’ve been working on for years. The script, the acting, the characters – all of those things just kind of came together.”
