GREAT FALLS — Open TikTok, type "lunch in my city," and go to the first place that pops up. That's it. That's the whole trend — and it's quietly become one of the most effective tools local restaurants have found to compete in an era of chain expansion and shrinking margins.
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For Smoked. American Barbecue, the timing couldn't be better. Social media manager Trent Cavanagh has built the restaurant's following to more than 100,000 across platforms, racking up millions of views and drawing customers from across the country. One story stands out above the rest.
"His name was Jeremy, and he was commenting on every single video — two weeks till I show up," Cavanagh said. "Ten days, seven days. He drove from somewhere in Washington all the way to here, literally just to eat lunch. Turnin' and burnin'. He drove his family of five down here. It was crazy."
But Cavanagh says the viral moments aren't what keep people coming back. The real work, he says, is quieter than that.
"The least I can do is remember your order," he said. "Even if I have a line out the door and I look up and see one of my regulars — I'll be like, hey, are you doing your brisket sandwich? For you to stop in that moment and be like, hey, I remember you — you know what I mean?"
Across town at Borrie's Supper Club, fourth-generation owner Anna Christofferson has spent her life building that same kind of loyalty — one 12-hour day at a time.
"It takes a lot of heart. A lot of hard work. A lot of early mornings," Christofferson said. "As a family, we learned hard work growing up. It takes a lot of grit, determination. But we couldn't do it without our staff, the customers. We have a huge support system."
That support system was tested recently when Dante's — a Great Falls staple for more than 30 years — closed its doors. Christofferson was there on the last day.
"I was heartbroken," she said. "I actually went there the day that they closed. Just knowing how many people it affects — knowing the hours it takes to run something like that and having it just taken away from you, which could happen to any of us. That's another reason why it's just important to support local."
The "Lunch in My City" trend is as simple as a social media search — and a spontaneous lunch.
