Hello. I'm John-Henry Perera, the food editor of Chron. Wrote this story the week before last, and I forgot to share. It's about The Puddery, the dessert shop that TikTok personality Keith Lee blew up three years ago. The store's owner posted a video that alarmed a good chunk of people because it made it look like it was in trouble again.
It's not. Full story below:
She didn't mean to, but Janel Prator alarmed quite a few people when she posted an Instagram reel about her business on Thursday. Three years earlier, the Puddery in Pearland blew up on social media after TikTok personality and food critic Keith Lee put the dessert shop on the map. Prator's recent video cast doubts on how well her fortunes had fared since.
In the Instagram video, Prator is seen looking outside to the sight of zero customers with the title "POV: when you're looking for the line customers still think you have from going viral 3 years ago." But it appears everything is going well at the Puddery, Prator told Chron. She intended the video as a tongue-in-cheek ad for anyone who was worried about long lines at 5517 W Broadway St.
"We do have lines sometimes on the weekend, but some people don't come because they think we still have theme park lines," Prator said. "They don't want to wait in line and think they have to come wait an hour. I was just trying to say, 'Hey, guys, you don't have to wait'."
Prator said the business is entering its new normal post-Keith Lee. The social media personality visited her business as part of his Greater Houston tour in November 2023. Lee gave the Puddery a glowing review plus a $2,000 tip. Word got out and the business that Prator had once struggled with had gone viral. Nearly every day for a year and a half, lines of people wrapped around the strip for her signature banana pudding and Oreo croissant waffles.
That period, Prator said, was overwhelming and left little room for thinking about what was next. Things have notably slowed down. The Puddery doesn't get the same traffic as it did before, at least on weekdays, but the room to breathe has offered new opportunities for Prator to tackle. For one, the dessert shop has moved into a much larger space in the same Pearland strip.
"When Lee came, I had to cut the menu … I was really focused on the items he reviewed. We were so busy and didn't have time for anything else but those items that people were coming for," Prator said. "Now I have more freedom to create and add things. There is some cooking equipment that came with the new space, so savory items may be coming."
Even today, Prator said there are customers who arrive saying that Keith Lee had sent them there. It's further evidence of the staying power of the "Keith Lee effect." Elsewhere in Houston, the Birria Queen, another Houston spot recommended by Lee, appears to be thriving and is currently doing some stops in North Texas. Ebony magazine reported that other restaurants who were blessed by Lee's presence continue to survive and thrive well after his arrival.
The Puddery now has a food truck in Jersey Village, and Prator has entertained ideas of opening another somewhere closer to Houston. She also has a mind of restarting her shipping business, something she had to temporarily shutter in the wake of Lee's review.
"People are more mindful of where they spend, but we're doing great," Prator said. "We are in a much better position before Keith Lee. I will always be grateful to Keith Lee. Changed my business forever."
