NYC Woman Gave a Small Coffee Shop a Bad Review. But There’s a Catch: ‘I Don’t Know What Our Main Character Girliepop Wanted to do’

For New Yorkers, coffee is serious business. Kawaii Cafe, a Vietnamese coffee shop in New York City, went viral over a bad review on TikTok. But then, the owner of the cafe came back swinging with receipts.

“This is really horrible,” the influencer said on TikTok in a now-deleted video.

“It’s like a sugar bomb in my mouth. And there’s no coffee flavor,” she said of the coffee that was allegedly from Kawaii Cafe. The local coffee shop is known in reviews for its strong Vietnamese coffee. To claim that the coffee is a “sugar bomb” seems contradictory to the shop’s reputation.

In the deleted video, she claimed that she got the coffee from Kawaii Cafe. Because she filmed the storefront, it seemed like she just walked out of the establishment to get coffee.

Kim Le, the owner of Kawaii Cafe, fought back after the influencer’s review went viral.

“We don’t look for drama; we don’t create drama, but drama finds us somehow,” Le said in her reply video. She wanted to address the controversy once and for all.

“The main character of the story is this girl. She claimed that she bought a drink from Kawaii Cafe, and somehow, it’s horrible,” Le recalled the words from the influencer’s review. She clarified that she wasn’t against criticism, but that the feedback has to come from a place of truth.

Kawaii Cafe reveals a plot twist in the TikTok coffee shop drama

“Everything does not match with our cup,” Le claimed. Upon checking the design of the cup, she realized that the one the influencer was holding might not have even come from Kawaii Cafe. But to double-check, Le also checked the iPOS system to see if her shop had any transaction with the influencer. They had also reviewed CCTV footage to see if the influencer had gone into the store.

After Le’s investigation, she said that she was “99% sure” that the influencer didn’t buy the drink from Kawaii Cafe and that she didn’t even come into the store. The coffee shop owner further alleged that the influencer was filming the interior of the store from the outside. As for the coffee cup the influencer was holding, Le believes that it was from another unaffiliated store.

“If you’ve ever been inside my store and you bought anything from us—we have a different shape of cup, and we have a mascot,” Le explained. The Kawaii Cafe is a French bulldog, and it’s stamped on the front of the coffee shop’s takeout cups. Le also pointed out that her cafe does use black straws or black sleeves for their coffee cups.

The coffee cup’s description matched another local shop’s packaging. Black Stone Coffee NYC coffee cups are known to have a black sleeve, and their large coffee can go up to 22 oz. In contrast, Le said that her shop only offered 16 oz at most for cold coffee.

“I don’t know what our main character girliepop wanted to do,” Le said of the online debacle, adding, “I just don’t want any false information or false accusations out there.”

Black Stone Coffee NYC comes out with a statement

Because the cup looks similar to the ones Black Stone Coffee NYC provides, some commenters on TikTok alleged that perhaps the influencer was paid to give a bad review. But the other coffee shop released a statement in support of Kawaii Cafe, despite being a competitor in the city. They wrote:

Hey everyone, we see the mentions and comments and wanted to clarify that we are not affiliated with the creator involved. We would never feel the need to bring down another cafe, there is more than enough room for all of us! We love our West Village community and neighbors. We were incredibly confused to see our cup appear in this video and do not understand why this creator felt compelled to bring down another small business and also inadvertently our own. We only have love and respect for Kawaii Cafe and hope to turn this situation into a positive for the both of us!!!

Even bad publicity can be overturned

Despite the initial review from the influencer, it seems Kawaii Cafe is now going viral on TikTok. Other influencers have visited to share their thoughts on the coffee.

Preston and Stella, content creators on TikTok, went to Kawaii Cafe. After trying ‘Deez Nuts’ and ‘Situationship,’ both influencers can confirm that the flavors were good.

Nina, another food influencer from TikTok, also went to Kawaii Cafe. She also got ‘Situationship’ and decided that it was delicious. “Definitely sweet and creamy without being overly sweet,” Nina commented.

What was initially a rough moment for the small cafe in NYC turned out for the better after the receipts were brought out.

(featured images: prestachu and thequeenfoodie)

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