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Key Takeaways
- He shared his raw thoughts and insights about the restaurant industry, building credibility and connection.
- He eventually moved the anonymous account under his name, which led to opportunities and community growth.
- His lesson to others is to find ways to create content that lets you be authentic and vulnerable.
Ryan Feghali did not set out to become a content creator. He just started telling the truth on Twitter, now known as X.
At the time, Feghali was operating dozens of restaurants under brands like Little Caesars, Jersey Mike’s, and his own concept, CoCo Playa. He was in the trenches every day, dealing with the same challenges every operator faces, from staffing and systems to growth and pressure. But instead of letting his daily challenges and wins go undocumented, he decided to share his ideas and learnings on social media.
But not as himself. Instead, he posted under the pseudonym “QSR Guy” for a simple reason.
“You know, it was a place that I could come in and have a pseudonym,” Feghali said. “I felt like that pseudonym gave me some freedom, like some permission to just be my authentic self.”
Feghali used the account to share useful insights on business and franchising, a stream of raw thoughts rather than polished content. It wasn’t highly curated, had no food shots and didn’t promote any product or service.
“I wasn’t looking to go viral. I wasn’t looking to build a huge following. I just wanted to put my thoughts out there and then see what happened,” he said.
There was a lot of honesty in each post, and that’s what made people gravitate towards the account. Feghali wrote like an operator, not a marketer. He shared what worked, what didn’t and how he was thinking through decisions. That kind of transparency is rare in an industry that often hides its mistakes. Operators began reaching out to him in his DMs, asking for advice on deals. Others shared their own experiences. A community formed around practical insights.
“I’ve been able to help people that people in my DMs would be like, ‘Hey, I have this deal I’m looking at, what would you think of this?’” Feghali said. “And honestly, I’ve been helped a lot by the community on X.”
Even anonymously, trust was built. That is the power of telling the truth online.
Audience to opportunity
Feghali eventually made the call to shift the account from anonymous to his name. After a year of posting as QSR Guy, he had built an audience that trusted him. Operators were reading, responding and reaching out. But as his business evolved, especially with the launch of CoCo Playa, staying anonymous no longer made sense. The story and the operator needed to connect.
“I felt like it was kind of a part of the story to finally say, all right guys, you’ve been reading this for so long,” Feghali said. “Here’s what you’ve been reading about and this is what the end final result looked like. And this is me.”
Putting his name behind the account didn’t change the content, it expanded its reach and impact.
What began as simple observations evolved into real relationships, with Feghali sharing ideas that helped people make decisions around deals, systems and strategy.
“I’ve had people in my DMs that would be like, ‘Hey, I have this deal I’m looking at, what would you think of this?’” Feghali said.
That exchange goes both ways. When building CoCo Playa, he turned to his audience for input. A simple post asking for POS recommendations led to real feedback that shaped the business.
“I got tons of comments on what they recommend and why, what they recommend staying away from,” Feghali said. “And we ended up going with Toast maybe because of some people who gave me that direction.”
The value is not in the number of followers. It is in the quality of connection. Feghali has built relationships with operators, investors and even professional athletes who reached out after seeing his posts.
“I’ve met some really great friends,” Feghali said. “It’s unlocked so many cool relationships that I would never trade for anything.”
You do not need millions of views. You need the right people paying attention.
Because the return is not just digital. It is real.
About Restaurant Influencers
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Key Takeaways
- He shared his raw thoughts and insights about the restaurant industry, building credibility and connection.
- He eventually moved the anonymous account under his name, which led to opportunities and community growth.
- His lesson to others is to find ways to create content that lets you be authentic and vulnerable.
Ryan Feghali did not set out to become a content creator. He just started telling the truth on Twitter, now known as X.
At the time, Feghali was operating dozens of restaurants under brands like Little Caesars, Jersey Mike’s, and his own concept, CoCo Playa. He was in the trenches every day, dealing with the same challenges every operator faces, from staffing and systems to growth and pressure. But instead of letting his daily challenges and wins go undocumented, he decided to share his ideas and learnings on social media.
But not as himself. Instead, he posted under the pseudonym “QSR Guy” for a simple reason.
