Mukbangers are answering the age-old question, ‘Who is keeping Long John Silver’s in business?’

FastCompany: Long John Silver’s , the nautical seafood purveyor, has a fresh wind in its sails—and it’s (mostly) thanks to Instagram Reels. In early June, the food content creator Kishia Moore (@eateatwithkeysh) posted an Instagram eating video with her Long John Silver’s order. “They out here talking about who keeping Long John Silver’s in business,” Moore muses in the clip as she loads up a piece of fried fish with malt vinegar. “Who keeping Long John Silver’s in business? Me!” The video has now been viewed more than three million times and amassed nearly 13,000 comments.

View this post on Instagram Moore’s video seems to have inspired a legion of other creators to make their own Long John Silver’s videos—many of which are notching tens of thousands of likes. According to Laura Ellis, chief marketing officer at Long John Silver’s, the videos have been completely organic, but the trend is resulting in actual performance gains for the chain. The trend is a testament to the fact that even the unlikeliest of brands can find a niche on social media. Now, Long John Silver’s will have to see if it can keep the fish fan base’s attention after the organic content dies down.

View this post on Instagram Who is keeping Long John Silver’s in business? To put it mildly, Long John Silver’s has a dubious reputation. “We have Long John Silver’s, which is what people regard as the worst fast food in America,” reads the opening line of a video from the food creator @lukefoods_. Another video by @omarthecritic starts, “Who is keeping Long John Silver’s in business? They’re always empty, and they’re a fast food chain that sells seafood.” In fact, the query “Who is keeping Long John Silver’s in business” has circled the internet for almost a decade.

One Reddit thread asking the question dates back to 2018 (answers included “AARP” and “The Pope”) and multiple long-form YouTube videos have been made under that exact title. But Long John Silver’s clearly has an audience. The chain has been in business since 1969, and its heyday was in the late ’90s and early 2000s, when it boasted more than 1,000 national locations. Like many fast food restaurants, Long John Silver’s footprint has declined dramatically in recent years (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic). Its store count dropped from 900 in 2019 to 479 at the end of 2025.

Despite the store closures, LJS’s owner since 2022, Four Oaks Partners, says that the brand is actually on an upward trajectory. In a statement to Fast Company earlier this year, Ellis, the CMO, said the brand has seen 16 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth and is remodeling hundreds of stores. Systemwide sales have also grown, from about $400 million in 2022 to $430 million in 2025. Clearly, there’s a fair number of Americans who are interested in buying fried shrimp and fish and chips from a chain. And they’re finally making themselves known online.

View this post on Instagram Long John Silver’s social media moment A search for “Long John Silver’s” on both TikTok and Instagram will yield dozens of eating videos (also known as “mukbangs”) from recent weeks. While mukbang content usually centers on more standard, craveable fare—like noodles, burgers, and chicken tenders—these influencers are digging into fish filets with tartar sauce, fried pickles, and hush puppies. “The @eateatwithkeysh video is one of our favorites,” Ellis says. “Her original post was completely organic. We saw it taking off and reached out to partner with her to help amplify it on Instagram.

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The article highlights a notable case of a brand's resurgence through social media, which is significant for brand strategy professionals, though the concept of leveraging user-generated content is not entirely new.