Visitors from around the world are coming all the way to a little family-run restaurant in rural Manitoba, all thanks to a social media challenge gone viral. Jump in the car and head southwest of Winnipeg for about two hours and you’ll find the Somerset Food Bar. For nearly 50 years, the Friesen family has been serving their famous fried chicken and friendly faces to the community of about 400 people. “It’s quintessential small-town Manitoba,” said manager Jay Friesen, whose grandparents opened the restaurant in 1979. “All the locals love coming here. It’s their getaway from home.” But this summer, it’s also become a global destination. “All over the world, we’ve had people from as far as Belgium and France stop in,” Friesen said. It all started back in July – the dog days of summer when business at the restaurant typically slows down. In an effort to boost business, Friesen decided to have a little fun. He created a simple social media challenge: to see if they could get people from 60 different towns to visit the restaurant in the next 60 days. “We thought 60 towns would be difficult enough to get this summer in 60 days, and day one we were blown away at the response,” he said. Friesen’s challenge went viral, and in just 10 days people from across Manitoba had filled the list with their hometowns. But it didn’t stop there. As word of the challenge spread online, people kept showing up. “Since then we’ve upped the level to 100, and now all the way to 200, and we’re getting near that goal as well,” he said. As of Friday, Friesen has welcomed visitors from 186 towns. His growing list includes communities from across Canada, and at least nine different countries including Northern Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and Mexico. “It was just honestly just to have a little bit of fun, but it’s grown into something so much more,” he said. “It’s really turned into this like grassroots all Canadian local support challenge.” Even the locals have been enjoying the fresh faces around town. “I think it’s great to have a little small town business part of the larger community,” said Michel Dansereau, who often stops by the restaurant for a bite. With a few weeks left of summer, Friesen is looking forward to seeing how many more visitors from home and abroad may pop in for a visit. “It’s a really humbling experience. I think we accidentally started something special here,” he said. You can follow the Somerset Food Bar’s progress on social media.
