A group of guys on TikTok have been fermenting kimchi inside a Dave & Buster's and this is exactly the kind of content the internet was designed for

In World/Latin America
2023-01-30 20:00:04Z
By INSIDER

TikTokers were chronicling their kimchi fermentations inside Dave & Buster's until the chain stepped in.

A comedic TikTok trio is documenting their journey to ferment kimchi inside their local Dave & Buster's.
The arcade chain's corporate account was non-plussed, commenting, "Please don't burp your kimchi here."
The group said it will cease its fermentation activities in exchange for a high-ticket prize.

A new TikTok channel has become a hilarious and demented love letter to Dave & Buster's.

@Daveandbusterboys documents the journey of three creators who are trying to secretly ferment kimchi at one of their local arcade chains. The stunt has gone so viral that Dave & Buster's is now involved.

The channel is run by friends John Cicco, Christopher Isaacson, and Nate Krieger, who appear to be based in NYC, and who first announced the guerrilla fermentation endeavor on Friday.

Isaacson, the leader of the experiment, told viewers he hid the jar behind an arcade game and said he would need to revisit (and re-hide) the jar over the next five days in order to "burp" it. (When making kimchi, a traditional South Korean dish comprising spicy, fermented vegetables, jars can be "burped" to let out any excess gases that builds during the fermentation process.)

The stunt and its consequent journey is the stuff that social media was created for.

On day two of the experiment, which drew an audience of 1.6 million viewers, Isaacson went to check on his kimchi. After burping it, he found a new hiding spot for it in the store.

People are both amused and confused by it all. "My unemployed friend on a Thursday," one commenter joked.

Day two had already gone so viral that it caught the eye of Dave & Buster's. Its corporate TikTok account commented, "Sir please don't burp your kimchi here" and "What can we do to make this all go away?"

The group took this inquiry seriously and, on day four, they delivered the company an ultimatum.

Isaacson said they would halt their experiment if Dave & Buster's gave them a highly-coveted whisky set prize, which includes a decanter and four glasses that are housed in a leather briefcase. (While the ticket-exchange price can differ between locations, a Dave & Buster's employee at a New York location told Insider that the prize is redeemed for 8,000 tickets at their store (!). The set is also available for resale on eBay for as much as $300.)

In their latest video, the Dave and Buster Boys confirmed that a deal was reached with corporate - though it doesn't appear they've received the whiskey case just yet. "If the set is not in our possession soon," Cicco said in a recent TikTok, "the fermentation will continue."

Insider has reached out to the TikTok collective, as well as the corporate office for Dave & Buster's, for comment.

Despite their channel moniker, the group has other fermentations in the works at other arcade chains, including a venture that member Krieger will lead to make pickles at Chuck E. Cheese over the course of 24 days.