The Phantom Gourmet crew never would have thought that their satirical social media post about taking over Boston’s largest food hall would dupe most of their audience.
After Time Out Market Boston announced Wednesday that it would be closing for good on Jan. 23 after nearly seven years, Phantom Gourmet saw an opportunity to have a little bit of fun and create some buzz.
The popular food show shared a Facebook post on Thursday indicating that it would take over Time Out Market — but meant in jest.
Not only did the post specify what type of concepts and programming the new food hall would have, it also featured a mock design with a convincing sign that read “Phantom Gourmet Market.”
“Our intention was to have a few laughs,” Michael Andelman, vice president of marketing and sales at Phantom Gourmet, told MassLive.
“We did not think that it would become this unstoppable force,” he added. “It was done as fun and satire.”
The Phantom Gourmet crew was celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the television series this week when they met to discuss which restaurants they were going to cover next. That’s when Time Out Market came up.
“We were talking about it, and my brother Danny, who is very creative, just said, ‘You know what? We should do a post that we’re taking over the market,’” Andelman explained. “We just spent an hour collectively with eight of us just laughing and thinking of different ideas and things that we think would be funny and cool and viral and great foods, and that’s really just sort of how it came about.”
Phantom Gourmet then unleashed the post onto the world, indicating that it was planning to transform Time Out Market into “an exciting new culinary destination” featuring a mock design with a sign that read “Phantom Gourmet Market.”
The post indicated that the new food court would house brands including Wahlburgers, Harrows, Kowloon, Newbridge Cafe, Galleria Umberto and Abe & Louie’s Cheesesteaks.
Phantom Gourmet Market would also have a central bar with celebrity bartenders such as Tad Bonvie, Ernie Boch Jr. and Jim Sokolove. The space would also be entirely redesigned to feature “rich purple hues,” while live music would take place on weekends, according to the post.
“The minute we put it up, we were like, ‘Oh, this thing’s going to take on a life of its own,’” Andelman said. “We made it so over the top that we assumed most people would think it was satire.”
That was not the case.
The post sparked tons of online chatter, reaching more than 1 million people organically, with 95% of Phantom Gourmet’s followers believing it was legit, according to Andelman. On Facebook, the post has gotten more than 470 comments and 540 reshares as of time of publication.
But Phantom fans weren’t the only ones who were convinced.
Since the post, Andelman said the Phantom Gourmet team has gotten hundreds of calls, texts and messages from restaurants, chefs and investors who wanted to be a part of the fake food hall.
“We got calls from restaurant owners angry at us that they weren’t invited, and we had to explain,” Andelman said. “Then we have dozens of restaurants that want to know, can they come in. Can they be the next in line? We got a call from the group that owns the building and saying, ‘We should meet about this.’ Our phones have been ringing off the hook.”
All jokes aside, Phantom Gourmet is flattered by the amount of support from their fanbase.
“We are always blown away by the Phantom Gourmet fans…of how creative they are, how vested they are, and how much hospitality in restaurants is a part of their (lives),” Andelman said.
Andelman’s brother David started Phantom Gourmet in 1993. It started out as a local cable show in New England before moving to broadcast channels in 2003.
To date, Phantom Gourmet has covered roughly 10,000 restaurants, gained 1.4 million social media followers and inspired New Englanders to “get their butts off the couch” and find the best places to eat in the region, Andelman said.
“Our audience is the exact opposite of Netflix and chill,” he added. “It’s sort of like local reality TV that you can experience.”
Phantom Gourmet airs Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on TV38 (Boston), Saturdays at 11:35 p.m. on WBZ-TV and Sunday at 10 a.m. on ABC6 (Providence).