We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawn Irby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawn below.

Alright, Shawn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How has Covid changed your business model?

Covid has taken a toll on the entire restaurant business industry. Covid caught everyone off guard and sadly some of the most profound restaurants didn’t make it through the pandemic and some are still struggling to keep their doors open today. “Business is not the same as it use to be” are the words I hear far to often from many restaurant owners and in todays time it’s not just due to covid but also due to inflation as the price for food continues to grow causing many restaurants to increase on their prices. Some are not able to make a profitable return and some are just making ends barley meet. As a food blogger I feel it’s my duty to help bring awareness to some of these restaurants to help drive traffic to their front door. I must say some of the best dishes I have had has come from these struggling restaurants and I know as a community these places would be greatly missed if they were to close their doors. The content I post on my Dfwfoodeater page all have a story behind it. From top notch restaurants to just beginner stage restaurant owners. I want to know everyones story. When I post a lot of my followers can imagine themselves at the place of business trying the dish I post and most of my followers do try it within the next week. Hearing my followers feedback about the restaurants I post is definitely rewarding in itself. It’s like a chain “a friend tells a friend” which in the end brings more attention to the restaurant.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Shawn Irby and I am the creator behind Dfwfoodeater. I am from a small town called Houma Louisiana where I grew up around my grandmother’s home cooked meals. She always made sure I knew how to fend for myself not just in life but in the kitchen as well. I moved to Texas in 2016 and then I married a beautiful women who also shared a love for food. As you can see my love for food runs deep and attracts me to the things I love most. Behind the DFW content you will see post of restaurants throughout the DFW area and they all have great captivating taste and I want to be the one to get their names out there. I enjoy writing and posting about food because in such a cruel world I believe we all could benefit and grow to love one another if we all found a common ground and I believe that common is food. Please follow Dfwfoodeater on instagram to share in the love for food.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There are 2 things that drive me to do what I do. The first thing is the love of food. Food brings people together from different backgrounds, nationalities, race, etc. I love eating great food. Second, the drive to help not just local restaurants but all restaurants I encounter everywhere I go. The pandemic has really hurt the restaurant scene. I use my platform to help get the word out about the amazing food these restaurants put out.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Well, when I started it was definitely hard to get followers. Consistency is definitely the key! Consistent post, videos, reels, etc. My main advice is definitely keep at it and don’t give up.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Dfwfoodeater
• Facebook: Dfwfoodcritic2010
• Other: TikTok dfwfoodeater1