KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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A viral TikTok post is putting a small-town coffee shop on the map. The video from 3 Point Coffee + Event Space got more than 7.6 million views in 10 days.
“You always hear social media influencers say, ‘Oh, I went to sleep, and I woke up the next day, and I had over a million views.’ That's literally kind of how it happened,” explained Lauren Johnson, who helps create videos for the coffee shop along with Destiny Clayton.
Most of the shop's TikTok videos get between 2,000 and 10,000 views. Seven million and counting is a lot, especially for a coffee shop in Stanberry, Missouri, with a population of about 1,150.
“Being a small town, you hear about things fast,” Clayton said.
This video spread even faster online.
The 25-second clip shows a macho customer ordering a plain, black coffee. However, the man slides the barista a note asking for the not-so-macho “Pretty in Pink Lotus” drink.
Bruce Johnson, no relation to Lauren, is the man in the video. He’s an everyday customer. Lauren and Clayton credit his authenticity for the video’s popularity.
“Bruce is just so charming,” Clayton said. “Everybody was like, he's so wholesome.”
@3pointcoffee When he says “black coffee” but means Pretty in Pink Lotus 💅🏼 Don’t worry Bruce, your secret’s safe with us! 😉☕️ #3pointcoffee #coffeeshop #coffeetiktok #comeasyouare #coffeetok ♬ original sound - 3 Point Coffee + Event Space
An executive order calls for banning TikTok on June 19 unless its Chinese parent company sells the app. In an interview with NBC News this month, President Donald Trump said he’d be open to extending the deadline for TikTok.
“I won young people by 36 points. That’s a lot. No Republican ever won young people, and I won it by 36 points, and I focused on TikTok. So perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” Trump told Kristen Welker. “TikTok is — it’s very interesting, but it’ll be protected. It’ll be very strongly protected. But if it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension, might not need it.”
Clayton and Lauren aren’t worried about the looming ban. They feel like they’ll use other platforms for their videos.
Plus, they think content like Bruce can find popularity anywhere.
“They're the creative bunch. I just do what you tell me to do,” Bruce said humbly.
He’s agreed to be in more videos for the coffee shop. Lauren said there are plans to sell T-shirts with Bruce’s face and organize a meet-and-greet with Bruce one day soon.
Stanberry is about 100 miles north of Kansas City.
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