How Girodier Company Grew Fontenelle Diner's Social Media from Zero to 1.76M Views
Girodier Company helped Ottawa's Fontenelle Diner grow Instagram Reels to 1.76 million views, gain 498 TikTok followers from scratch, and build a thriving local social media presence in under 7 months.
From Invisible to Viral: How Girodier Company Transformed Fontenelle Diner’s Social Media Presence
The Client Fontenelle Diner is a beloved breakfast and lunch spot located at 55 Montreal Road in Ottawa’s Vanier neighborhood. Known for their hearty classic breakfasts, signature crêpes, and warm family-run atmosphere, Fontenelle Diner had everything it needed to build a loyal online following; it just needed the right strategy to make it happen.
The Challenge
When Fontenelle Diner came to Girodier Company in November 2025, their social media presence didn’t reflect the quality of their brand. Their Instagram account had approximately 1,400 followers and minimal engagement. Their Facebook page had gained just 3 followers over the entire previous year. TikTok had 66 posts live but zero follower growth to show for it. There was no consistent content strategy, no defined brand voice, and no system for turning social media into a real business driver.
Girodier Company built a three-platform content strategy centered on three core pillars:
Authentic Behind-the-Scenes Content — Real moments from the kitchen and front of house, capturing the personality of the Fontenelle Diner team in a way that felt genuine and shareable.
Server Life Storytelling — Relatable, humor-driven short-form video content that resonated far beyond Fontenelle Diner’s existing audience and consistently triggered organic sharing.
Food Showcase Content — High-quality visual content highlighting signature menu items, crêpes, waffles, the Hungry Man breakfast, Eggs Benedict — designed to drive saves and visit intent.
We published content daily across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, with Instagram Reels as the primary growth engine, supported by 108 Stories and consistent cross-platform posting.
The Results
The Results
So how did we make it to the 1M Views ?
In under 7 months, here is what we built together:
1.76 million Reel views
436 new followers gained
44,840 total Reel interactions
37,490 Reel likes
1,390 saves and 5,380 shares
Average Reel engagement rate: 4.45% (industry benchmark: 2–3%)
Average reach per Reel: 10,280 (up +628%)
98 Reels published, 108 Stories published
TikTok
498 followers built from zero
365,010 total views
295,780 video views
13,580 interactions
4.72 average engagement rate
Top post: 73,060 impressions and 3,943 interactions (January 20, 2026)
Followers grew from 3 to 37 — a +1,133% increase
Impressions grew from 359 to 93,320 — up +25,893%
Page views increased +3,439%
100 Reels and 121 total posts published
Fontenelle’s Diner Viral Moment
On January 20, 2026, a single Reel capturing the chaos of a busy kitchen shift became Fontenelle Diner’s defining social media moment. The video generated over 1 million views on Instagram and 73,060 impressions on TikTok on the same day. It earned 25,060 likes, 1,730 shares, and 742 saves across Instagram alone. This wasn’t a paid campaign. It was the result of a consistent content strategy that had built the audience, trained the algorithm, and established a brand voice strong enough to go viral organically.
What Was Their Audience?
Fontenelle Diner’s Instagram audience is 52% female, concentrated in the 25–44 age range, with 62.97% based in Ottawa and 7.62% in Gatineau — exactly the local dining demographic that converts into in-restaurant customers. On TikTok, the audience skews 80% male, meaning the two platforms together reach a broad, complementary cross-section of the Ottawa food community.
What Made The Difference
The content that performed best was never the most polished. It was the most honest. Fontenelle Diner’s team — their humor, their chaos, their warmth — was the product. Our job was to point a camera at it, build a consistent system around it, and let the algorithm do the rest.
Ready to Grow Your Restaurant’s Social Media?
Girodier Company works with restaurants and other small businesses across Ottawa, Gatineau, and Canada to build social media strategies that drive real results. If you're ready to turn your brand's story into content that converts, reach out to us on our Contact Us page
