A Los Angeles street vendor with a loyal TikTok following has found a way to feed hundreds of people on Skid Row and give back to those dealing with the issues he himself has faced.
“Six months ago I was homeless,” says Christopher Bailey, who goes by the name Klover King on TikTok. “I just want to give something back.”
Bailey gained more than 88,000 followers after live-streaming himself cooking his specialty, decked-out breakfast burritos, outside the Van Nuys courthouse. His business, called Munchies, has exploded after TikTok users started visiting the Valley spot where he spends his mornings five days a week.
Now he’s found a way to connect users, himself and other street vendors to help his fellow Angelenos by serving plates of hot food to people in the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood known for its encampments of people who living on the sidewalks of the city.
He decided to buy and grill 200 hot dogs for the residents of Skid Row, throwing fried onions and peppers onto scorched dogs, topped with ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. From that moment on, people started donating. Last weekend he served 400 hot dogs. He came back to the neighborhood on Friday, but this time he had other vendors with him and a lot more food.
“I invited all the TikTok vendors I know,” Bailey said. “Apparently TikTok street food selling is a trend right now. We all meet through the live streams, and we can sometimes connect and compete against each other.”
Twenty DoorDash drivers delivered groceries and other necessities ordered and paid for by Bailey’s TikTok followers and fans — some of which included “sandwiches, mayonnaise, hot dogs, burgers… foil, plates: everything you can think of,” he said. By Friday afternoon, he and the other vendors had served a thousand hot dogs, along with a lot of hamburgers.
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“If they want to send food, I’ll keep cooking it as long as they send it,” Bailey said.
Increasing his livelihood through the home he found on the social platform is a “blessing,” he said. In recent months he has seen his life change after years of struggling just to make ends meet.
“I’ve been homeless for probably five years, on and off, you know,” Bailey said. “And I started this little street food business, and thanks to TikTok, I’ve done really well.”
“I almost have my shit together so I can function and not worry about paying bills,” he said. “We’re getting there.”
As he continues to grow, he wants to help people who are still getting through life’s hardships.
“It’s one of the most satisfying things you can do, giving to someone who needs it,” Bailey said.
‘It’s not hard to be nice. And I am blessed now.”
