His name is Vince Viriyakul, but you can call him Mr. Beef.
That'll be the restaurateur’s legal last name -- but only if he garners enough Facebook fans.
Viriyakul, who took over the Mr. Beef and Gyros in Joliet in February, pledged to legally change his name if his restaurant’s Facebook page eclipses 2,000 fans.
"It will be fun getting people to talk about my restaurant," he told the Herald News. "If I have to change my name to do it, I will do it."
The change won’t be much of stretch though. Viriyakul’s employees have been calling him Mr. Beef since he took over the struggling grease joint this winter.
Viriyakul is looking for just about any way to beef up his business. He’s also got a Web site, mrbeefgyros.com. He printed Mr. Beef T-shirts and he launched a buy five sandwiches get the sixth one free promotion. But nothing gets him as excited as Facebooking.
"I've been looking for different ways of networking and the Internet is the main source for that nowadays," he said. "And with Facebook, everybody is on there."
So far Viriyakul has about 110 Facebook fans who are all treated to coupons and special offers. He’s pretty sure he’ll hit 2,000 at some point.
You can help him get there today. Become a fan here.
