SAN ANTONIO – With thousands of followers, local TikToker Gabrielle Gonzalez has discovered the path to San Antonio’s heart--food.
She’s the creator behind the ever-so-popular @Siempre_Sanantonio TikTok account.
With just two simple words, “hey friends,” Gonzalez invites people on a journey to discover new foods available in the city she loves.
“I started going on Tiktok due to the pandemic. I started scrolling through TikToks, and then I said I can make these myself,” Gonzalez said.
Now with more than 250 videos and nearly 80,000 followers later, Gonzalez is making waves in the community.
“I didn’t think l was (going to) love videos as much as I do,” Gonzalez said. “It just like, it reached so many more people on TikTok. It’s amazing.”
Growing up on the South Side, Gonzalez said she wants everyone to see all the parts of San Antonio that she loves, especially local businesses.
“I’m so grateful for the platform that I have because it has helped me branch out to look at other sides of town,” Gonzalez said. “So I’ve been to the East Side a lot, to the West Side a lot. There’s so much culture, there’s so much food, there’s so much art.”
One of her first videos was about Cosmicones, off Babcock Road and UTSA Boulevard.
The owner, Crystal Bless, was in shock when she saw the video about her at the time month-old shaved ice business.
“All of a sudden, we started having people just pour in, all a direct result of her posting this TikTok,” Bless said.
@Siempre_Sanantonio has gotten so popular that now businesses are reaching out to her directly.
Stix and Stones, located on Wurzbach Road, is another local business that allowed Gonzalez to get a tasting in order to make the best video for her followers.
As she waits to hit that 100,000 follower milestone, she’ll continue to make the videos that bring her joy.
“So it’s awesome to be able to show people our city has so much to offer,” Gonzalez said. “When it comes to food, when it comes to culture, when it comes to events, and when it comes to activities. There’s so much that we can do here in San Antonio and I love to feature that.”