# Its A Chicken Salad From 81St Deli > It's a Chicken Salad' is a 2022 viral TikTok sound from Tanisha Godfrey's deadpan delivery at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio. "It's a Chicken Salad" is a viral TikTok catchphrase from a 15-second video filmed at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio, in August 2022. Cleveland native Tanisha Godfrey's deadpan delivery of the phrase, paired with her confident facial expressions, turned a simple food review into one of the most replicated TikTok sounds of late 2022. The clip sat dormant for two months before exploding across the platform, boosting the small corner deli's sales from roughly 40 chicken salads a day to nearly 1,000 at peak[3]. ## Origin On August 8, 2022, the TikTok account @81stdeli posted its first video, a simple clip of someone showing a chicken salad and saying "Now that's how you make a chicken salad, at East 81st Deli." It picked up just 15 likes[4]. Twenty days later, on August 28, 2022, deli owner Wael Herbawi filmed a second video featuring his longtime family friend Tanisha Godfrey eating a chicken salad he'd made for her[1]. The backstory is charmingly mundane. According to Herbawi, Godfrey walked in while he was eating a salad himself. She said it looked good, so he offered to make her one[1]. He'd been trying to grow the store's social media presence, so he gave her the salad for free and asked to film a quick TikTok[3]. Godfrey's version is slightly different: she says she stopped in after work on a hot day, wanting something light, and ordered the chicken salad with extra toppings. When Herbawi finished making it, he suggested they film a video[1]. Either way, the result was the same. Godfrey looked into the camera and delivered the now-iconic line: "Y'all better come up here and get one of these. It's a chicken salad. 81st Deli. Superior"[2]. She listed ingredients ("chicken, pickles, banana peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion") before the clip cut off. "That's how I naturally talk," Godfrey later told TODAY. "It wasn't like I was like, 'Oh, it's a chicken salad.' No, it's the way that I talk naturally"[1]. - **Platform:** TikTok - **Creator:** Wael "Vinny" Herbawi (deli owner, filmmaker), Tanisha Godfrey (subject, voice) - **Date:** 2022 ## Overview The meme centers on a short TikTok video in which Tanisha Godfrey stands at the counter of a small Cleveland deli, plastic fork balanced between her fingers, and tells viewers to come try what she's eating. When asked what it is, she responds with an effortlessly cool "It's a chicken salad," followed by the deli's location on "81st and Superior." She then rattles off ingredients before the video cuts off[2]. Something about the way Godfrey pronounced "chicken salad," her relaxed cadence, and her unbothered facial expressions made the clip irresistible. Viewers described her voice as "soothing" and "comforting," while linguists took interest in her diction[6]. The audio became a TikTok sound used in thousands of lip-dub skits, food reviews, and comedy videos. ## How It Spread For the first two months, the video barely registered. Herbawi watched the view count climb to a few hundred, then a few thousand[3]. Multiple Black content creators later noted how the video kept appearing on their For You Page despite showing minimal view counts[4]. The real viral breakout hit in mid-October 2022. On October 15, TikToker @quaygottfanz stitched the original clip, commenting on how good Godfrey made the salad sound. His video pulled over 400,000 plays and 80,000 likes in about two weeks[4]. On October 19, @leoshawty333 posted a lip-sync mimicking Godfrey's expressions, picking up 300,000 plays[4]. On October 20, @mrsmycah posted about how the audio had only 600 videos using it despite being all over her feed, a video that also racked up 300,000+ views[4]. Then Lizzo got involved. On October 21, 2022, the singer posted a TikTok of herself eating a chicken sandwich while using Godfrey's audio. It hit over 1 million plays and 100,000 likes within three days[4]. Godfrey dueted Lizzo's video the same day, pulling 2 million plays[4]. "That's when the followers and views really started coming through, when Lizzo did it," Godfrey told News 5 Cleveland[2]. The original video on @81stdeli's page climbed to 7 million views and 1.2 million likes within two months of posting[4], eventually reaching over 17 million views according to TODAY[1], and 27 million views by January 2024[9]. ## How to Use The "It's a Chicken Salad" sound is typically used on TikTok in a few ways: 1. **Lip-dub**: Film yourself with any food item while mouthing Godfrey's audio. The humor usually comes from the contrast between the original chicken salad and whatever you're actually eating. 2. **Stitch/Duet**: Stitch the original clip with your reaction, commentary, or your own food review attempt. 3. **Cadence imitation**: Record yourself reviewing any product or experience while copying Godfrey's relaxed delivery and confident expressions. 4. **Direct quote**: Use the phrase "It's a chicken salad" as a deadpan response in everyday conversation, delivered with Godfrey's signature nonchalance. ## Cultural Impact The video's impact on East 81st Street Deli was enormous. Sales went from 40 salads a day to 300 on a sustained basis, with a peak of 980 in a single day[3]. Herbawi hired five new employees and began renovating and expanding the building[1]. People traveled from across the country just to try the salad, with visitors documented from California, Georgia, Alabama, Las Vegas, and Portland[3]. The meme drew mainstream media coverage from Bon Appetit, TODAY, PopSugar, Cleveland Magazine, and News 5 Cleveland, among others[1][3][5][7]. It sparked broader conversation about how TikTok can transform small businesses overnight and about the economics of viral fame for creators who don't own the platforms they go viral on. Godfrey's Weight Watchers sponsorship generated cultural debate. Scalawag Magazine published an essay connecting the sponsorship to broader patterns of anti-fatness and diet culture, arguing the deal was part of a "targeted unraveling of the limited progress made in the body inclusivity/positivity space"[6]. By January 2024, the deli commemorated the moment with a permanent graffiti-style mural on the building's exterior, featuring the deli's name and Godfrey's catchphrase[9]. ## Fun Facts - Herbawi had only been on TikTok for about a month when the video went viral. "I don't really know too much about Instagram and Facebook and TikTok," he admitted[3]. - The deli's first TikTok video, posted August 8, 2022, got only 15 likes and 2 comments in nearly three months[4]. - Herbawi's father was making emergency grocery runs in his Mercedes, filling it with spinach and spring mix to keep up with demand[3]. - Herbawi had returned from a 13-year stint in federal prison in May 2022, just months before the video went viral[8]. - When a local fire department showed up after the video blew up, one firefighter said, "I never even knew there was a deli over here"[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the "It's a Chicken Salad" meme? It's a viral TikTok sound and catchphrase from an August 28, 2022 video where Tanisha Godfrey reviews a chicken salad at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio. Her relaxed delivery and confident expressions made the clip wildly shareable[1]. ### Where did "It's a Chicken Salad" come from? The video was filmed and posted by deli owner Wael Herbawi on the @81stdeli TikTok account on August 28, 2022. It sat unnoticed for two months before going viral in mid-October 2022[4]. ### What does the "It's a Chicken Salad" meme mean? The meme is used as a sound for lip-dubs and food reviews on TikTok. It's also become shorthand for casually flexing something simple with total confidence, the way Godfrey presented a basic deli salad like it was the most important thing in the world[2]. ### How do you use the "It's a Chicken Salad" meme? Most commonly, TikTokers use the audio to lip-sync while eating food, imitating Godfrey's expressions. Others stitch or duet the original clip with their own commentary or reactions[4]. ### Is the "It's a Chicken Salad" meme still popular? The initial viral wave peaked in late October 2022. As of January 2024, the original video had over 27 million views and the deli installed a permanent mural honoring the moment, but active use of the sound has declined from its peak[9]. ### Who is the woman in the chicken salad video? Tanisha Godfrey, a Cleveland native who works helping people with mental illnesses transition to independent living. She had known deli owner Wael Herbawi since she was a teenager[1]. ### Who owns East 81st Street Deli? Wael "Vinny" Herbawi, a Palestinian-American born in Brooklyn, has run the deli with his brother since 2005. He took over from his father, who ran it as a convenience store[3]. ### What's in the viral chicken salad? Spring mix (lettuce, spinach, kale), grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, pickles, hard-boiled egg, shredded mozzarella and cheddar, croutons, and a secret house dressing made with olive oil, lemon juice, and a Palestinian spice blend[3][5]. ### How many chicken salads did the deli sell after going viral? Before the video, Herbawi sold about 30-50 salads daily. At peak virality, he sold 980 in a single day and sustained around 300 per day afterward[3][8]. ### Did Tanisha Godfrey trademark her catchphrase? By February 2023, Godfrey hired lawyer Shannon Davis to file a $250 trademark application for phrases from the video, starting with "Y'all better come get one of these." Davis worked pro bono[8]. ### Why was the Weight Watchers sponsorship controversial? Scalawag Magazine criticized the partnership as feeding into anti-fatness and diet culture, arguing it undermined body positivity progress. While some praised Godfrey for monetizing her fame, others found the specific brand alignment uncomfortable[6]. ### How did Lizzo boost the video? On October 21, 2022, Lizzo posted a TikTok eating a chicken sandwich while using Godfrey's audio. Her video got over 1 million plays, and Godfrey's duet of Lizzo pulled 2 million, supercharging the meme's spread[4]. ## References 1. [‘It’s a Chicken Salad’: Viral TikTok Makes Cleveland Deli Famous Overnight]() 2. [E. 81st Street Deli booming thanks to Lizzo, TikTok and viral chicken salad]() 3. ['It's a Chicken Salad': Meet the Man Whose Cleveland Deli Is All Over TikTok | Bon Appétit]() 4. [It's A Chicken Salad / From 81st Deli - Know Your Meme]() 5. [How to Make the 81st Deli TikTok Salad | PS Food]() 6. [The chicken salad TikTok to anti-fatness pipeline – Scalawag]() 7. [We Tried It: The Viral Chicken Salad from E. 81st Deli in Cleveland]() 8. [How the East 81st Deli Chicken Salad Video Changed the Lives of the Business and Star, One Year Later]() 9. [E. 81st Deli honors Cleveland’s viral chicken salad with TikTok-themed mural - cleveland.com]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/its-a-chicken-salad-from-81st-deli Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library