In the growing world of food content creators in New York, April Scriven has managed to carve out a strong fanbase naturally through her authentic reviews.
Scriven, 26, goes by AprilEatsHere on social media, and her followers see her travel to restaurants, sampling and giving reviews of food from across the city. She is a one-woman travel crew, going to various locations and making content, most recently beyond the city and into New Jersey. She went from not getting many views to building her popularity organically through what she credits as consistency, improving the viewing experience, and sharing her personality.
“Sometimes the job that we’re working, we don’t have a passion for … I’m happy I’m able to do something that I like, and actually make money from it, too,” Scriven said.
Born and raised in East Harlem, Scriven loves featuring the restaurants in the neighborhood in her content. Early on, she said, she struggled to find what her true talent or passion might be, and initially had plans to become a teacher.
However, it was the COVID pandemic that changed her outlook, seeing individuals being laid off and their lives turned upside-down seemingly out of nowhere. She sought to take her career into her own hands and become an entrepreneur. In 2021, while working two jobs in addition to selling homemade lip gloss, she was inspired to get into media after witnessing the content creator boom. Seeing how viable and exciting the world of content could be for someone like her, she took advantage.
“I was not good at anything … but that’s when I saw there was a lane for recording,” Scriven said. “I was like, ‘That’s me.’”
Scriven began with different ideas, including “A day in the life” video blogs, that didn’t do very well, — she even bought fake Instagram followers at the beginning, something she laughs at now. After seeing people gravitate toward her food content, she leaned in fully. What she said helped improve views were changes like using a camera for better quality, as well as showing her face and talking more in videos.
Scriven loves being able to explore new and different cuisines across the city, while not having to rely on others. Providing support and exposure to businesses is special for her.
Some of the largest views she’s gotten have come from the legendary soul food restaurant Amy Ruth’s in Harlem, as well as in lower Manhattan at Pearl and the Beast and at Goku Kitchen. Some have even hit a million views on Instagram. The irony, Scriven said, is that while she does well on the platform, she’s currently only monetized on TikTok and Facebook, where she doesn’t get as much exposure, so she doesn’t make much from her content itself.
Scriven’s collaborations have included the James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit culinary arts organization, where she was able to attend a ceremony and sample food from local chefs.
With her new full-time job with Ulta Beauty, Scriven said she must now find time to balance with making content. Today, she receives emails from restaurants throughout the day, inviting her to try their food.
The other annoying struggle is the long travel on public transportation in getting to these places that are far from her, in areas like Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island; sometimes it takes up to four hours. However, Scriven is very grateful for the lane she has carved and has been able to thrive in.
The food content is only a piece of her long-term goals, which she has outlined and reminds herself of regularly. She plans to continue building out her platform and eventually create her own YouTube channel and maybe have a major TV show for diving deeper into food content and the stories behind local businesses and chefs.
Scriven is delighted that people are coming up and recognizing her from her videos, which keeps her motivated. “That really just makes me want to keep going,” she said. “Imagine if I had stopped — I would have never seen how far I could have come. I love the life that I’m creating for myself.”