黑料吃瓜

What began as a side project for Chris Stone (鈥�18) during the pandemic has grown into a thriving social media brand that connects San Diegans with new restaurants and experiences.

By Taylor Harris
July 20, 2026

For Chris Stone (鈥�18), food has always been about more than what鈥檚 on the plate. It鈥檚 about the connections it creates between people and businesses.

As the founder of , one of San Diego鈥檚 most influential food and experience social media brands, Stone has helped transform how people discover hidden gems throughout the county. What started organically has grown into a full-time business built on a passion for food and supporting local businesses. 

鈥淏eing an influencer was by far the last thing on my mind when I was starting my career,鈥� Stone says. 鈥淚 was super shy. I was always the person behind the camera鈥攁nd I really enjoyed that.鈥�

But before all the followers and the likes, the San Diego native was just a young adult navigating life and working at various restaurants. His love for food comes from his parents, who showed him how food was an experience, not just a meal. 

鈥淢y passion for food started at a really young age. My mom taught cooking classes out of our house for our neighborhood,鈥� he says. 鈥淔ood was something that my family cared a lot about.鈥�

After graduating from the Fowler College of Business in marketing in 2018, Stone began using his degree at a craft brewery and eventually transitioned into video production for Chef鈥檚 Roll, a global culinary community and content platform. At the time, a career in social media or becoming one of San Diego鈥檚 most recognizable food creators wasn鈥檛 a thought.

But when the pandemic hit in 2020, things changed. Stone found himself with time on his hands and was taking note of what he and his wife, Ashley Stone, were doing around San Diego. He figured he鈥檇 share it with his community. That idea became SDFoodies. 

鈥淚t originally was our journey around San Diego, and then I combined my past experiences in film and food and took that angle of the 鈥榳hy鈥� behind the food,鈥� Stone says. 鈥淭hat gave the brand a better identity.鈥� 

SDFoodies is a small but mighty team. Stone does most of the filming and editing himself, but on more complicated shoots or when he needs to be on camera, he partners with Spearhead Media, a local film crew. Ashley also plays a big role in the behind-the-scenes business operations. 

鈥淚n the beginning, Ashley would be my plus-one and go on all the shoots,鈥� Stone says, 鈥渁nd now with a full-time job, she uses her background in finance and accounting to manage the books and helps with the back end stuff that keeps everything moving smoothly.鈥�

While her official title with SDFoodies may be chief eating officer, Ashley, who earned her degree in applied mathematics from the University of San Diego, also works as a senior finance manager for Kodiak Cakes.

Today, with more than half a million followers across Instagram and TikTok, SDFoodies works with hundreds of restaurants and clients across the region, creating paid content and marketing strategies that extend far beyond a single post or video.

One of Stone鈥檚 clients is Blue Bridge Hospitality, a company that manages a portfolio of restaurants, including Little Frenchie in Coronado. After SDFoodies featured Little Frenchie鈥檚 hot chocolate spiral croissants in

April, Ian Irving, the Blue Bridge Hospitality marketing coordinator, says that within days the restaurant was completely booked from open to close every day. 

鈥淣early every table in the restaurant had at least one order of the hot chocolate spiral croissant on it,鈥� Irving says. 鈥淓ven now, we鈥檙e still benefiting from the momentum that the initial feature created.鈥�

The success of the campaign and partnership has prompted Blue Bridge to work with Stone on some of its other restaurants such as Stake Chophouse & Bar and Liberty Public Market. 

鈥淲e continue to partner with Chris and SDFoodies because of the results they deliver, the quality of the content and how reliable and easy they are to work with,鈥� Irving says. 鈥淐hris is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we鈥檙e genuinely happy with the final deliverables.鈥�

With new collaborations, partnerships and goals on the horizon, Stone remains focused on expanding the brand while staying true to its original mission of creating authentic content for the San Diego community.

鈥淲e will be really diving deep into some of the amazing partners we have south of the border and in Los Angeles to show that, yes, San Diego is the home base, but there are so many places our community can go to for a quick weekend getaway.鈥�