FLORENCE, Ky. — Brent Angel needed wedding shoes. And as he drove past the Chili’s in Florence, he noticed something was going on.
Angel saw cameras and people filming. He couldn’t tell what it was, but figured it out this week when he saw an Instagram post that starts with a song: “Welcome to Florence.”
WATCH: We visit the viral Chili's restaurant in Northern Kentucky
It’s a commercial for the restaurant’s new chicken parmesan sandwich, one that stars Snooki from the “Jersey Shore” TV show. The viral video promises a meal with a mozzarella stick in the middle. And you can get it in Rome, Georgia, Venice, Florida and Florence, Kentucky.
The video pokes fun at Florence — mainly its water tower — but also celebrates it. Even the Florence mayor came to check it out.
“I love the commercial,” said Mayor Julie Metzger Aubuchon. “I think it’s a great town, and people will see that."
Inside the Chili’s, I showed the video to several people. One woman started singing the song.
“That’s a lot of mozzarella,” she said.
Born and raised in Florence, Angel walked out with a commemorative plate and a postcard of the city — a perk for the first 150 people to order it there. He gave the sandwich a 10 out of 10.
“We’ll probably come back tomorrow and get it again,” Angel said.
