A West Villager is reshaping where Gen Z goes out in NYC.
Ellie Williams, the creator of the hit TikTok series “Ellie For The Girls” asks strangers on the street where they party, then checks out the spots out herself, steering some of her 50,000-plus followers to do the same if the “vibe” is right.
Her videos have racked up millions of views, and the bars she features often see an immediate spike in foot traffic, she said.
“Do Not Disturb, Laissez Faire and Café Balearica are just a few examples,” Williams, 25, told The Post, referring to now-viral hot spots in the West Village, the Financial District and Williamsburg, respectively. “All of those spots had a viral video attached to them, and people flocked to check them out.”
Most of the people she interviews are between 22 and 35, a mix of men and women she stops on the street because they seem “cute,” “cool” or “interesting.”
“I’m following the vibes and word-of-mouth tips from the people I interview on the street,” she said. “I want to give people a visual feel for the atmosphere and the crowd … the types of vibes and the types of people.”
Her series has become a crowdsourced nightlife guide, full of street interviews, bar reviews and a public Google tracker linked through her Substack, where fans can follow her footsteps.
“That’s what Ellie For The Girls is about,” she said. “Tapping into the hidden nightlife maps inside people’s heads and sharing them with everyone who’s been asking the same question.”
Her current Gen Z recs span boroughs and scenes, from dancing at Joyface in the East Village and The Nines in NoHo, to chill hangs at People’s in Greenwich Village, Rintintin in Nolita and Time Again in Chinatown.
She’s noticed gender patterns too: guys lean into dive bars, naming 169 Bar or Ray’s on the Lower East Side, while women favor cocktail spots such as LES’s Le Dive or Bar Belly in Chinatown.
In April, she hosted her own Ellie For The Girls–branded party at Jean’s in Noho, a neighborhood that’s now a Gen Z hot spot. The event drew more than 2,000 RSVPs and a line of 200 to 300 people around the block, Williams said.
Creators such as Williams have capitalized on how Gen Z has ditched Yelp and Google for nightlife recs turned to TikTok instead.
Social media gives a faster, more relatable read on a bar’s vibe — not just what it looks like, but who’s there and whether it’s worth showing up, said Jordan Evans, who runs the viral nightlife account @itisjor.
“There are a lot of resources for dining recommendations, but media outlets don’t cover nightlife or going-out bars as much,” Evans said. “People are really looking for places they can go and meet new people, instead of sitting at home swiping on a dating app.”
Bars have taken notice too, said Williams who hears regularly from people who’ve discovered new favorites through her series.
Still, she’s selective about what makes the cut, focusing on places her followers will want to go again.
“The whole goal of Ellie For The Girls really came about to share real spots to have fun and bring people together through nightlife, parties and experiences where genuine connections happen,” she said.
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