BTS is a fan of Bay Area pizza. When the K-Pop supergroup performed at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, member V, whose full name is Kim Taehyung, praised local cakes from the stage.“Next time we’re at Stanford, we’re going to eat that delicious pizza,” he told the audience, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and clips circulating on social media. “I think Stanford has the best pizza.”While the South Korean boy group didn’t name a specific restaurant, fans did some research and dined at Vesta in Redwood City on Monday, May 11, a week before their concert.
What BTS ordered and how the restaurant reacted
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Courtney Borrone, who owns Vesta with husband Peter Borrone, called the visit “very surprising.” “We have a lot of tech, big names in Silicon Valley here, but they don’t really like the celebrity status, so it was really exciting and they’re like the biggest pop group in the world,” he said.The group ordered the restaurant’s most popular pie, along with sausage and honey pizza, carbonara pizza, pepperoni pizza and several small plates. They assisted security, and worked to keep the restaurant a “very professional and private experience” to ensure their comfort. Some members recognized the group as they were leaving and took pictures with them.Vesta then decided not to publish about the visit, hoping to get the team back. They did just that on their return on Monday, May 18, when Courtney says they enjoyed “lots of dessert.”V gave a shout out to pizza at the concert, sending footage of Courtney starting to get messages from friends. “It was terrible,” he said. “I can’t believe they brought the pizza they ate. That’s crazy. But apparently V really loves pizza, it’s like her thing, so it makes a lot of sense that she could bring that.”The outcry had an immediate effect on the restaurant. According to Courtney, it was the busiest Monday ever, as BTS fans flocked to try the pizza praised by their favorite group. “It’s been really busy with all these townspeople visiting the show and trying to eat their favorite pizza,” he said.Her husband, Peter, was on the team’s second visit. “She helped try to keep their privacy, but she said it was overwhelming. They kept telling her, ‘You’re the first,'” Courtney added.What started as a quiet celebrity visit quickly turned into a viral moment, proving once again that when BTS speaks, fans listen.
