Fri, April 3, 2026 at 3:33 PMUpdated Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:17 PM SEATTLE \u2014 A video by a Seattle small business owner is going viral for taking a humorous but candid look at what it is like to run a shop along one of the city\u2019s most controversial corridors.<\/p>\n Demi Tran, owner of Big Whale Consignment on Aurora Avenue N, posted a tongue-in-cheek video to Instagram that has drawn 2 million views. In it, she pokes fun at the street\u2019s reputation for crime while highlighting the reality of operating a business there.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople kept telling me not to open a business on Aurora Avenue, but I didn\u2019t listen, and now I\u2019m cooked,\u201d Tran said in the video.<\/p>\n Aurora Avenue is widely known in Seattle for issues including gun violence and visible sex work. Tran leans into those perceptions with humor.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants to come to Aurora for a few different reasons, unless you\u2019re looking for something very specific,\u201d she said with a wink in the video.<\/p>\n But beyond the jokes, Tran says there\u2019s more to the area than its notoriety suggests. <\/p>\n Big Whale Consignment specializes in vintage furniture as well as artwork, plants, clothing, and handmade goods from about 60 different artists and vendors. <\/p>\n Tran launched the business seven years ago after starting out selling furniture from storage units.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw this location, and it was a very big shop, and so we were like, \u2018Oh wow, that would be a good location for what we\u2019re doing,\u2019\u201d Tran said.<\/p>\n She later expanded the concept with a \u201cmakers market\u201d featuring prints, jewelry, pottery, T-shirts, and other items from local creators.<\/p>\n Despite the shop\u2019s wide selection, attracting customers hasn\u2019t always been easy. Tran said attracting walk-in customers was especially challenging in the early years and again more recently during a slower economic period.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a lot of trouble getting foot traffic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That challenge led her back to social media, where Aurora Avenue has become a frequent topic of discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cThey always talked about Aurora, like Aurora was a hot topic on TikTok,\u201d Tran said. \u201cSo I was like, \u2018Let me talk about how we\u2019re on Aurora.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The strategy appears to be working again. Tran said the latest viral video is already drawing new attention to the consignment store.<\/p>\n While the corridor\u2019s reputation persists, Tran said her personal experience has been more nuanced.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I just know it\u2019s a reality of being here. I really haven\u2019t had problems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She acknowledges the issues that bring negative attention to Aurora Avenue but believes they don\u2019t define the entire area.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the area is very valued and there are parks and neighborhoods and schools in the area,\u201d Tran said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize what a cool area it can be.\u201d<\/p>\n For Tran, the focus remains on running her business and supporting local artists, even as her storefront sits in the middle of one of Seattle\u2019s most talked-about streets.<\/p>\n Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to find the humor in every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Viral Instagram reel about running a store on Aurora Avenue tops 2 million viewsby Joel Moreno,KOMONewsReporter![\"UserWay](\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/resources\/defaults\/news_3.0\/icons\/accessibility\/userway-transparent.svg\"\/)
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<\/a>Demi Tran has turned the social media talk about Seattle's Aurora Avenue on its head, and her hot-take video has since gone viral. (Photo: KOMO News)Share storyShare<\/p>\n\n
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Big Whale Consignment has a wide array of goods and works with about 60 artists and vendors. (Photo: KOMO News)<\/p>\nTrending<\/h2>\n
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\nFri, April 3, 2026 at 3:33 PMUpdated Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:17 PM3VIEW ALL PHOTOSDemi Tran has turned the social media talk about Seattle's Aurora Avenue on its head, and her hot-take video has since gone viral. (Photo: KOMO News)Share storySharetopics: Aurora AvenueSeattleSmall businessConsignment storeViral videoSocial mediaLocal artistsCrime perceptionSEATTLE \u2014 A video by a Seattle small business owner is going viral for taking a humorous but candid look at what it is like to run a shop along one of the city\u2019s most controversial corridors.
\nDemi Tran, owner of Big Whale Consignment on Aurora Avenue N, posted a tongue-in-cheek video to Instagram that has drawn 2 million views. In it, she pokes fun at the street\u2019s reputation for crime while highlighting the reality of operating a business there.
\n\u201cPeople kept telling me not to open a business on Aurora Avenue, but I didn..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tie-business","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16484,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16460\/revisions\/16484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skybeaconnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}