You may think that you know a lot about Highland County restaurants, but you probably don’t know as much as Hillsboro resident Harrison Gallaugher, who has reportedly been to, “every restaurant in Hillsboro multiple times.”
While going to restaurants is a popular activity, Gallaugher takes things a step further, writing and recording hundreds of reviews on social media. Gallaugher has recently included his mother, Amie; father, J.R.; and grandma, Shirley; in his adventures, which he documents copiously on the various social media platforms he meticulously maintains and promotes, having amassed 127,000 followers on the Facebook page he runs — Ohio and Tristate News and Weather.
Gallaugher’s TikTok channel — @thegallaugherfamily — features many short videos that document three generations of his family as they partake of popular local fast food treats and provide their respective opinions.
Gallaugher, whose online reviews began as a solo project, said that his family’s subsequent involvement occurred quite organically.
“It started one day when I tried something from Dairy Queen and they tried it as well,” he said.
From there, the documented video reviews became a family affair, as multiple generations of the family are seen eating everything from ice cream to chips procured from local vendors.
“I like to try new stuff and give small businesses a shout-out,” Gallaugher said.
He explained that viewer interaction significantly influences what restaurant his family tries next, saying that, “We all decide. If a viewer tells us about a place to eat and we are near there, then we will go and eat there.”
Gallaugher said that while his social media platforms receive a lot of engagement and popularity, what motivates him to keep producing content is because, “it’s fun.”
Gallaugher’s family’s adventures can be accessed at https://m.facebook.com/ohioschoolclosings. https://m.youtube.com/c/OhioandTriStateNewsandweather or https://www.tiktok.com/@thegallaugherfamily.
Juliane Cartaino is a stringer for The Times-Gazette.
