A struggling Brooklyn bakery was months from closing. Then a Meta engineer made it go viral.

Zbigniew Stankowski (left) stands with Shuayb Qureshi, a Meta employee, at Star Deli.

Lloyd Mitchell for BI A Meta engineer started making Instagram videos to rebuild his social life.

His videos went viral and helped struggling NYC restaurants attract customers.

Shuayb Qureshi says that helping businesses was a byproduct of his goal of connecting with people.

Shuayb Qureshi didn't know many people in New York, and his work at Meta made it hard for him to find new friends.

So, on a whim, the now-31-year-old software engineer started posting videos on Instagram.

"I'm like, maybe I can record myself doing some sort of stuff like that, talking to strangers," Qureshi recalled on a recent Saturday in Brooklyn.

"I just wanted to express myself socially." Qureshi's videos have racked up millions of views and transformed the once-shy, nerdy coder into an influencer who is now occasionally recognized on the street.

Shuayb Qureshi stands on Nassau Street in Brooklyn.

Lloyd Mitchell for BI This year, Qureshi shifted from what he described as "tech bro" content to restaurant reviews, for which he dons Meta glasses, enters little-known food joints in Brooklyn and Queens, and asks for whatever the owner recommends.

One video Qureshi made in June, spotlighting a Polish bakery struggling to stay afloat in a competitive market, went viral, garnering over a million views, and helped the owner keep his store open.

"It gives me a natural human high," Qureshi said.

From Meta burnout to New York influencer As a child growing up in Kuwait and then Toronto, Qureshi described himself as outgoing.

"I would just talk to anyone," he said.