Meet Shelby Cohen | Digital Content Creator/Food Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shelby Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelby, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The Latest Indulge was never intended to be a business; I initially created the Instagram account (@thelatestindulge) during my junior year of high school to have a place to document all the new restaurants I was bound to visit while touring different college campuses around the country.

Ultimately, each campus tour I went on was followed by my own food tour. From Syracuse, New York to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Austin, Texas, and beyond, I set out to find the best and yummiest eats that I could find in every place I visited… but even after committing to a college (specifically, the University of Alabama – Roll Tide!) I quickly realized that my food tours didn’t need to end.

What started as nothing more than a fun idea to document my personal life has since turned into a growing community for me to review and recommend restaurants, share recipes, and connect with other self-proclaimed foodies like myself.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Growing up with social media from a young age, I’ve always been interested in connecting with others and sharing my interests & passions with the world; creating @thelatestindulge nearly 10 years ago gave me the opportunity to do just that. You know the phrase “phone eats first”? Well, I live my life by that phrase. It’s rare that I’d ever go out to eat and won’t capture photos and/or videos of what’s on my plate… and whoever else’s plate is on the table. Hungry? Sorry – “phone eats first” ;).

Much like the world itself, the world of social media has drastically developed and changed over the last decade, and content creation is at the forefront of this change. At one point in time, posting photos (depending on your preferred social media platform) was one of the only ways to express yourself and your interests online. These days, there are several large platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, etc.) and multiple ways to create and build your presence online: from posting and sharing “regular” photos and videos to Reels, TikToks, Shorts, podcasts, and more.

While I feel that I am just in the beginning stages of modernizing my content, I can proudly say that I’ve already started to see growth in both my overall follower count and engagement on my posts, particularly on Instagram. For instance, creating and sharing more Instagram Reels on my account has helped my content growth tremendously in the last few months alone; admittedly, Reels hadn’t been something that I had been regularly using until recently. For me, kicking my content up more than a notch and connecting with my audience are top priorities in 2023; that includes continuing to add variety within my content (sharing photos and videos/Reels) and getting a better idea of what my audience wants to see with the overall goal of reaching even more people than I do already.

I don’t expect my goals to be met overnight. Rather, working with purpose and a true passion to achieve my goals on a daily basis is how I intend to reach, and even surpass all of the goals that I currently have, and all the ones I’ll set for myself in the future. To me, to expect and/or rely on “overnight” success equates to setting yourself up for failure. I believe in the mentality of wanting to get better each and every day, in any way you can.

@thelastestindulge is not by any means at its peak; in fact, I feel like I’m just getting started… so stay tuned.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Fort Collins, CO – a city that has consistently been named one of the best places to live in the country. Lucky for me and anyone else who resides or even visits here, the Choice City is not only a great place to live, but also boasts a pretty impressive food scene.

Whenever a friend or family member comes to visit, I’m always expected to take them to my favorite places in town, from restaurants to bars to breweries, shops, and outdoor spots.

In a week’s time, I’d be sure to take my visitors to

– Suh Sushi & Korean BBQ, my favorite sushi spot (their Rose Roll and Beef Fried Rice ALWAYS hits the spot)
– Uno Mas Tacos & Tequila, my go=to stop for tacos, yummy drinks (especially their seasonal sangria), fresh appetizers and TORTAS!
– Sonny Lubick Steakhouse, a cozy but upscale steakhouse (I usually make a reservation here when my family comes to town, and it never disappoints)
– Slyce Pizza Co, the BEST pizza in town, hands down.
– Lucile’s Creole Cafe, my favorite breakfast spot in town

Bars & Casual Stops

– Social, a popular underground bar with a speakeasy vibe specializing in unique cocktails and small bites
– MoJeaux’s, one of my favorite neighborhood bars, perfect for grabbing a few beers and popular bar bites
– Lucky Joe’s, a popular bar located in the heart of Old Town, great place to take a friend who’s visiting town for the first time since it’s located in the middle of everything

Outdoor Spots:

– Horsetooth Reservoir
– Devil’s Backbone
– Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Drives:

– Big Thompson Canyon
– Poudre Canyon
– Rocky Mountain National Park

From enjoying great meals to exploring different parts of Northern Colorado and beyond, I couldn’t possibly let my friends/family come to visit without experiencing one (or all) of the above.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
While likes, comments, and shares might play a big role in a creator’s success, it would be impossible to build a successful platform without the incredible (and growing) community that supports my content: family, friends, friends-of-friends, foodies, everyone and anyone that engages with my content.

Instagram: @thelastestindulge

Image Credits
Shelby Cohen/@thelatestindulge