Next week, Sides, the virtual fried chicken concept, is launching its first ever physical space at BOXPARK Wembley, the capital’s biggest food and entertainment venue known for its iconic fanpark events. Opening its doors on Thursday, 24th February, Sides is the famous fried chicken concept from YouTube stars The Sidemen, that until now has only been available as a delivery service.
Sides was launched in November 2021 and has amassed a huge following in the space of three months, building an online following on Instagram of over 200k followers. Sides was developed by The Sidemen in partnership with Reef, the world’s largest operator of virtual restaurants.
The Sidemen themselves are a collective of seven content creators (KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123 and W2S) who have dominated the internet since 2013. Firmly establishing themselves as tastemakers in food, football, gaming and music, with a global following of 84.5 million dedicated YouTube subscribers and a combined Instagram following of 36.4 million.
When it comes to the menu, Sides leave it up to to create your very own dishes. Start by picking your ‘protein’ (chicken or plant based) of choice in either a delicious ‘sando’, slider, salad or to be ‘loaded up’ with the choice of seven different flavours (chipotle, classic buffalo, BBQ, Korean BBQ, Teriyaki, Garlic Mayo, Louisiana). Sides also has epic side dishes including waffle fries, mac n cheese bites, side slaw, onion rings and cheese poppers.
Harry Lewis aka WroeToShaw, The Sidemen, said: “Opening our first Sides restaurant at BOXPARK Wembley is a huge moment for us! We are on a mission to bring our food to all our fans across the world and are delighted to be partnering with the team at Virtual Hero as we work to develop the brand.”
Barney Dufton, Marketing Manager at BOXPARK said: ““We are excited to welcome Sides to the community at our Wembley venue and know they will cook up a storm amongst fans and fried chicken lovers alike. As we evolve into a national brand with our expansion outside of London, Sides is a fantastic addition to our street food offering and appeals to a UK-wide audience with their impressive fanbase. We often partner with content creators and influencers to create great entertainment that will drive footfall to our venues, and no doubt Sides will generate a lot of noise for us.”
Sides is part of Virtual Hero, a subsidiary of Hero Brands, the company behind the exploding fast casual chain German Doner Kebab, Choppaluna, Island Poké, and XiX vodka, a further Sidemen brand. Working in partnership with the creator collective to develop the brand, Sides is the latest cloud kitchen-based food mega brand to launch in multiple locations simultaneously, via REEF’s community hubs.
Virtual Hero, CEO Robin Mehta said: “At Virtual Hero we are responding to emerging consumer trends in this fast-growing market and building the virtual brands of the future.
“We’re excited to work alongside The Sidemen and look forward to giving BOXPARK customers a unique and delicious food experience.”
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