Dine in, takeaway or delivery: whichever option, Sides serves up tasty treats that bring the British-born home of Nashville chicken to the center of any meal
The British YouTube collective, the Sidemen, launched a new fried chicken concept called Sides in 2021. Sides is the UK’s home of Nashville fried chicken, serving double-coated, freshly fried chicken in six levels of heat, from classic (no spice) to insane (if you dare).
In addition to its core fried chicken offering, Sides is best known for its range of delicious and versatile sauces, including Chipotle, XIX Buffalo, Classic BBQ, Teriyaki, Garlic Mayo, and Louisiana. Beyond chicken dishes like burgers, tenders, and wings, Sides also offers mouthwatering sides such as waffle fries, onion rings, and corn ribs, as well as plant-based sandos.
The brand opened its first physical location at Boxpark Wembley in February 2022, driven by huge demand from its 150 virtual kitchen locations. The restaurant attracted over three-hour queues, with fans from across the UK traveling to be the first in line. Its second site launched in Boxpark Croydon in September 2022.
Since storming the internet in 2013, the Sidemen – made up of seven talented content creators and internet personalities: KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S – have captivated audiences with entertaining, high-quality videos centered on food, football, gaming, and music. The group’s YouTube channel has amassed a staggering 21.7 million loyal subscribers worldwide. With the Sidemen’s reach and influence, the success of Sides was inevitable – and this is just the beginning.
Fan favorite
After the success of Boxpark, Sides expanded to brick-and-mortar locations in malls and high streets, where fans queued for over 72 hours. In fact, the Sidemen
were banned from attending their own restaurant opening in Birmingham’s Merryhill due to the overwhelming crowd. In an interview with The Standard in May 2023, Zerkaa explained that this expansion was a direct response to the growing demand for more Sides restaurants across the nation. Earlier this year, Sides opened its first restaurant in Essex as part of its expansion effort. Based in the Lakeside Shopping Centre, the new location was decided upon in response to the overwhelming demand and popularity Sides has been experiencing in the UK.
In the same interview, Robin Mehta, Chief Executive Officer of Sides, had also said: “As a brand, we are keen to keep evolving, and our new high-street restaurants will do just that, all while furthering our reach in the UK. We are particularly thrilled to expand our brick-and-mortar offering, with a target of 200 sites globally over the next ten years. The Sides high street restaurant is a fresh concept providing a unique opportunity to create new forms of engagement for fans of the Sidemen.”
However, the expansion doesn’t stop at restaurants. Recently, the Sidemen launched a frozen food range exclusively available at Iceland stores. According to Grocery Gazette, Sides collaborated with Iceland to develop an exciting variety of frozen products. This followed the launch of the Sidemen’s meat snacks in 3000 Tesco stores and 1000 One Stop shops in April 2024. The frozen food line marked the Sidemen’s further foray into the grocery sector, which began with the introduction of Best Cereal earlier this year. The two HFSS-compliant flavors, Choco Crunch and Caramel Gold were produced by UK-based Mornflake and achieved sales of over 100,000 boxes within two weeks of release. Additionally, in 2022, Morrisons began carrying the Sidemen’s XIX Vodka in over 300 stores, followed by a nationwide Tesco rollout in October 2023.
In an interview with Grocery Gazette, Sidemen brand manager Jordan Schwarzenberger, discussed plans for expanding the British YouTube collective’s grocery portfolio, hinting at further development in the breakfast category. “There’s a world of breakfast that can be explored, so I would say watch this space. We’d definitely be keen to do more,” he said.
Jordan added: “We want to make this a global brand and enter new verticals, possibly bars and other categories within the breakfast space, continuing the ethos of Best being the best in health, taste, and price.”