Dirty Bones partners with Hero Brands to drive UK expansion

Dirty Bones has partnered with Hero Brands to drive its UK expansion, with plans to open further restaurants at the end of the year.

The New York-inspired comfort food and cocktail concept currently has one restaurant in Oxford and a further four across London in Kensington, Shoreditch, Soho and Carnaby.

The partnership marks Hero Brands’ first move into the casual dining sphere. It currently backs quick-service concepts including Island Poké, Choppaluna, German Doner Kebab, as well as food technology operator Virtual Hero and XIX Vodka.

Hero Brands will be joining the board of Dirty Bones, working closely with the restaurant group's founders and early investors Hard Yards Global.

Dirty Bones is preparing to grow in 2023 through owner-operated sites, franchisees and expanding its delivery services.

Cokey Sulkin, co-founder and chief executive of Dirty Bones, said: “We are really excited to have formed a partnership between Dirty Bones and Hero Brands.

“Hero Brands’ experience in the franchising space is second to none and we are excited to share a mutual passion for food, music and fashion.

“This partnership allows us to put a joint focus on creating authentic, good fun dining experiences and we look forward to building a truly global brand, something that we have worked hard to curate over the last few years.”

Athif Sarwar, chairman of Hero Brands, said: “Hero Brands is dedicated to building brands of the future. People want to have a great and affordable dining experience and be entertained too – our brands respond to this through our ethos of connecting music, food and fashion and we look forward to co-developing this proposition further with the incredible team at Dirty Bones.”

In December 2021, Hero Brands announced that Choppaluna has plans to open 10 new restaurants in 2022.