Can a Gen Z vegetarian revive Byron's fortunes?
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vegetarian → revive → fortunes
Inside the chain’s £2.5m revival
In 2007, the first Byron opened.
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Byron → open → 2007
It was a time when burgers were mostly the preserve of McDonald’s, Burger King and the odd country pub; when caramelised onions were a new, exciting topping and nobody had argued about whether brioche buns work with beef (they don’t).
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they → argue → beef
Gourmet Burger Kitchen existed, though only as a single restaurant in Battersea.
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Kitchen → exist → Battersea
Byron, founded by old Etonian Tom Byng, put forward a “better burger”, one inspired by America and different to the rest.
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Byron → found → rest
It went well.
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It → go → ?
It expanded quickly — there were 70 sites by 2018.
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It → expand → 2018
Some claimed the quality waned.
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quality → claim → ?
And soon countless other burger brands opened and the public started to go elsewhere.
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public → open → ?
It’s safe to say Byron lost its way and years of scandal, administration, buyouts and uncertainty followed.
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years → ’ → scandal
Akshat Tibrewala, 22, says the brand can make a stunning comeback.
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brand → say → comeback
The entrepreneur is reviving the burger chain with renewed gusto.
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entrepreneur → revive → gusto
The idea, he says, is to make Byron “exciting again”, with a new menu and new-look restaurants.
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Byron → say → menu
Tibrewala bought Byron for £2.5 million — he says he took out a loan — and quickly sought to overhaul the business.
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he → buy → business
The Covent Garden site has closed, leaving six branches, while the interiors have been revamped.
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interiors → close → branches
The new menu includes a signature burger made with dry-aged beef, burger sauce, roasted onions, cheddar, shredded lettuce and pickles; the “Soho” is made with the same patty but with watercress, slow-cooked onions, cheddar, horseradish mayo, gravy and pickled shallots.
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Soho → include → watercress
Other dishes include cheese and leek croquettes, sausage rolls and onion rings.
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dishes → include → croquettes
Burgers will start at about £12.
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Burgers → start → 12
“Everyone forgot about Byron,” Tibrewala tells the Standard.
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Tibrewala → forget → Standard
“But I believe there’s something there.
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I → believe → ?
We’ve totally overhauled the brand and changed everything.
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We → overhaul → everything
We’ve taken it apart and rebuilt it.”
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We → take → it
“We’ve totally overhauled the brand and changed everything”
Akshat Tibrewala
Tibrewala, a vegetarian, says there is space in the market for a “proper, British-inspired menu”.
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Tibrewala → overhaul → menu
He says Byron “lost its way” but adds: “I’m confident we can bring it back.
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we → say → it
We’ve gone back to the beginning — good burgers, fries, and we’ve redesigned the restaurants to feel warmer and more welcoming.
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we → go → restaurants
They’re more modern.”
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They → ’re → ?
He concedes the burgers weren’t up to scratch before.
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burgers → concede → scratch
“People have so much more choice now, we have to improve,” and says Byron will lean into its roots, making the most of ingredients sourced here.
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Byron → have → ingredients
“We’ll use British beef, cheddar,” says Tibrewala, who was three when Byron opened its first restaurant in Kensington.
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Byron → use → Kensington
“It’s quite clear this is a brand that can work.
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that → ’ → ?
We just have to recapture the magic.”
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We → have → magic
George Osborne posted a picture of himself eating a Byron burger while working on the Budget in 2013; three years later the company cooperated with the Home Office on an immigration swoop in which 35 workers were rounded up.
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workers → post → which
“Yes, I’m an immigrant myself,” says Tibrewala.
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Tibrewala → ’m → ?
“But my work is in reimagining Byron and relaunching it.
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work → reimagine → it
We can’t think about the past — just the future.”
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We → think → past
Byron has been, for some years now, forgotten.
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Byron → forget → years
For good reason: its burgers became dry, flabby and boring, and were superseded by new-age brands — Black Bear, Bleecker and co.
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burgers → become → brands
After Byron’s early foray into stardom, the restaurant never progressed.
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restaurant → progress → stardom
And, from what I’ve seen, impressive.
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I → see → what
The Aporia
