Dubai beckons: The famous Bike Shed is on the move
Bike Shed confirms its first franchised venue as talks continue amid a worldwide expansion.
The Bike Shed is preparing for its most ambitious phase yet, confirming that a new 40,000 sq ft venue will open in Dubai next year. It marks the third permanent site for the community-led brand, which currently has venues in London and Los Angeles, and signals the beginning of a wider international rollout.
Founded in Shoreditch in 2015, the original Bike Shed grew from a curated motorcycle hang-out into a fully fledged lifestyle space. Seven years later, a much larger venue in LA pushed the concept overseas and, crucially, helped attract interest from global partners. That attention is now being converted into bricks and mortar in other parts of the world.
Speaking on the Full Chat podcast, co-owner Anthony ‘Dutch’ van Someren confirmed that Dubai is the first of several prospective locations, and that the company is already “having five or six conversations” with operators who want to establish Bike Shed venues where they live.
According to van Someren, this new phase of expansion is built on franchising rather than corporate roll-outs. The model is designed to hand the brand to local enthusiasts with the financial backing and operational experience to deliver a Bike Shed that matches the original’s scale and atmosphere. “In a way, what we’re doing is giving the brand to the community,” he said, describing partners who already frequent the venues and want to replicate them in their own cities.
The move reflects the economics of large-format hospitality: a Bike Shed cannot be a small drop-in space, and the current team does not intend to fund multiple sites alone. Instead, the brand will grow through international operators who can meet expectations of size, scope and investment. Dubai is the first live example, and it will be bigger than the already-expansive LA site.
With conversations reportedly stretching from Australia to Texas, the Bike Shed’s identity is now being positioned for scale well beyond Shoreditch. What started as a single space under railway arches is now becoming a global franchise aimed at reproducing the same atmosphere in new markets, at full size, and on a grander stage.
Find out more about the Bike Shed on the official website.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!