"Banning the owners is crazy": Sidemen have reportedly been banned from their own restaurant opening in West Midlands

In a recent turn of events, Sidemen have been banned from the opening ceremony of their own restaurant in the West Midlands. The group had planned to open their restaurant chain in ten locations across the UK. As reported in a statement released by Sidemen's team, they were due to surprise fans at the opening on Saturday, November 18.

However, the local authority has ordered them to stand down after as many as 10,000 people were forecast to turn up. This revelation has taken netizens by surprise, with one user stating:

"Banning the owners of the restaurant is crazy."

Netizens were in shock at the revelation. (Image via X)

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"Sad times...": KSI reacts as Sidemen banned from their own restaurant opening in West Midlands

To those uninitiated, Sidemen is a group of popular YouTubers formed back in 2013. It consists of Olajide "KSI, Harry "Wroetoshaw", Simon "Miniminter", Vik "Vikkstar123", Josh "Zerkaa", Ethan "Behzinga" and Tobi "TBJZL". The internet personalities collaborated to produce a variety of content, including challenges, sketches, and video game commentaries.

They are wildly popular online, specifically on YouTube, with a combined subscriber count of 138.7 million. As another one of their many businesses, Sidemen announced in May 2023 that they were planning to expand their food service called "Sides" as a standalone restaurant in ten locations across England and Scotland.

The service was earlier available as delivery-only or present only in food courts. They have since opened numerous locations in London and even Dubai. However, their latest expansion into the West Midlands region of England, their first location to open outside of London, seems to have met with a bizarre turn of events.

A statement released by Sides on X. (Image via eatsides/X)

According to a statement by their team, the group was threatened with legal action by the local council if any of the seven members were to make an appearance at the opening in Merry Hill.

Local authorities expressed concern regarding the excess footfall for the ceremony, with 10,000 fans predicted to show up. The group was asked to clarify their stance on this decision and, hence, made an announcement.

KSI was not happy with the news and posted the following:

"Sad times..."

Statement by the group's manager (Image via Sidemen)

As per a statement made by the manager of the group, Jordan Schwarzenberger, The Sidemen will not be attending the West Midlands this weekend. He further stated that the group members were extremely disappointed with the development. However, after speaking to the local authorities, their utmost focus is public safety.

He further stated that the opening in Merry Hill will still take place in their absence on Saturday from 11 am onwards.

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Fans react to the news

Fans were shocked to see the group get sidelined from the opening ceremony of their own restaurant and shared a plethora of reactions.

Fans blame KSI's popularity. (Image via KSI/X)

While some stated that the action from the authorities was justified, others found the situation to be hilarious:

Fans react to the announcement. (Image via KSI/X)

Some more reactions from fans to the announcement (Image via KSI/X)

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Concept art of the Sides outlet to be opened in Merry Hill (Image via Sidemen)

Sides is forecast to open more than 200 locations over the next ten years as part of a long-term strategy.