Spanian's Kebabs, a restaurant chain owned by YouTuber Anthony Lees, opened on King Street in Newtown, Sydney, in January but now faces issues with low customer traffic despite neighboring restaurants remaining popular. The store was reportedly empty during peak times like Friday nights and busy lunch hours. Customer reviews have been critical, describing the food as bland and disappointing, raising concerns about the viability of the franchise model that requires franchisees to pay between $250,000 and $350,000 for rights to operate under the Spanian's Kebabs name.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Just eight months after opening, Spanian's Kebabs' bricks-and-mortar restaurant on Newtown's notoriously unforgiving King Street appears to be under pressure, despite neighbouring eateries continuing to attract customers.
asserted
eateries → open → customers
On Friday night, the outlet was observed sitting empty, with no customers inside.
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outlet → observe → customers
YouTuber Spanian, whose real name is Anthony Lees, opened the franchise restaurant in January after building a massive online following, taking a gamble on one of Sydney's toughest hospitality strips.
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name → open → strips
The opening initially appeared to be a success, with crowds packing the store on its first day.
But the early hype appears to have faded, with the venue reportedly struggling for foot traffic during busy lunch periods and even the Friday night rush, while nearby restaurants continue to draw diners.
uncertain
restaurants → appear → diners
The address itself has a troubled history.
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address → have → history
Fast-food chain Mr Potato previously occupied the premises before its dramatic collapse last year, while the shop had sat vacant for three years before that, earning a reputation among some operators as a difficult location to make work.
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shop → occupy → work
As questions grow over Spanian's Newtown venture, some customer reviews have also been brutal.
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reviews → grow → venture
One reviewer wrote: 'First time trying Spanian's kebab and disappointed!
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reviewer → write → kebab
Also, no one was even there on a Saturday night except for me ordering.
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me → order → night
Newtown was packed and not one single person was inside the shop!'
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person → pack → shop
On Friday night, pictures showed Spanian's Kebabs' Newtown store sitting empty, with no customers inside
The opening initially appeared to be a success, with crowds packing the store on its first day
Another added: 'Flew in from New Zealand and have been wanting to try his kebabs for some time now.
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Another → show → time
The chips weren't even seasoned; they tasted like fries I bought from the supermarket and just air-fried myself… all in all, a bad experience and bad food.'
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I → season → supermarket
A third who claimed to work across the road from the store wrote: 'I really don't know how you're not going broke from this shop, as it's pretty much empty all the time.'
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it → claim → shop
However, any financial pain at individual outlets may not fall directly on Spanian.
uncertain
pain → fall → Spanian
The stores operate under a franchise model, with franchisees reportedly paying between $250,000 and $350,000 plus GST for the right to trade under the Spanian's Kebabs name.
uncertain
franchisees → operate → name
They are then responsible for expenses including rent and ongoing staffing costs.
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They → include → rent
There are six Spanian's Kebabs franchises, meaning franchise fees alone could potentially have generated more than $1.5 million for the Spanian empire.
uncertain
fees → be → empire
The business began in Sydney's Inner West as a food truck operation in Haberfield before rapidly expanding into a franchise network across NSW and interstate.
Its website currently lists Gosford, Kogarah, Newtown and Macarthur Square as operating in NSW, while several food truck locations previously associated with the business are no longer listed.
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locations → begin → business
Spanian has denied claims that his kebab empire is in trouble
Rejecting 'conspiracy theories' and suggestions that franchisees had been 'scammed' or that locations had shut due to a lack of customers, Spanian insisted the trucks were simply being relocated.
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trucks → deny → customers
Lees said the Parramatta food truck's lease had expired, prompting the operators to temporarily relocate to Strathfield before ultimately moving to Brisbane.
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lease → say → Brisbane
'They're trucks, they move.
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they → move → ?
That's why they're trucks,' he said.
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he → say → ?
They moved there.
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They → move → ?
They move.
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They → move → ?
The truck that was in Wollongong is now getting built in Wollongong CBD on the main street.
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that → build → street
They've been building it for two months.
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They → build → months
The Penrith location, the land they were on, the cafe next to it, they went bankrupt, so they lost their lease.
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they → go → lease
So they're finding a better location.
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they → find → location
Hopefully, it's going to be in the Penrith Westfield next to the Oporto's or Nando's.
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it → go → Oporto
Lees said the Smeaton Grange food truck was now operating at Macarthur Square Shopping Centre.
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truck → say → Centre
He also said Uber Eats orders were up and that three more stores were planned, including locations in Brisbane and Melbourne.
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stores → say → Brisbane
Aussies have unleashed about the quality of Spanian Kebabs online
Retail expert Barry Urquhart said Spanian's celebrity status and huge social media following were no guarantee of long-term success, arguing consumers were increasingly less reliant on influencer endorsements when deciding where to spend their money.
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consumers → unleash → money
'Recommendations, referrals and endorsements just simply aren't cutting the mustard at the moment,' he told the Daily Mail.
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he → cut → Mail
The presence and influence of influencers has fallen away appreciably.'
Mr Urquhart said Spanian's popularity may have initially attracted curious customers, but celebrity alone was rarely enough to sustain a hospitality business.
uncertain
celebrity → fall → business
'There is always a fine line between arrogance and ignorance, and a lot of arrogant people are unknowingly ignorant of the realities of the market forces,' he said.
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he → be → forces
It's got very little probability of success and sustained growth.
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It → get → success
While Spanian's public profile resonated with some Australians as a lovable rogue figure in the mould of Ned Kelly or Crocodile Dundee, Mr Urquhart said the novelty appeared to have faded quickly.
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novelty → resonate → Kelly
'He did have a profile that was kind of part of the Australian irreverence,' he said.
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he → have → irreverence
The opening day of Spanian's Kebabs in Kogarah was well attended but many have said once, never again would they eat his food
Spanian (pictured) was once Sydney's poster boy for the working-class youth subculture known as eshays, recognised for their tracksuits, bum bags, street slang and tough image
'
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Spanian → attend → tracksuits
We'll give him an audience, and it tired very, very quickly.'
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it → give → audience
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
