Aussie YouTuber Spanian has turned his social media following into Newtown’s latest kebab shop, expanding his trendy food truck business into its first brick and mortar shop.
The opening of Spanian’s Kebabs Newtown raised eyebrows for a number of reasons this week, from the massive crowd which gathered for its grand opening, to the suspicious removal of almost all of its Google Reviews.
Spanian, real name Anthony Lees, has also taken an alleged business risk with the location of his store, which sits on what has been labelled by restaurateurs as a ‘cursed corner’ on Newtown’s King St.
The opening of Spanian’s Kebabs in Newtown drew a big crowd, who were keen to grab a photo with the influencer. Pictures: Instagram
The lot was vacant for three years before hosting a Mr Potato franchise that closed its doors in June 2025.
Ray White economist Vanessa Rader said it was a tricky spot to maintain for business owners.
“Historically, King St in Newtown has had quite high vacancy compared to other prime suburban strips,” she said.
“The rents don’t seem unreasonable, but the cost of labour and everything else has gone up so considerably that operators struggle to make it work.”
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The grand opening of the store has not gone off without a hitch, with drama surrounding its reviews. Picture: Instagram
However, Ms Rader noted that Newtown could be a good location for the brand.
“Food and beverage can do well there because of the proximity to the hospital and the university,” she said.
“Newtown has always had night activation with the pubs; despite some issues over time, it still has a decent night‑time economy.”
According to Mr Rader, a number of prospective restaurant owners are starting out with the low‑cost option of food trucks, as Lees did, to test the viability of expanding into a brick‑and‑mortar location.
“Another thing of interest is that compared to 10 or 20 years ago, is that Uber Eats component,” Ms Rader added.
“Anyone can have a delivery option now.
“That’s made it more viable for many food and beverage operators.”
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Uber Eats is now a major financial component of launching a restaurant like Spanian’s Kebabs. Picture: Uber Eats.
Initial reviews for the Newtown store’s opening were reported by The Daily Mail, with Google Reviews averaging out to 2.8 stars out of five.
“Very disappointing,” one user wrote. “The portion was extremely small with only tiny pieces of meat in an $18 sandwich.”
Another reviewer wrote: “Stale bread. Dry meat. Less than average” while another said it was their “First and last time going there, that’s for sure.”
All but one Google Review of the business has since been removed, with only one 5 star review remaining that simply states “Great food – loved my kebab”.
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Anthony Lees, aka Spanian, has almost 3m followers across social media. Picture: Instagram
A Reddit thread in the r/foodies_sydney forum, which had noticed the removal of negative reviews, garnered 111 comments.
“That is pretty sad,” one commenter said. “There have not been any really good kebab places in that end of Newtown since Istanbul on King closed many years ago.”
Regardless, Ms Rader said the social media appeal of Spanian’s Kebabs will likely keep customers rolling in.
“You can’t underestimate the TikTok value and Instagram photo-worthiness of it all,” she said.
“That’s why it’s actually grown into what it is – it’s purely based on his celebrity.”
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YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime energy drink drew huge sales after its launch in 2023. Picture: Instagram
It is far from the first time a big YouTube name has entered the business world – see MrBeast’s Feastables chocolate or KSI and Logan Paul’s Prime energy drink hitting Australian supermarkets.
A Mr Beast burger shop was opened in Sydney in 2023.
Like Mr Beast, Spanian is not only launched a product, but a business which is actively looking to franchise.
According to Spanian’s Kebabs’ website, the “initial investment” of opening a branded food truck “ranges from $250,000 to $350,000 plus GST”.
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Screen shots from Spanian’s ‘Into the Hood’ visit to Hobart. Picture: YouTube
Lees rose to fame on social media as Sydney’s poster boy for the eshay subculture.
He has previous convictions for armed robbery, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, reckless wounding and operating a criminal group that dealt drugs.
In total, he has served more than 12 years in prison.
After his most recent prison release in 2017, he launched the YouTube series ‘Into the Hood’, in which he documented his travels through some of Australia’s most dangerous neighbourhoods.
Since then, he has developed a fanbase of 2.95m followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok combined.