If you’re a motorcyclist and you don’t know what The Bike Shed is, then you’ve probably been living under a rock. What started in London back in 2015 didn’t just become another bike cafe. It completely changed how modern motorcycle culture looks and feels. Builders, riders, artists, and curious outsiders all ended up in the same space, hanging out over food, drinks, events, and even haircuts. The Bike Shed made motorcycles feel inclusive, creative, and cool without trying too hard.
Now Bike Shed has confirmed its next big move, announcing a huge new location in Dubai with more cities already in the works. And the most interesting part of this story isn’t the square footage or the destination. It’s how the brand is choosing to grow.
What really stands out is that The Bike Shed isn’t chasing a traditional global expansion play. There’s no corporate machine rolling out identical locations around the world. Instead, growth is being driven by the people who already love it. Real riders who’ve spent time inside a Bike Shed and want to recreate that same energy where they live.
That’s exactly how Dubai came into the picture. After The Bike Shed opened its Los Angeles location in 2022, interest from around the world picked up fast. Co-owner Anthony “Dutch” van Someren says a group of Dubai-based riders who already knew the brand reached out about opening a local venue and doing it properly.
The Dubai Bike Shed is set to be massive, with roughly 40,000 square feet on offer. It’ll be bigger than the Los Angeles site and, according to Dutch, fully dialed in to Dubai’s all-in approach. This won’t be a smaller satellite space. It’s a full-scale Bike Shed that’ll be judged against London and LA from day one.
The brand is also refreshingly honest about why it’s expanding this way. The Bike Shed doesn’t have the resources to self-fund locations all over the world, and even if it did, it wouldn’t want to rush things. These spaces need to be big, polished, and true to the culture. Anything smaller would fall short of expectations.
Instead, The Bike Shed has built a franchise-style model based on trust. The team is currently in talks with five or six potential operators in different cities. These aren’t random investors. They’re passionate motorcyclists with real passion, proper backing, and either operating experience or the right partners to make it work. Some are even former London members who moved away and want to bring The Bike Shed with them.
That same thinking explains why Dubai took close to a year to finalize. The team spent serious time getting to know the operators and making sure they’d protect the spirit of the brand rather than just copying the look. That careful approach is now the template for future locations.
Despite the popularity of the cafe, bar, and restaurant side of things, Dutch is quick to point out that he’s not a restaurateur. Food helps bring people through the door, but motorcycles are still the heart of the space. That’s why The Bike Shed attracts everyone from hardcore builders to total newcomers, and why familiar faces like Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor still drop by the London venue.
For riders in the US, there's probably much more coming soon for you, too. Los Angeles may not be The Bike Shed’s only American outpost for long. Cities like Austin have already come up in conversations, and if the right people step forward, more US locations could absolutely happen.
Dubai is just the first domino to fall. If The Bike Shed’s community-driven expansion works the way it’s meant to, its influence could soon stretch across multiple continents, all tracing their roots back to a warehouse in East London.
Sources: Bike Shed Moto Co., London Daily
