Stricken Burger Chain Byron Hopes New Logo Will Turn Its Fortunes Around

First it changed the burgers, then it changed the logo

Byron Burger, credit where it’s due, has tried awfully hard to innovate and evolve since not evolving and not innovating nearly put it out of business entirely. The burger chain closed 19 restaurants after plans for a restaurant chain rescue deal emerged in December 2018, before embarking on its first innovation: a deeply weird “flex” burger made of mushrooms and beef mixed together that has long since been retired. It started 2019 with three key investments: hiring chef Sophie Michell to oversee food; introducing Beyond Meat’s bleeding patty to its burger menu; and literally receiving investment to the tune of £10 million after it admitted closing burger restaurants and mixing mushrooms with meat weren’t going to fix things.

Now, it has a new logo, inspired by sitting around the table: In the company’s words, “all hail the table!” which is not, it is promised, the premise of Ari Aster’s sudden pivot into gritty kitchen sink drama. It promises community, it promises welcome, it feels slightly ironic given the board has probably spent a lot of time around tables looking at apocalyptic balance sheets. It feels even more ironic given it orchestrated a fake employee meeting in support of Home Office immigration raids! It’s the new Byron logo, and new Byron burger restaurants are coming too: look out for an even more sweeping rebrand. Just don’t call it a comeback. Really. Don’t.

Byron Burger [Official Photo]

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• Shake Shack has cut its losses in the U.K. by £1.1 million, down to £6.6 million in the year to December 2018. It’s been aided by a 27 percent increase in turnover. [Propel]
• Good tweet: