Leeds takeaway owners feel mocked after their bins became a running joke on the Internet, even getting their own TripAdvisor page.
It all began with an innocent, some would say dull, question on a social media forum.
“What’s the cheapest takeaway in Leeds?” asked someone on the website Reddit, in the Leeds subreddit.
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The top response was “The bins behind Flames”.
This was referring to the bins behind fast-food takeaway Flames, in Woodhouse Lane, situated opposite the University of Leeds buildings.
And unbeknown to the poster, going by username Lit-Rature, an Internet meme (joke) was born.
More people piled into the message board, having their say on Leeds’ cheapest takeaway.
“It's a bit of a hidden gem, not many people know about it. But the bins behind flames are a must try,” raved Reddit user hcrawford92.
“There's a great French placed called Les Poubelles Derrière Les Flammes,” joked GlumFundungo.
More and more posters recommended the bins behind Flames, some simply commented ‘BBF’.
The bins, which are located in Back Blenheim Terrace beside a wall of striking graffiti and opposite streets of terraced houses, are now so famous, they even have their own TripAdvisor page.
The bins currently have a five-star rating and are the 680th best restaurant out of Leeds’ 1,183 listed restaurants, beating almost half the competition.
And on Reddit, for every type of question looking for recommendations on the forum (or subreddit), the response is inevitably ‘the bins behind Flames’.
For questions like, ‘Where’s the best place for a family day out?’ The inevitable response would be 'the bins behind flames'.
Another asked: 'Where should I start the Otley Run?’ (A famous Leeds pub crawl). The reply: “Start at Woodies [Craft Ale House] and end in the bins behind flames."
'It’s really weird'
Baffled Leeds Beckett University student Jake Bray, 20, regularly uses the bins to dump his rubbish as he lives nearby.
He could see the funny side of it but was staggered by how the meme caught on.
Gesturing at the bins, Jake said: “I don’t know, they’re alright. They’re just bins aren’t they? I had no idea.
“The graffiti is a bit weird. I’ll think about it all the time now – I’ll think ‘Why? Why is this a thing?! It’s just funny. It’s really weird.”
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The 20-year-old thought the bins may have been singled out as a response because a lot of residents use them, so they’re quite well known in the area.
Jake has lived in Woodhouse since September and is taking a course in marketing. He’s originally from Garforth.
Asked where the best place for a student night-out was, Jake chuckled: “The bins behind flames.”
'It’s not a funny joke'
The owner of Flames was less impressed by the Internet meme about his bins, however.
Hussein, 21, said Flames is his family business and has been managing the takeaway for two years. He does not find the joke funny.
Hussein said: “It’s normal, just like every day on the Internet. It’s not funny to be honest. It didn’t make me laugh. It’s not a funny joke, it’s just a normal joke.”
He agreed that the bins were most likely singled out because lots of the residents use the bins.
The 21-year-old said: “To be honest, I don’t feel nothing about it. Bins are bins. You’ve got to put rubbish in bins.”
Although, he admitted that finding a journalist asking questions about his bins was amusing.
Staff member Mohammed thought people were mocking the shop.
He said: “I don’t know, maybe it’s student behaviour. Students laughing and joking about it. It’s not really funny. People are just being sarcastic.
“These bins are supposed to be emptied every second day and some idiot people are using it. These are our bins and we pay for these, there are some people, residents around here – they don’t care and they just throw whatever here and there.”
Where do you think the cheapest takeaway in Leeds is? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
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