Bradley Martin Michael – A Life Built in Hospitality
For more than three decades, Bradley Martin Michael has lived, breathed, and built hospitality across continents, cultures, and generations. His story is one of fire, flavour, family, and fearless ambition.
Bradley’s journey began in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was born to Lebanese parents, Les and Elaine, who believed deeply in hard work, resilience, integrity, and community. Food, fire, and family were always intertwined. From a young age, Bradley was drawn to the energy of restaurants — the rhythm of service, the theatre of cooking, and the way food brings people together. What began as instinct soon became obsession.
He worked his way through the industry from the ground up, learning every role, every pressure point, and every detail that makes a restaurant succeed or fail. He didn’t learn hospitality from books — he learned it in kitchens, on restaurant floors, in back offices, and through late-night problem-solving. This shaped his leadership style: practical, people-first, and relentlessly hands-on.
In the 1988, Bradley founded and franchised Black Steer Steakhouse, growing it to 130 restaurants in just three and a half years. By 1990, the business expanded into a 156-unit multi-brand group including Black Steer, MacRib, Flame Burgers, and Max Frangos Chicken, earned development rights to the Planet Hollywood concept, and successfully listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Then partnered with Costa Tomazos to operate and grow Foodfund International for 10 years.
In 2003, Bradley relocated to Sydney, founding what would become one of Australia’s leading multi-brand hospitality groups. Over the next two decades, he built and scaled brands blending premium quality with soul and accessibility — including The Meat & Wine Co, 6HEAD, Hunter & Barrel, Ribs & Rumps, Ribs & Burgers, and Italian Street Kitchen — growing to more than 50 locations by 2024 across Australia, South Africa, and the Middle East.
Bradley was instrumental in taking iconic Southern African brands onto the global stage. He led the expansion of The Meat Co & Tribes into Dubai and the wider Middle East, introducing premium South African flame-grilled dining to a new international audience. He also brought the much-loved café brand Tashas to Dubai, partnering with Mubarak Bin Fahad, helping establish it as one of the Middle East’s most successful lifestyle dining brands.
Bradley’s signature has always been fire-based cooking, honest and consistent food, strong identity, and culture-driven teams. He is widely recognised for pioneering modern African flame-grilled techniques in mainstream dining — blending South African heritage, global flavours, and commercial discipline into brands that scale without losing soul or passion.
In June 2025, after 14 years of building his Australian hospitality group, Bradley finalised the sale of 17 premium steakhouse venues across three brands to Japan’s Colowide Corporation — marking the end of Chapter Three and the beginning of a far bigger global vision.
Today, Bradley is Founder and Chairman of a new generation of hospitality ventures operating across Australia, the UAE, South Africa, the UK, and the United States. His portfolio includes:
• Five Guys – Australia & New Zealand
• Ribs & Burgers – elevated South African casual dining
• Italian Street Kitchen – traditional Italian
• The Char’d Club (Dubai)
• BOMA | African Fire & Flame
• YUVA – Modern Turkish all-day dining
• STOKD – Charcoal Chicken (South African/Lebanese inspired)
• AMASAKE – Japanese handroll & yakitori (African/Japanese inspired)
• DUSUD1962 – Southern African fire cooking
• High-end international partnerships including Sushi Samba (Australia)
And more to come ..
These brands sit under a central IP holding and operating platform built for global scale, strong governance, and long-term legacy.
Bradley works closely with leading developers and groups across the Middle East, Australia, Europe, and the United States. His focus is now on building global hospitality IP, forming strategic joint ventures, mentoring future leaders, and creating brands that travel across borders without losing authenticity.
Bradley’s success comes from blending personal belief with business culture. His philosophy is centred on people, believing that true success is not only measured in profit, but in the strength of one’s people balance sheet. He believes in respect for people from all backgrounds and has exported this belief system from South Africa to the Middle East to Australia, earning loyalty, commitment, and lifelong partnerships.
Family remains central to everything he does. Married to Melanie since 1984, Bradley is a proud father of three daughters — Cassidy, Justine, and Savannah — and a grandfather to a growing tribe. His businesses are built with legacy in mind: not just profit, but people, culture, and generational impact.
Known as a visionary founder, brand builder, and fire-driven storyteller, Bradley Michael blends heart with scale, authenticity with ambition, and tradition with innovation.
His life’s work is simple in philosophy and powerful in execution:
Lead with people.
Build brands with soul.
Cook with fire.
Create legacies that last.