An east London restaurateur has been blasted for his ‘beyond ridiculous’ decision to surrender to the ‘woke mob’ and close his kebab shop because he is English.

Dirty Donny’s, a DJ-owned ‘neighbourhood’ kebab shop in hipster Hackney’s London Fields, shut its doors after the owner faced accusations of ‘cultural appropriation’ for serving kebabs as a ‘white guy’.

Simon Paul Bays, 35, who charged £17 for a kebab, said he was a ‘total idiot’ and ‘didn’t understand the cultural dynamics’ of running the shop in Hackney, home to one of the country’s largest Turkish communities.

The DJ, who has the stage name Alien Communications, was criticised for his ‘tone deaf’ merchandise which featured a man with a hairy chest and a bushy moustache and haircut.

He said he faced major backlash for ‘cultural appropriation and gentrification’ – most notably a TikTok video which lightly teased him for his inauthentic doners and how it is ‘run by DJs so there will be really interesting music and cool people’.

Following the ‘east London witch hunt’, he issued a grovelling apology and rebranded as a deli – albeit without noting they also originate from outside the UK.

In an Instagram post in August, he said: ‘A lot of criticism has been levelled at Donny’s, especially online, around cultural appropriation and gentrification.

‘I’ve listened, taken it seriously and done a lot of reflecting on where I went wrong and how I can make meaningful changes going forward.

Simon Paul Bays, 35, rebranded his kebab shop to a deli after accusations he was culturally appropriating doners

The DJ was criticised for his ‘tone deaf’ merchandise which featured a man with a hairy chest and a bushy moustache and haircut

‘The backlash has really made me think. I’ve asked myself if I’m a total idiot or a bad person – hopefully it’s just the former, as I know I’ve never had bad intentions or meant to upset anyone, especially not the communities who inspired this in the first place.

‘But I realise that impact matters more than intent, and I’m absolutely mortified that I’ve caused such offence.

‘It’s been difficult to process and come to terms with how naive and ignorant I was just a few weeks ago.

‘A lot of people have reached out directly, offering constructive feedback and highlighting issues in our branding, and I want to say thank you.

‘I appreciate the honesty and effort from those genuinely looking to bring about positive change, and I’m deeply sorry for any harm caused.

‘Donny’s was born out of a love for food and music. The character we created – open shirt, perm, moustache – was meant as a playful nod to 70s nightlife.’

But the rebranding has been labelled ‘absolutely ridiculous’ by the owner of one local Turkish-run business.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘The fact he has had to change it is absolutely ridiculous. For what reason do you need to be a certain ethnicity to serve a certain food?

He said he faced major backlash for ‘cultural appropriation and gentrification’ – most notably a TikTok video which lightly teased him for his inauthentic doners

The doner restaurant previously charged £17 for a kebab before it rebranded to a neighbourhood deli

‘There are so many owners of fish and chips shops or cafes in Hackney serving full English breakfasts who are Turkish, which is great.

‘It definitely wasn’t people of Turkish origin who complained – it was probably white middle class yuppies.

‘Ask any Turkish person and they think it’s a cool concept and business model. But ask the woke east London brigade and they think it’s cultural appropriation. But it’s not.

‘Why can’t someone who is not Turkish own a kebab shop? What world have we come to?

One person added: ‘I am Turkish and I am not offended. I would love to try their kebab. Let him cook.’

Another questioned Mr Bays’ apology.

‘I don’t know about ‘harm caused’. What harm has been caused beyond some people have been ripped off for a hipster kebab?’

‘It’s beyond ridiculous. Next up it will be the coffee shop owner cancelled for serving espresso with no Italian heritage,’ another person added.

Locals claim there are constant queues outside Donny’s Deli and the business is thriving despite charging up to £25 for a sandwich.

‘I think rebranding to a deli is the wokest thing he could do,’ the business owner said.

‘It’s a clever move which is showing because it’s always really busy and popular. It’s a great way of making money off the woke mafia and gentrifiers.

‘It is ridiculous people were offended but it shows he’s done the right thing. The whole thing is so stupid.’