A huge number of American-Italian style Frankie & Benny's restaurants are set to close after lockdown.
Owners 'The Restaurant Group' have told staff across their Frankie & Benny's sites that they are "no longer viable to trade and will remain closed permanently".
The company has had plans revealed to close an estimated 100-120 restaurants across the group after an email was uncovered by the BBC. Currently the organisation has over 20,000 staff on furlough whose jobs now may be at risk.
The email adds: "The Covid-19 crisis has significantly impacted our ability to trade profitably, so we've taken the tough decision to close these restaurants now."
The parent company of F&Bs also own Mexican chain Chiquito, which have also announced they would not be reopening after lockdown. The manager of the Fort Kinnaird branch of Chiquito responded to the closures on Twitter, saying:
"Well, as s****y fortnights go, this is up there. Just been told my restaurant is not going to re-open. F*****g hell"
In March, the group announced that 60 of their Chiquitos restaurants would not reopen, with only 20 remaining. However judging by the online reaction seems that news of which stores would survive lockdown has only been released today (June 3).
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At the time, a spokesperson for the group said:
"Covid-19 has had an immediate and significant impact on trading across the Group.
"We have conducted a review of the performance of our business divisions, with a particular focus on the expected future cash generation profile of each of our business units."
Talking of the decision to appoint administrators, they added: "The decisions have been incredibly difficult and we recognise the significant impact on all of our colleagues that are affected. We thank them for their hard work and commitment during these very testing times."
The company, which also owns Wagamama and Garfunkel's, is one of the largest restaurant operators in Britain.
