Which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing down? Full list at risk

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a close up of a Frankie and Benny's restaurant sign
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Here's the latest on which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing in the UK in 2023.

March 2023 brings with it more news of closures on the horizon, with hospitality company The Restaurant Group announcing plans to shut down a number of Frankie and Benny's restaurants across the UK. It's certainly sad news for fans of the American-Italian dining chain, with many holding fond memories of birthday parties and post-Cinema meals at one of the pizza and pasta joints.

It's not the only drink and dining restaurant that will be shutting doors this year with Italian chain Prezzo announcing closures, Wetherspoon pub closures expected too and rumours of Wagamama restaurants shutting down. But for now, we share which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are at risk of closing down and the reasons behind the decision.

Which Frankie and Benny's restaurants are closing? Full list

  1. Ashford
  2. Ashton under Lyne
  3. Basildon
  4. Blackpool
  5. The Fort Shopping Centre, Birmingham
  6. Broadway Plaza, Birmingham
  7. Great Park, The Parkway, Birmingham
  8. Aspects Leisure Park, Bristol
  9. Cabot Circus, Bristol
  10. Cribbs Causeway, Bristol
  11. Broadstairs
  12. Bury
  13. Castleford
  14. Chesterfield
  15. Colchester
  16. Croydon
  17. Denton
  18. Derby
  19. Doncaster
  20. Dudley
  21. Eastleigh
  22. Ellesmere Port
  23. Exeter
  24. Feltham
  25. Gateshead
  26. Gillingham
  27. Great Yarmouth
  28. Ipswich
  29. Centre 27, Leeds
  30. White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds
  31. Highcross Shopping Centre, Leicester
  32. Meridian Leisure Park, Leicester
  33. Lincoln
  34. Liverpool
  35. Burleigh House on The Strand, London
  36. Greenwich Bugsby Way, London
  37. The O2 Arena, London
  38. Wembley Designer Outlet, London
  39. Manchester
  40. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
  41. Northampton
  42. Norwich
  43. Lenton Showcase Cinema, Nottingham
  44. Giltbrook Retail Park, Nottingham
  45. Oxford
  46. Boongate Retail Park, Peterborough
  47. Cygnet Park, Peterborough
  48. Plymouth
  49. Portsmouth
  50. Rochester
  51. Romford
  52. Rotherham
  53. Meadowhall, Sheffield
  54. Valley Centertainment, Sheffield
  55. Spalding
  56. Stevenage
  57. Stoke-on-Trent
  58. Street
  59. Swindon
  60. Tamworth
  61. Taplow
  62. Trentham
  63. Trowbridge
  64. Tunbridge Wells
  65. Watford
  66. Whiteley
  67. Victoria Square Shopping Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland
  68. Boucher Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland
  69. Dundee, Scotland
  70. Dunfermline, Scotland
  71. Falkirk, Scotland
  72. Glasgow, Scotland
  73. Inverness, Scotland
  74. Livingston, Scotland
  75. Renfrew, Scotland
  76. Queens Link Leisure Park, Aberdeen Beach, Scotland
  77. Union Square, Aberdeen, Scotland
  78. Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
  79. Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh, Scotland
  80. Bridgend, Wales
  81. Cardiff, Wales
  82. Carmarthen, Wales
  83. Chester, Wales
  84. Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
  85. Nantgarw, Wales

The Italian dining chain is owned by The Restaurant Group, which also owns popular hospitality brands Wagamama and Chiquito. After announcing a pre-tax loss this week, the company confirmed that 35 of it's restaurants will be set to close. 

The Restaurant Group have confirmed that no Wagamama restaurants will close, instead brands affected by the closures include Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito.

There are 85 Frankie and Benny's restaurants currently across the UK. The hospitality company have not confirmed which restaurants will close and when, but it has shared plans to close sites that are currently making a loss.

The Restaurant Group, which altogether owns about 410 restaurants, said it would reduce its estate by 30% by next year. This is set to affect some of the 18,000 people in the UK employed by the business.

Why are Frankie and Benny's restaurants closing?

The Restaurant Group has blamed rising running costs and customers cutting back spending during the current cost of living crisis as reasons for closing some Frankie and Benny's restaurants.

According to the BBC, investors have been putting the pressure on company management to make changes after the company's share value fell by two-thirds last year.

In March 2023, the company recorded a pre-tax loss for 2022 of £86.8 million. This loss was greater than the £35.2 million pre-tax loss reported in 2021. Despite this, sales increased overall to £883 million in 2022.

Ken Hanna, the group's chairman, said that last year was particularly "challenging" for the dining sector overall, as businesses had to meet rising costs after recouping from losses as a result of closures during the pandemic.

He added that a lack of staff, demand for higher wages and the price of ingredients going up had also been "tough" and that their restaurants had been "impacted to some degree by the cost-of-living pressures on the UK consumer".

It's not the first time the UK has seen Frankie and Benny's restaurants shut down. In 2021, The Restaurant Group announced plans to close 250 sites which affected Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and their Food & Fuel brands.

Frankie and Benny's restaurants that closed following the 2021 announcement included their Bromborough, Derby and Weston-Super-Mare locations. Meanwhile sites in Wandsworth and Colliers Wood similarly shut in 2020.

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Emily Stedman
Emily Stedman
Features Editor

Emily Stedman is the former Features Editor for GoodTo covering all things TV, entertainment, royal, lifestyle, health and wellbeing. Boasting an encyclopaedic knowledge on all things TV, celebrity and royals, career highlights include working at HELLO! Magazine and as a royal researcher to Diana biographer Andrew Morton on his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. In her spare time, Emily can be found eating her way around London, swimming at her local Lido or curled up on the sofa binging the next best Netflix show.