'Most iconic British restaurant chain' has been quietly disappearing before your eyes
A pair of British institutions have slowly but surely been shutting up shop, and now plans are in place to entirely axe the brands altogether, devastatingly cutting more than 3,800 jobs.
The hospitality industry has lost some serious gems this year, with Patty&Bun shuttering almost all of its brick-and-mortar sites; BrewDog went under before some of its bars were salvaged, and Leon entered administration just months after the original owners reacquired it.
Other recent casualties include Franco Manca closing down a handful of eateries and the ‘nice pub tax’, which may impact rural pubs and restaurants in beauty spots.
More sad news: Whitbread PLC is planning on shutting down a chain that Redditors have previously described as the ‘most iconic’ in the UK.
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When asked to describe their ride-or-die, one said: “Got to be the Beefeater?” with many others echoing similar sentiments.
Sadly, Beefeater, which originally opened in Enfield, London, in 1974, is set to be no more as Whitbread plans to shut its remaining sites down amid rising costs.
Brewers Fayre, also owned by Whitbread, is on the chopping block, according to reports.
Having already converted some underperforming Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites into Premier Inn hotel rooms, the leading hospitality business plans to do the same for the remaining 197 sites, confirmed chief executive Dominic Paul
“We plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms,” he said in a statement.
“Our continued efforts to drive our commercial plan and efficiencies will extend our market-leading position and allow us to take share from our competitors, many of which are struggling to grow.”
As a result, Whitbread will sell and lease back £1.5bn of its freehold properties.
Once sold, the money made from discarding its entire branded restaurant portfolio will be ‘recycled’ to ‘fund future growth’ within the business, The Guardian wrote.
It’s understood that as a result of the shutdowns, around 3,800 workers will lose their jobs.
The Unite union said it was seeking consultations with Whitbread over the proposed redundancies.
“It is disgraceful that Whitbread employees heard about the job cuts through the media. The company did not even have the decency to let its staff know first,” said the Unite national officer Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe.
“Unite will be demanding full consultations with Whitbread on these plans and it will be providing full support to our members impacted by the proposed job cuts.”
Whitbread said the consultations with the 12 percent of its affected employees would begin immediately.
FOODbible has contacted representatives of Whitbread for further comment.
One business which has already announced plans to take over an abandoned Beefeater site is J D Wetherspoons.
The pub brand confirmed to Nub News that it would be returning to Crewe for the first time since 2018, taking over the former Farmhouse Beefeater site on Coppenhall Lane.
A Wetherspoons spokesperson told the outlet: "We can confirm that The Farmhouse (Crewe) has been sold to Wetherspoon.
"All staff will be offered roles at the new Wetherspoon pub. The pub will close for redevelopment."
Earlier this year, Wetherspoon opened its first-ever pub in mainland Spain, taking over a prime spot in Alicante airport.
The establishment commands a 1,000sq ft space, features a stunning outdoor terrace, and sells reginal-inspired dishes, such as omelettes and garlic prawns.
Greggs has also followed in Wetherspoons’ footsteps by setting up shop in Tenerife’s South Airport in Spain’s Canary Islands.
The new Greggs has a number of other Spanish-exclusive items, including a Blueberry Muffin and Spanish Omelette Breakfast Roll, with the chain saying: "It’s the Greggs you know and love, just with a sun-soaked twist.”
Speaking about the ambitious expansion, Roisin Currie, Greggs chief executive, said: “Tenerife South Airport is a hub for millions of UK and international passengers each year, making it the ideal location to test spreading our wings in an overseas setting.
"It's an exciting milestone for Greggs as we bring a slice of home to the Canaries, and we're confident our great-value offering will resonate just as well under the Spanish sun as it does on the UK high street.”
Topics: Restaurants and bars, UK Food, News
Ella Scott