RESTAURANT chain Frankie and Benny’s has permanently shut its only branch in the town.

The eaterie has confirmed to the Gazette that it has closed its restaurant in Tollgate West, Stanway, on Saturday.

The Big Table, which owns Frankie and Benny’s as well as other chains including Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, and Café Rouge, released a statement explaining it has tried to offer roles to staff at other restaurants as part of its retail group.

A spokesman said: “We review every site to ensure we always have the right offer in the right location, and after careful consideration, we took the difficult decision to close our restaurant in Colchester on January 27.

Gazette: Slump - The Restaurant Group, which previously owned Franky and Bennie's, announced in 2019 it planned to close scores of branches to save moneySlump - The Restaurant Group, which previously owned Franky and Bennie's, announced in 2019 it planned to close scores of branches to save money (Image: Pexels)

“Wherever possible, our team has been offered roles at other Big Table Group restaurants.

“We’d like to thank all our customers and apologise for any inconvenience this will cause.”

The future of Frankie and Benny’s restaurants had been called into question as far back as 2019 when The Restaurant Group Ltd – the retailer that then owned the chain – posted losses of £87 million.

It is not clear whether Frankie and Benny’s, which markets itself as “the home of real good comfort food”, was included in The Restaurant Group’s plans to slash its number of restaurants in 2019, but the Colchester branch remained open.

There were further closures in 2020 when The Restaurant Group said numerous restaurants, which had been closed due to covid restrictions, would remain closed permanently.

Gazette: Decline - Many people in Colchester did not seem particularly sad to see Franky and Bennie's goDecline - Many people in Colchester did not seem particularly sad to see Franky and Bennie's go (Image: Pexels)

It was then reported last year that The Restaurant Group had sold Frankie and Benny’s to The Big Table for just £1 so it could cut its losses on the chain.

Responding to the news, Gazette readers said they were not surprised by the closure.

Former customer Dionne Bartlett said she thought the qualify of food on offer had deteriorated in recent years.

"Hopefully something better will open," she added.