February 26, 2020 1.30 pm This story is over 49 months old

Lincoln Frankie & Benny’s future in doubt with 90 restaurants to close

Restaurant Group looking to close down unprofitable branches
Frankie & Benny's, Lincoln.

Frankie & Benny’s on Runcorn Road in Lincoln could be in line for the chop after restaurant owners announced they would close 90 restaurants.

The Restaurant Group, which owns Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito and Wagamama, is looking to cut down on its unprofitable sites.

It will reduce the number of restaurants from 350 to between 260 and 275 by the end of 2021.

The group is planning to close solely Frankie & Benny’s or Chiquito restaurants, with Wagamama still performing well.

The Lincolnite asked the Lincoln restaurant directly whether they will close. We were told that they could not comment.

Instead, they pointed us to the head office and a spokesperson said: “As we continue to adapt to a fiercely competitive casual dining sector, we will selectively be closing between 75 and 90 sites in our leisure portfolio over the next two years.

“A number of these sites will be converted into Wagamama restaurants, and we will be updating on the plans for specific locations as soon as we can.”

There is also another Frankie & Benny’s restaurant in Spalding, which faces an uncertain future, but there are no Chiquito restaurants in Lincolnshire.