A UK steakhouse chain backed by a TV chef is to close imminently as 3,000 jobs are lost.
The owner of Beefeaters has said it is shutting all its 106 restaurants on September 10, including the branch at Broad Street plaza, in Halifax.
Whitbread made the announcement earlier this summer, while revealing that its 89 Brewers Fayre sites would be closing as well, a few days earlier on September 7.
This is part of a wider restructuring of the business that also owns the Premier Inn hotel brand with the process set to result in 3,800 jobs being lost, although Whitbread has said it is trying to retain as many staff as possible.
Beefeater is one of Britain’s best-known pub-restaurant brands, founded by Whitbread in 1974.
Its first site opened at The Halfway House in Enfield, offering a straightforward steakhouse-style menu built around char-grilled meat, prawn cocktail and familiar British favourites. Over subsequent decades, Beefeater became a popular choice for family meals, celebrations and diners staying at nearby Premier Inn hotels.
The chain grew sharply after Whitbread acquired and rebranded Berni Inn restaurants in the mid-1990s.
At its height it had more than 250 outlets, while its branding and menus evolved to include steaks, burgers, fish and chips, grills and children’s options. Beefeater’s name evokes the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London, although it has no connection with Beefeater gin.
Around that time, in 1999, celebrity chef Brian Turner was recruited to work with the brand on a series of 20 three to five-minute programmes on British food.
Beefeater brand marketing controller Deborah Cutler told Marketing Week at the time: “The appointment and forthcoming campaign give a new edge to our strategy.
"The sponsorship will focus on our Britishness and commitment to providing great British food.”
Mr Turner, now 80, appeared as a cook on numerous programmes including BBC 2's 'Ready Steady Cook' from 1994 and BBC 1's 'Saturday Kitchen which he featured on in 2023.
Across the country, some Beefeater and Brewers Fayre eateries have already been switched over to Whitbread’s own in-house Thyme brand.
Others are being sold and closed with the cuts set to impact about 12 per cent of the company's 30,000-strong workforce in the UK and Ireland working in its restaurants.
A statement was issued on the restructuring earlier this year in which it was announced a number of the restaurants would be converted into additional Premier Inn rooms.
Clarity was also provided on Beefeater's loyalty scheme with all vouchers needing to be used by Monday August 31.
With a loyalty card, customers could collect 5 points for every £1 spent and once 500 points have been earned, they would be able to claim either a £5 voucher, a free bottle of wine or 2 free starters or desserts.
A spokesperson for Whitbread said: “We recognise the impact of this proposal on colleagues who work at the affected sites.
"As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible.
"However, we do anticipate that the proposed changes, which are subject to consultation, would result in a reduction of around 3,800 roles of a total UK and Ireland workforce of around 30,000.
"We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected.”
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