A Devon restaurant has reopened under new ownership after being saved from permanent closure.
Whitbread closed 261 venues across the UK last month after retiring several of its hospitality brands.
The closures affected five Whitbread brands:
- Brewers Fayre (89 locations)
- Beefeater (106)
- Bar + Block (20)
- Table Table (32)
- Cookhouse + Pub (14)
110 former Whitbread restaurants saved from closure
However, 110 sites have been acquired by Queensway Inns and Common Table Group and are set to reopen with new looks.
Queensway Inns took on 53 former Whitbread venues, with plans to relaunch them as "value pubs".
More than 900 team members could also transfer into new roles as part of the reopenings, the group said.
Common Table Group, a newly established hospitality firm, acquired a further 57 sites, including one Premier Inn hotel.
It said all of the sites would reopen "as soon as possible", with the first due to open in mid-November.
Devon Brewers Fayre site reopens under new name
A former Brewers Fayre site on Clovelly Road in Bideford is one of the venues previously owned by Whitbread to reopen.
Queensway Inns has reopened it as The Riverbank Inn.
Early reviews for the restaurant have been mostly positive, as on Google Reviews one person shared: "A former Beefeater now taken over by Queensway Inns.
"WOW excellent food, excellent service and incredibly good value."
Another said: "Lovely meal in there tonight.
"Staff are excellent and food was faultless.
"Family meal £38 you can’t beat it for value!"
Why did Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites close?
The closure of Whitbread’s sites last month formed part of the company’s wider five-year growth strategy, which it said is needed to deliver £250 million in cost savings.
Whitbread plans to convert some former restaurant sites into additional Premier Inn rooms, while it expects to raise around £1.5 billion through the sale of freehold properties to fund further expansion.
The closures included well-known restaurant brands Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, with Beefeater having been established 52 years ago in 1974.
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Whitbread said it aimed to redeploy as many affected employees as possible, but around 3,800 jobs were lost as a result of the closures.
A company spokesperson said: "We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected."
Whitbread currently has around 86,600 hotel rooms and plans to increase this to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.
Are you happy to see The Riverbank Inn saved? Let us know in the comments.
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