The Isle of Wight’s only Beefeater restaurant will serve its last customers in September, after Whitbread confirmed a final closure date for all remaining Beefeater sites across the UK.
Back in April, Island Echo reported that the future of Newport’s Medina Quay Beefeater had been thrown into doubt after parent company Whitbread announced plans to exit the branded restaurant business as part of a major strategic overhaul.
Now, those plans have been finalised, with Whitbread confirming that Medina Quay – along with the remaining 105 Beefeater restaurants nationwide – will close permanently on Thursday 10th September.
The closure brings to an end Beefeater’s presence on the Isle of Wight, with Medina Quay having traded under the brand since late 2017 after previously operating as a Table Table.
Whitbread first announced in April that it intended to become a ‘pure-play’ hotel business focused on Premier Inn, with all remaining Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Bar + Block restaurants earmarked for closure or redevelopment.
The restructuring is expected to affect around 3,800 jobs across the UK and Ireland, although Whitbread has previously said it hopes to redeploy a significant proportion of affected employees elsewhere within the business.
When Island Echo first reported the plans in April, Whitbread said the proposals were still under consultation and it was unable to comment on the future of individual restaurants.
It remains unclear what the long-term future holds for the Medina Quay site.
Whitbread has previously said some former restaurant locations will be converted into Premier Inn facilities, while others will be sold as going concerns, but no announcement has been made regarding the Newport premises specifically.
