Whitbread has announced that all remaining Beefeater pub restaurants will close in September, alongside its Brewer's Fayre restaurants, bringing more than 50 years of mixed grills, onion rings and profiteroles to an end.
The decision was revealed in April, when Whitbread announced plans to cut around 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a new five-year strategy to deliver £250 million in cost savings.
From Mr Men Meals to Blue Nun
The first Beefeater in the UK opened in London in 1974. It marketed itself as a slightly more upmarket sister to Brewers Fayre and a rival to Berni Inn steakhouses, which began opening in the mid-1950s. In its early years, diners could order 1970s pub classics such as prawn cocktail, steak Diane or gammon and chips, with Black Forest gateau or a Horn of Plenty ice cream for dessert, while drinkers could choose a bottle of Blue Nun or Liebfraumilch and children could order from the Mr Men menu.
By the mid-1990s, there were around 270 Beefeater pub restaurants in the UK, and more than 10 in Greater Manchester alone. In the 1990s, the historic Heald Green Hotel in Stockport was rebranded as a Beefeater, with a Premier Inn built in the pub's car park.
Reviews down the years
Manchester Evening News journalist Ray King reviewed the Heald Green Beefeater in June 1993. He described the vast restaurant as modelled on a classic transport theme, with bench seats resembling an "old railway carriage" and a luggage rack above.
He wrote: "Interesting to see satays, Cajun spices and Tex-Mex starters vying with the prawn cocktails and country pate. Mrs K chose chicken Farrago, composed of a chilli-marinated breast and a kebab with maple syrup. Masala now sits alongside minted lamb and salmon and south seas kebab with steak."
A 1998 review by journalist Tania Branigan found the restaurant lacked atmosphere because it overlooked a car park, but was generally positive about the food. She wrote: "The point about Beefeaters is that they're a known quantity, the food is bound to be decent, if nothing unusual. And you have to give them full marks for trying to branch out a bit and make these roadside restaurants more interesting."
A Greater Manchester staple
In the mid-1990s, Whitbread acquired the Berni Inn chain and later converted its outlets into Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants. In 2006, Whitbread sold the majority of its standalone Beefeater restaurants to Mitchells & Butlers, which turned them into Harvester and Toby Carvery chains.
Core Greater Manchester Beefeaters remained, including the Quay House at Salford Quays, the Heatork in Crumpsall and the Whitegate Inn in Chadderton. These venues remained community staples, hosting generations of families for weekend breakfasts, birthdays and celebrations.
Now the last three Beefeater restaurants in Greater Manchester will close for good in September, after Whitbread announced the closure of its remaining 106 UK Beefeater restaurants.
'Happy days'
Last month, people shared memories of dining at Beefeater on the popular Facebook page Now That's What I Call A Blast From The Past.
One person said: "Steak and chips with onion rings on the side, followed by Black forest gateaux. Happy days."
Another posted: "Burnt steak chips peas and a mushroom! Or chicken in a basket, House wine usually Blue Nun and a choice of prawn cocktail starter or tomato soup! Black Forest cake! So posh and sophisticated."
