If you fancy a meal at a Beefeater you've got two days left because they all close after tomorrow, every last one of them, because not enough people fancy a meal at a Beefeater any more.
Beefeater was founded by Whitbread in 1974, their first restaurant being The Halfway House in Enfield, followed in 1981 by the more-family-friendly Brewers Fayre. Prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gateau proliferated. Courage Breweries fought back in 1983 with their Harvester brand, their first restaurant being The George in Morden, as the salad bar became an integral part of a classy night out. In 1995 Beefeater absorbed the remnants of pioneering steakhouse Berni Inn, founded 40 years earlier, as the chain reached a peak of 256 outlets nationwide. In the same year Bass Charrington bought all 78 Harvesters and added them to a growing portfolio including Toby Carvery (debuting in Brentwood) and All Bar One (debuting in Sutton). In 2006 Bass-offshoot Mitchells & Butlers acquired 130 Harvester restaurants, also the 239 Beefeaters and Brewers Fayres that weren't part of a Premier Inn. What's closing this week are the remaining restaurants that are part of a Premier Inn, the Brewers Fayres on Monday and the Beefeaters after lunch tomorrow, as Whitbread sacrifices a 52 year-old brand to save its financial skin.
When I was younger we thought a Beefeater was an excellent venue for a special family meal. We were thus very excited when one opened in Croxley Green at Scotsbridge Mill, hence I celebrated my 25th birthday with soup, steak and profiteroles while the vicar watched on from a neighbouring table. We went back for my 26th where I enjoyed exactly the same meal and cunningly doubled up the whole thing as a Mothers Day treat. Two years later we celebrated my brother's 26th at a Beefeater in Norwich and my 28th a month later at the Priory Marina in Bedford, on both occasions upping my main course to a gluttonous mixed grill. We were back at Priory Marina for my 29th (pate, mixed grill, chocolate fudge dream), but after that we migrated to proper pubs and independent restaurants instead. Our Beefeater heyday was thus 1990-1994, which feels about right, and I think I've only been back once since.
Brewers Fayre in Greater London (closed 7th September)
• Winsor House, Beckton E6
• Chequers Corner, Dagenham RM9
But diners' tastes change, and a suburban roadhouse serving traditionalfavourites no longer cuts the mustard in these spicier times. This week's shutdown comes as the UK's hospitality sector faces tough financial headwinds, what with rising energy prices, higher employment costs and less frequent eating out because of the rising cost of living. With operating costs outpacing revenue Whitbread can no longer afford to maintain so many physical sites so have pulled the plug on the lot, instantly dooming the Chargrilled 5oz Gammon Steak, Smothered Chicken Melt and Caramel Apple Betty to history.
The unfussy end of the market still has Wetherspoons, Sizzling Pubs, Ember Inns and Hungry Horse, even Harvesters, should you fancy an unchallenging meal not far from home with onion rings. And rest assured that the very first Beefeater in Enfield will remain open, even after this week's restaurant Armageddon, because following all the machinations in paragraph two it's somehow ended up as a Toby Carvery.
