The axe is set to fall on 11 restaurants across the county after their owner confirmed plans to streamline its wider business.
Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn brand, says it is to close its remaining Beefeater and Brewers Fayre outlets – which frequently neighbour the budget hotel chain – with the loss of 3,800 jobs across the UK and Ireland.
The Beefeater on Eureka Leisure Park, Ashford, is set to close as Whitbread streamlines its business
There are eight Beefeater venues in Kent: Eureka Park in Ashford, Woolpack in Hothfield, The Beacon in Dartford, The Plough in Dover, Malta Inn at Allington Lock, Sir Thomas Wyatt in Maidstone, Manor Farm in Gillingham, and The Bull in Swanley.
In addition, there are three Brewers Fayre restaurants: Duke of York in Dover, Bobbing Apple near Sittingbourne, and Brookers Oast in Paddock Wood.
In their place will be an “integrated food and drink model” at its Premier Inn hotels.
Consultations with affected staff will begin immediately. Efforts to relocate staff into alternative roles within the Whitbread group is expected for the “significant proportion” of those facing an uncertain future.
The hospitality group said it wanted to save money in light of cost pressures coming from business rates and National Insurance contributions.
11 restaurants in Kent are to close; eight Beefeater and three Brewers Fayre sitesWhitbread wants to focus firmly on its successful Premier Inn brand
It comes two years after announcing plans to convert more than 100 of its low-performing restaurants into additional hotel facilities and sell off more than 120 restaurants.
During that round of closures, the Beefeater in Whitstable was closed, as were Brewers Fayre outlets in Margate and West Malling.
In announcing Whitbread’s new five-year strategy, its chief executive Dominic Paul said: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and National Insurance…we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.
“By reallocating some of our capital spend…we plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms.”
Beefeater and Brewers Fayre venues face the axe
Whitbread also owns the Bar + Block restaurant chain.