Well-known Beefeater restaurant to close in Central Milton Keynes after 46 years of trading
A city centre restaurant that has been part of the community for 46 years is to close its doors for good.
The Barn Beefeater in Secklow Gate was the go-to steakhouse to visit when it opened with aplomb in 1980 and hordes of local people have memories of visiting it over the decades.
But now it is one of almost 200 Brewers Fayre and Beefeater venues listed for closure by Whitbread, the parent company of Premier Inn.
The company is to shut down or convert all its remaining branded restaurants across the UK and Ireland as part of a major five-year restructuring plan to transition into a "pure-play" hotel business.
Another affected pub and restaurant in Milton Keynes is The Willen Dragon at Willen Lake, a Brewers Fayre venue that only opened four years ago adjacent to the Premier Inn hotel.
Billed at the time as a flagship venue, the restaurant was the first opening in five years for Brewers Fayre. It boasts a contemporary design, a feature bar, an open kitchen, a dedicated carvery table for roasts, and a breakfast and soft-drink station as well as a large play area for children.
The mass closures will begin in early July although Whitbread has not yet given definitive dates for the two MK premises. They have also not confirmed whether the restaurants will be sold off or converted into hotel facilities.
The company has cited rising operational pressures, including increased business rates and national insurance costs, alongside a drop in visits from non-hotel guests.
Around 3,800 roles are at risk nationally, representing about 12% of Whitbread’s UK and Ireland workforce.
Meanwhile, the BarnBeefeater in Secklow Gate West is still branded on Whitbread’s website as “at the heart of the community”. It was one of the first Whitbread locations to be built from scratch at a time when many of the Beefeater locations were pub-converted restaurants.
"Originally named The Old Barn, we opened on the 12th of December 1980 and ever since then we’ve been going strong,” the website states.
Already local people are bemoaning the closure on social media - as well as speculating about what will become of the large three-storey building in a prime City centre position.