Pasta la vista! Family restaurant closes

A POPULAR family restaurant has closed, leaving fans of AmericanItalian food having to travel to get their fix.

The doors to the Shepherds Hill branch of Frankie and Benny’s were shut for good on Sunday, December 30, bringing to an end the mixture of rock ‘n’ roll music, burgers, pasta, pizzas and cocktails.

The company behind the restaurant, which had been a hit with all ages as a birthday party venue, said that the decision for the closure was due to the pressures facing the high street.

It is not the only restaurant chain to be closing branches: Prezzo, Jamie’s Italian and Carluccio’s have all reduced its retail presence over the past year.

A spokesperson for the restaurant chain said: “The structural decline across retail has been well documented and unfortunately this has impacted certain sites within our portfolio particularly where we are facing difficult headwinds from property costs, amongs other things.

“In light of this backdrop, we have taken the difficult decision to close the Frankie and Benny’s site at Shepherds Hill.”

The company have kept other local branches open, although none of these are in Wokingham borough.

The include branches in Aldershot, Basingstoke, Camberley, High Wycombe and Taplow.