TWO Frankie and Benny's restaurants in the North-East will permanently close as part of a nationwide restructuring.

The restaurants at the Arnison Centre in Durham and Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington will not reopen.

Last month, the restaurant chain confirmed 125 restaurants across the UK were set to permanently close following the Covid-19 outbreak.

It also warned a further 3,000 jobs would be lost, although it did not confirm which venues would permanently close.

But the Durham and Washington restaurants have been removed from the official Frankie and Benny's website.

A message on the website says: "If your nearest restaurant isn't displayed below, we’ve sadly had to close our doors.

"We apologise for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming you to one of our other restaurants soon."

The remaining restaurants are still listed:

Boldon, 

Eldon Square

Metrocentre

North Shields

Stockton, Teesside Park

Last month, Frankie and Benny's owner - The Restaurant Group - said: “The issues facing our sector are well documented and we have already taken decisive action to improve our liquidity, reduce our cost base and downsize our operations.

“The proposed CVA will deliver an appropriately-sized estate for our Leisure business to ensure we are well positioned despite the very challenging market conditions facing the casual dining sector.

“I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of my TRG colleagues for their continued understanding and extraordinary commitment during this unprecedented period.”