A POPULAR restaurant along Southend seafront “could be at risk” of closure with customers claiming they’ve been told “it will shut next month”.

The Brewers Fayre, in Eastern Esplanade, has been a hit with residents for years but Whitbread, the firm managing the chain of restaurants, has confirmed multiple sites across the country will close.

The firm has refused to comment specifically on closures with a consultation taking place, but loyal customers claim they have been told it could close on July 4.

The company attributed potential closures to a shift in their “business growth plan”.

Frank Cornish, 79, from Leigh, has been visiting the Brewers Fayre regularly with his wife for years He said: “We have been going to the Brewers for many years.

“The parking is free for two hours, they do a menu from 12pm to 5am every day for £11.99 for two with many choices.

“They do a carvery every Sunday, which we think is the best in the area.

“The staff are also very helpful and friendly.

“We will really miss it if it closes, as will our friends, but what can we do to stop it.”

Over the next two years, Whitbread intends to replace roughly 112 of their “lower-returning branded restaurants” with integrated restaurants linked to Premier Inn hotels.

These revamped spaces will also include additional higher returning hotel rooms to meet strong demand.

However, Whitbread will “withdraw” from 126 restaurants.

These restaurants will continue to operate as they do if they are sold to other operators.

Of these restaurants, they have already agreed to sell 21 for £28million. These locations are yet to be confirmed.

In relation to The Brewers Fayre, a Whitbread spokesman said: “We have announced proposals which could put this restaurant at risk of closure. But nothing has been decided yet as the consultation is still open.

“We recognise that this will be unsettling for our team members, and we are providing them with dedicated support.

“We are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of our affected team members to stay with us by either transferring into new roles, or by taking up other vacancies across the business more broadly through our existing recruitment activity.”