FRANKIE & Benny’s has closed the doors of its Castlepoint restaurant without warning.

The company has revealed the eatery is closed permanently but have not yet given a reason for its actions.

The American Italian, family-friendly restaurant chain was situated in the centre’s East Village, bordering Castle Lane West.

Units nearby contain the EE phone shop, the bathstore and rival restaurant chain Nando’s.

One worker there said: “Frankie and Benny’s has been quiet for a while - I think people prefer going to Nando’s because they always have a queue.”

The restaurant is believed to have closed on Sunday and workers are already at the site stripping out fixtures and fittings. It is not yet known what will go in its place.

Frankie & Benny’s has around 250 outlets across the UK and recently opened a restaurant in Bournemouth’s BH2 complex.

It is part of The Restaurant Group, which also operates Chiquito, Coast to Coast, Garfunkel’s, Firejacks and Joe’s Kitchen.

Major works are currently under way at Castlepoint to rebuild its car park.

Shopper Hayley Browning said: “It’s a shame Frankie and Benny’s is closing because it’s nice to go in there after you’ve done your shopping.

“It may be that the town centre branch has taken some of its business away because it’s near the cinemas.”

The Restaurant Group (TRG) is one of the big players in the UK’s ‘casual dining’ market.

It has more than 500 restaurants nationwide, plus more than 60 concessions, mainly at airports.

The group employs more than 15,000 people and reported pre-tax profits of £57million in its last results.

Last year, TRG put 23 sites up for sale and announced plans to turnaround the business after revealing a drop in like-for-like sales. None of Dorset’s restaurants were on the list.

It said it wanted to re-establish the competitiveness of its brands, serve customers “better and more efficiently” and build a “leaner, fast and more focused organisation”

A spokesman 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, amongst other things. In light of this backdrop, we have taken the difficult decision to close the site in Castlepoint.”