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Pizza Express has confirmed it is closing 73 branches across the country - including two in Kent.
The Italian restaurant giant is taking drastic action to help improve its performance during "difficult market conditions caused by the Covid-19 crisis and the effect of lockdown measures upon its restaurants".
The firm was initially tight-lipped over reports it was set to shut branches.
But following the huge disruption the pandemic caused to the UK's casual dining sector, the firm has now announced the closure of 73 restaurants, which will affect 1,100 members of staff.
Its branches in Albert Street, Whitstable, and in Harbour Parade, Ramgsate will be among those to close - while on the outskirts of London, its Orpington restaurant will is also shut.
But Pizza Express' other Kent restaurants including those in Canterbury, Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and Rochester are set to remain open.
It's branch in Maidstone has already been closed due to "unsustainable" refurbishment costs in a decision the chain said was unrelated to the wider restructure.
The closures are being made as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) the firm has launched, which aims to improve its performance.
Zoe Bowley, managing director of Pizza Express UK and Ireland, said: "Unfortunately, the impact of the global pandemic has meant that we have had to make some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard PizzaExpress for the long term.
"We have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently.
"In most cases, there is another Pizza Express nearby, either already open or reopening soon, to welcome our customers.
"Our focus is on our people whose jobs are impacted and we will be doing everything we can either to redeploy them or to support them in finding roles elsewhere.
"Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues and provide a strong footing for Pizza Express to meet future challenges and opportunities.”
The full list of Pizza Express branches set to close:
Aberdeen - Belmont St
Aylesbury
Barnstaple - Three Tuns
Biggleswade
Billericay
Birmingham - Corporation St
Birmingham - Mailbox
Bournemouth - Post Office Rd
Bramhall
Bristol - Berkeley Sq
Bristol - Regent St
Bromsgrove
Bruton Place
Charlotte St
Chippenham
Dalton Park
Darlington
Dudley - Merry Hill
Earls Court - Earls Ct Rd
Edinburgh - Holyrood
Formby
Fulham Palace Road
Glasgow – Princes Square
Glossop
Gosforth
Grantham
Halifax
Hampstead
Hatch End
Hereford
Heswall
Ipswich - Lloyds Ave
Leeds - Crown St
Leeds - Horsforth
Ludlow
Lymington
Melton Mowbray
Midhurst
Milton Keynes - Hub
Moseley
New Brighton
Newcastle
Newport - Isle of Wight
Newport - South Wales
Northallerton
Nottingham - Goosegate
O2 Finchley
Orpington
Oxford - Oxford Castle
Poole
Port Solent
Ramsgate
Reading - St Mary's Butts
Scarborough
Sheffield - Devonshire St
Sheffield The Moor
Shirley
Southport - Old Bank
Stafford
Staines
Stoke
Stourbridge
Sudbury
Torquay
Uxbridge
Wakefield
Walsall
Wapping
Wardour St
Weston-super-Mare
Whiteley Village
Whitstable
Wrexham
Founded by Peter Boizot in Soho in 1965, Pizza Express now has more than 600 restaurants globally, including 454 pizzerias in the UK.
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