A POPULAR restaurant at Basildon’s Festival Leisure Park will close its doors for the final time later this month, bosses have confirmed. 

Firejacks, a grill restaurant specialising in burgers and other meaty treats, will close on May 27 after opening back in the summer of 2018. 

The business is run by The Restaurant Group - which also runs several Frankie and Benny’s and Chiquito restaurants - and has announced a series of closures up and down the country. 

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Craig Rimmer, councillor responsible for regeneration at Basildon Council, said it is always disappointing to see a business close.

He said: “It is never good to have a business shut.

“But we are getting a lot of other businesses moving into Basildon and offering more food and beverage options.

“This suggests there is a robustness about Basildon and where it is going.

“It is really disappointing of course, but hopefully everybody who is affected will be able to find new work in some of the new businesses that are coming to Basildon.

“There are some businesses at a group level that have been affected by Covid, drops in footfall, and just haven’t adapted. But some other businesses have adapted.

“And I am confident in Basildon, and its ability to grow.”

Firejacks was known for using an open fire to offer quality flame-grilled steaks, burgers, ribs, and skewers.

The menu also offered more than 25 sauces for customers to choose from.

The Restaurant Group announced they will be closing around 18 sites in a bid to cut £5 million costs.

Workers at the restaurant in Basildon told the Echo it will close its doors for the final time on May 27.

A spokesman said: “We announced a review of our Leisure estate in March and made the difficult decision to exit some of our Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito and Firejacks sites.

“We are working closely with our impacted teams and will look to redeploy colleagues to neighbouring sites across our wider estate wherever possible.”