Frankie &amp; Benny'sFrankie &amp; Benny's Frankie & Benny's Frankie & Benny's (now trading as Frankie's) is a chain of Italian-American-themed restaurants in the United Kingdom run by The Restaurant Group. it had 236 outlets nationwide. History. The brand's fictional backstory is that in 1924, at the age of 10, Frankie Giuliani left Sicily with his parents and moved to Little Italy in New York City. Within a year of moving, the family had opened a restaurant, everybody helping with the building and the cooking in equal measure. Frankie went to the nearby high school and became lifelong friends with Benny, already  a third-generation American. In the story, the business was taken over by Frankie and Benny in 1953. It combines popular American food with traditional Italian dishes. The Restaurant Group attempted to reinvent the brand in January 2017. In 2019, 18 branches were closed and, in February 2020, The Restaurant Group announced that further closures were planned to take place by the end of 2021. In 2019 it was reported that virtual restaurant brands Birdbox and Stacks were operating on delivery services Deliveroo and Uber Eats from Frankie & Benny's restaurants. Seven new vegan dishes were added to the menu  in January 2020. On 3 June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, The Restaurant Group told employees a "large number" of its Frankie & Benny's outlets would not reopen after lockdown; up to 120 restaurants were set to close permanently. In October 2021, the chain cut its name in half by renaming itself "Frankie's". The chain hoped that by reinventing itself and changing its menu again, it could attract more customers and open new locations. The decision comes a year and a half after The Restaurant Group announced that a large number of Frankie & Benny's  outlets would permanently close. Controversy. In May 2014, a Frankie & Benny's customer complained after he was served a crab dish containing surimi. The item was eventually removed from the menu. In November 2015, the chain was given the lowest rating (red) in an assessment of the sustainability of its seafood products. An incident occurred in December 2017, when an alcoholic drink was served to a four-year-old girl in the Warrington branch. A spokesman for the chain apologised for the incident which was described as "genuine human error." Frankie & Benny's Frankie & Benny's (now trading as Frankie