Global fast food chain’s plan to transform Teesside Park restaurant into its next restaurant in the UK

A global fast food chain has filed plans to transform a restaurant in Teesside Park into its next UK restaurant.

The Canadian group Tim Hortons wants to open a cafe and bakery with a drive-thru lane at the former Frankie and Benny’s.

The 57-year-old chain is well known in its home country for its “premium coffee”, donuts, sandwiches and wraps.

Read more: A new name is coming to Teesside Park next month – creating nine jobs

Frankie and Benny’s have confirmed that its Teesside Park branch will not reopen in May, although it has operated throughout the lockdown for click-and-collect and deliveries.

Tim Hortons has now asked the Stockton Council to change the use of the site from restaurant to “cafe and restaurant selling food and drink for consumption on and off.”

The chain wants to add a drive-thru lane, additional parking and bicycle spaces, signage, fencing and landscaping.

It comes as fast-growing burger brand Five Guys is putting the finishing touches on its first drive-thru restaurant in the UK, in nearby former Chiquitos.

Five Guys has yet to confirm an opening date, but it should be late summer.

Frankie and Benny’s Teesside Park had escaped the elimination of 125 restaurants last year, when owner The Restaurant Group closed a sixth of his estate amid the pandemic.

Tim Hortons would take over more of the struggling brand’s former premises in the UK.

The chain already has branches across the UK, notably in Manchester and Scotland, and is set to open in Washington, having taken over Frankie and Benny’s former site in the city.

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