"They will be missed": Frenchgate bosses confirm immediate closure of two restaurants

Burger bar Wowburger and American-themed diner Elephant & Castle both shutdown on Saturday – only several years after opening inside the shopping mall.

Irish hospitality group Press Up, which owns both brands, has so far not commented on the closures.

A spokesman for Frenchgate said: “We can confirm that hospitality group Press Up have decided to close the Wowburger and Elephant & Castle restaurants with immediate effect.

"Both outlets have been fantastic additions to Frenchgate, and their presence will be missed in the Centre.”

Breaking the news via social media, one member of staff posted at the weekend: “RIP E&C and Wowburger.

"Closed both this morning with immediate effect.”

"Heartbroken doesn’t even cut it. I don’t think I’ll ever quite get over it and all of the shock.”

The burger bar was the chain’s first in the UK, opening its doors in the Frenchgate in 2020.

At the time of its launch, Susan Bell of Wowburger, said: “Our team are unbelievably excited to bring our fantastic burgers to the UK and we found that Frenchgate was the ideal place to launch the chain.

“We think that the Doncaster public will absolutely love Wowburger!”

Meanwhile, Elephant & Castle, which is also part of the Press Up group, only opened its doors in 2021.

Again, it was the firm's first UK outlet and ahead of its opening, a spokesman said: “We’re delighted to be opening our first ever UK Elephant & Castle location in Frenchgate.

“The founder and creator of Elephant & Castle, George Schwarz, lived in England himself during in WW2 and in fact named the restaurant after a London Tube station he passed on his morning commute to university.

“With over 30 years of success in Ireland, we have no doubt the good folk of Britain will absolutely love Elephant & Castle.”

The closures came on the same weekend The Rustic Pizza Co announced the closure of its Wool Market outlet and all three come hot on the heels of the closure of Italian-themed eatery Frankie & Bennys, seafood restaurant Clam & Cork and The Big Smoke on Wood Street.