Jurassic Grill restaurants in Northamptonshire close suddenly

Jurassic Grill's second branch was opened at Rushden lakes

A chain of dinosaur-themed restaurants is reported to have shut down without notice to staff or customers.

The Jurassic Grill outlets at Kettering and Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire are not accepting bookings and staff have been told they have closed.

A third branch in Hampshire has also ceased trading.

Owner Jurassic Alive put the business up for sale with a guide price of £1.3m last October. The company has been approached by the BBC for comment.

The business was founded in 2019 by Josef Mordawaska and Natalie Matts, who established their first dinosaur-themed restaurant in Kettering's Market Place.

A second branch opened at Rushden Lakes in 2021 and a third in Whiteley, near Fareham in Hampshire, opened its doors in 2022.

Kettering's Jurassic Grill was described as "the first dinosaur-themed restaurant of its kind"

A former employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC: "We received a notification on Monday that we would be contacted in due course by an insolvency practitioner with more information to claim our wages.

"We were told the Kettering, Rushden Lakes and Whiteley stores will be closed immediately along with a thank you for all our dedication and commitment to the company."

The employee added: "We sort-of guessed the company was struggling as we've had issues with getting paid the past three months."

The staff member also said some colleagues still had personal belongings in lockers at the two Northamptonshire branches and did not know when, or if, they would receive the money owed.

A pizza restaurant in Wellingborough, Fireaway Pizzas, said it would offer "guaranteed interviews" to affected workers.