Within a year of moving, the family had opened a restaurant, everybody helping with the building and the cooking in equal measure. The fictional backstory of the chain starts in 1924 when at the age of 10, Frankie Giuliani left Sicily with his parents and moved to Little Italy in New York City. In November 2015, the chain was given the lowest rating (red) in an assessment of the sustainability of its seafood products. The item was eventually removed from the menu. In May 2014, a Frankie & Benny's customer complained after he was served a crab dish containing surimi. A spokesman for the chain apologised for the incident which was described as 'genuine human error'. The chain apologised, saying that they would prevent anything similar from happening again, but any preventative measures seemed to have failed when, in December 2017, an alcoholic drink was served to a four-year-old girl in the Warrington branch. In October 2012, a two-year-old was served whisky instead of lime and water. 18 restaurants were sold off in May 2023. Up to 3 restaurants would be converted into Wagamama's, and their aim is to reduce the total number of restaurants from 90 to 65 by 2024. In March 2023, the chain announced it would sell 35 more restaurants due to the current cost of living crisis. It has a similar menu, but a different interior design to typical restaurants. In October 2021, the chain opened a concept restaurant in Basildon, this restaurant had its name shortened to 'Frankie's'. 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 quarantine 120 restaurants were sold off. Seven new vegan dishes were added to the menu in January 2020. 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.

Sometime in-between 19, The Restaurant Group began converting former Deep Pan Pizza restaurants into Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and a selection of other brands under the same management.

In 2019, another 18 branches were sold and, in February 2020, The Restaurant Group announced that further sales were planned to take place by the end of 2021. Then, In January 2017, The Restaurant Group attempted to reinvent the brand. In 2016, 33 under-performing restaurants were sold off. Typical entrance to a Frankie & Benny's restaurant, in Swindon

Frankie and bennys staff handbook