Where are the Little Chefs going?

[Glenn A]

The Little Chef still exists near Haltwhistle, but I wouldn't the brand with a bargepole. Even something mundane like a packet of sweets costs 80 pence, nearly double what you'd pay in a supermarket, and from past experience the brand is a rip off with poor quality. For a meal you'd be much better employed going into Haydon Bridge or Haltwhistle, and for things like chocolate, sweets and sandwiches, use Waitrose in Hexham.

[TheLeeds]

Plans to convert the former Little Chef on the East Lancs Road into a sex shop have been blocked.

Cocktails Ltd applied for a licence in March to transform the former roadside restaurant on the A580 into a sex shop called Pulse and Cocktails, aimed at couples.

But the plans created a storm of controversy, with hundreds of people objecting and a petition created to stop the saucy makeover.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... f-11347690

[SteveA30]

So that's why the little chef is always smiling.

[agc2070]

Brenzett Little Chef at the A259/A2070 junction is at last being reused (15 years since it closed at a guess). It will be a shop selling sheds.

[Glenn A]

Plans to convert the former Little Chef on the East Lancs Road into a sex shop have been blocked.

Cocktails Ltd applied for a licence in March to transform the former roadside restaurant on the A580 into a sex shop called Pulse and Cocktails, aimed at couples.

But the plans created a storm of controversy, with hundreds of people objecting and a petition created to stop the saucy makeover.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liv ... f-11347690

I did read on AR Online about the editor's trip through Poland a few years ago that nightclubs of a certain kind( neon signs of naked women gave the game away) were commonplace alongside their version of the A1. I think a Pulse and Cocktails shop is quite tame.

[frediculous_biggs]

I believe there used to be one of those establishments on the A249 in an old cafe/shop.

[Glenn A]

I believe there used to be one of those establishments on the A249 in an old cafe/shop.

Ho ho, however, I'm sure redundant Little Chefs can be used for more innocent uses. How about someone turns them into American style diners serving American and Mexican food at reasonable prices, or even Macdonalds takes over a few?
Little Chef's problems were self inflicted IMHO. They had an opportunity to sell meals and beverages at reasonable prices, but instead often exploited the remoteness or lack of alternatives on some roads such as D2s to sell substandard food at very high prices, had some staff who were completely lacking in charm and one or two I visited were dirty.

[trickstat]

I believe there used to be one of those establishments on the A249 in an old cafe/shop.

Ho ho, however, I'm sure redundant Little Chefs can be used for more innocent uses. How about someone turns them into American style diners serving American and Mexican food at reasonable prices, or even Macdonalds takes over a few?
Little Chef's problems were self inflicted IMHO. They had an opportunity to sell meals and beverages at reasonable prices, but instead often exploited the remoteness or lack of alternatives on some roads such as D2s to sell substandard food at very high prices, had some staff who were completely lacking in charm and one or two I visited were dirty.

I think MacDonalds have already taken over quite a few, such as the one quite near me on the A505 at the eastern end of the Royston bypass.

Generally agree with what you say. I also suspect that the advent of the internet and smart phones has made it easier for people to see that there is an alternative to a Little Chef a few miles further along their route or just off the route in a town or village.

[Glenn A]

I believe there used to be one of those establishments on the A249 in an old cafe/shop.

Ho ho, however, I'm sure redundant Little Chefs can be used for more innocent uses. How about someone turns them into American style diners serving American and Mexican food at reasonable prices, or even Macdonalds takes over a few?
Little Chef's problems were self inflicted IMHO. They had an opportunity to sell meals and beverages at reasonable prices, but instead often exploited the remoteness or lack of alternatives on some roads such as D2s to sell substandard food at very high prices, had some staff who were completely lacking in charm and one or two I visited were dirty.

I think MacDonalds have already taken over quite a few, such as the one quite near me on the A505 at the eastern end of the Royston bypass.

Generally agree with what you say. I also suspect that the advent of the internet and smart phones has made it easier for people to see that there is an alternative to a Little Chef a few miles further along their route or just off the route in a town or village.

Looking at some Trip Advisor reviews of Little Chefs and it's interesting how many still get one star( terrible) ratings. The same comments crop up- miserable staff, terrible delays, poor quality and high prices- and now most people have the internet, it's hastening the demise of this chain.

[SteveA30]

I still like them and often use them. Some Trip Ad people like to rubbish cafes and hotels just for the hell of it. I don't believe them generally.
Many LC's are now Mc (A31 Picket Post) or Starbucks (A3 Ripley e/bnd) or Subway (A350 Melksham) or, independent cafes, (A31 Wimborne) Others are Indian or Chinese restaurants. Some are offices or er, sex shops.

[avtur]

The three former LC's close to where I live (all within 6-7 miles) are now two indian and one chinese restaurants.

One of the failings of LC was that they lost ground to likes of McD's etc because LC did not provide 'fast food', all their offerings were cooked to order, nothing was cooked and ready to sell as it is with the likes of McD's. As time went by customers became frustrated waiting for their food because the likes of McD's changed the customer expectation.

Mrs Avtur was a site manager for LC back in the THF days, they were a dreadful company to work for, horribly chauvinistic in their attitude to front line staff at their outlets, that alone would put them out of business these days.

[TheLeeds]

I'm sure this used to be a Little Chef many years ago, circa 1990. It's been gone a long time, so I'm not certain if it's definitely the same building. I only went in there once, and wasn't impressed. The service was rubbish, and the baked beans had red cabbage in them, which wasn't mentioned on the menu.

A27 westbound, just past A286 Stockbridge Road, Chichester.
https://www.instantstreetview.com/@50.8 ... ,-5.11p,1z

[roadtester]

One of the failings of LC was that they lost ground to likes of McD's etc because LC did not provide 'fast food', all their offerings were cooked to order, nothing was cooked and ready to sell as it is with the likes of McD's. As time went by customers became frustrated waiting for their food because the likes of McD's changed the customer expectation.

Although McDonalds seems to be determined to throw that advantage away with its new system which involves ordering from a terminal/one counter and then waiting for your order number to come up when your food is ready for collection from another counter.

I'm sure they'll have trialled this properly before rolling it out but it always seems to take far longer than the old set-up - once or twice I've seen this system close to collapse with up to twenty orders unfulfilled and near-mutinous customers waiting up to twenty minutes (rough guess).

Which is good, because I need a disincentive when it comes to visiting McDs!

[SteveA30]

Chichester bypass. That was built as an AJ's, a small chain that would have expanded more, if it hadn't been swallowed up by one of the companies who swallowed up LC and HE. They had another on the e/bnd side, just after the A286 rbt. Now a showroom of some sort I believe. They became LC's after the takeover. Then someone else took over and closed lots of them, probably corporate pirates Permira.

[RichardA626]

I've used the McDonald's order system in one of the Manchester city centre branches & it didn't take much longer to put my custom burger together.

LC seemed to buy up most other chains over the years, which may have caused an "eggs in 1 basket" situation.

[Glenn A]

Little Chef deservedly belongs to another era. No one nowadays wants to pay over the odds for badly cooked, very overpriced food in dated looking cafes overlooking a busy road, often served by some miserable teenager, and having to wait an eternity to be served. The rise of the internet and pubs serving meals being online has probably killed off Little Chef, with only 67 of their restaurants surviving( down from 400 in the eighties), as people have found they can buy a far nicer meal for similar or less money in a pub where they're made to feel welcome and overlook something like a beer garden.

[B1040]

They didn't invest in decent staff to run the show for them - they went for unskilled meal assembly operatives who could either griddle food for the required time or stick it in the microwave for the right length of time. The businesses often felt unmanaged.
It's a shame - 15 years ago, the cost of such investment could have transformed the business.

[RichardA626]

Reading the Wikipedia entry the many changes of ownership over the years probably didn't help either. That & not being on the ball as the market changed in the last 20 odd years.

Even though my family used to take at least 1 long distance driving holiday per year when I was young, I don't think we stopped at them more an a few times. Even in the pre-internet era my parents managed to find a family friendly pub on the way to or from some places, probably out of my Dad's Good Beer Guide.

At one time there seemed to be an effort to open them in places away from main roads, Manchester Picadilly station had one until it was remodelled.

[Glenn A]

I wouldn't be surprised if Little Chef dies off totally by the end of the decade. Reading about them online, their so called Olympic Breakfast costs £ 7.99, with coffee and tea at £2.50, the portions are mean and of poor quality and the service is often terrible. In Morrisons, you can get the same breakfast for £ 4.50, and even if you have to pay for a drink, it would still be about £ 4 cheaper than Little Chef, although I'm sure tea and coffee are sometimes free with Morrisons. Also from what I read, the hygiene is terrible in some with a rat being spotted in the one in Halkyn.

[Johnathan404]

I wouldn't be surprised if Little Chef dies off totally by the end of the decade. Reading about them online (...) Also from what I read...

I think Little Chef will always struggle against modern competition for various reasons, but if you're basing its fate on people moaning on the internet, I suspect you're going to be a long way off I'm afraid.