Where are the Little Chefs going?

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roadtester
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by roadtester »

I noticed this afternoon that the Wimpy on Streatham High Road/A23 is still there.
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TheLeeds
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

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B1040 wrote: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.
True. A company gets the staff it deserves.

The staff at this former LC only found out they were losing their jobs when the new company map was published, and they noticed their branch wasn't in it anymore.

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Big Nick
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Big Nick »

I noticed building works going on at the Wansford Little Chef (the white Art Deco style one) on the A1 northbound. The sign flashed past me but it said something about Wansford Mews? - I assume some houses going up on the site?

I went there once, on the day the Diana died. I just wanted a break from the incessant funeral music being played on all radio stations!

Some nice images here of how the Mermaid Inn site originally looked in the 1920s and the new 1940s building (halfway down the page) http://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/blo ... /wansford/
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by trickstat »

Big Nick wrote:I noticed building works going on at the Wansford Little Chef (the white Art Deco style one) on the A1 northbound. The sign flashed past me but it said something about Wansford Mews? - I assume some houses going up on the site?
I think housing is being built on what was the car park.
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Mettie
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Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Mettie »

The building itself is being converted to offices, and some modern "Art Deco" houses are being built on the spare land/higher parts of the car park. It's a shame the graffiti 'artists' can't leave the place alone though


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Reading
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Reading »

One of the very first (M4 J11) has finally been totally demolished - http://www.reading-forum.co.uk/forum/vi ... 06#p198606
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by mwian »

Worked in one, won't cry when last one closes. They didn't even trust the staff to make a pancake, just to get them from the fridge to pop them in the microwave
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Ambosc79 »

The one on the A49/A5 Dobbies Island is still somehow surviving, as the annexe to Burger King. Go to the BK there a lot, haven't been in the LC for about 15 years. Never more than 3 people in there, usually none at all. This one is competing not only with Burger King but also the fast-food bit in the garage and the deli/cafe in the garden centre (which does "fancy" food costing no more than an LC chips + beans concoction). How it is still there is beyond me.

LC used to do unlimited tea/coffee in the mornings, stopping this turned a few people I know away from them.
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Piatkow »

LC used to do unlimited tea/coffee in the mornings, stopping this turned a few people I know away from them.
The unlimited refills are one of the things that encourage me to use the OK Diners when I am on the A1.
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Glenn A »

mwian wrote:Worked in one, won't cry when last one closes. They didn't even trust the staff to make a pancake, just to get them from the fridge to pop them in the microwave
They've been overtaken as a business by roadside pubs who often have websites and are cheaper to eat in. People are no longer prepared to pay over the odds for poor quality and poor customer service. Rather like the little mourned British Rail buffet, Little Chef couldn't move with the times.
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Re: RE: Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Big Nick »

trickstat wrote:
Big Nick wrote:I noticed building works going on at the Wansford Little Chef (the white Art Deco style one) on the A1 northbound. The sign flashed past me but it said something about Wansford Mews? - I assume some houses going up on the site?
I think housing is being built on what was the car park.
I came past last night and it's looking good!
The old Art Deco building is now gleaming white paint all over and there's a big red sign on the wall.....
Ducati!

This could be a new destination for motorbike enthusiasts. Wonder if there'll be a cafe too?

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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Piatkow »

Some friends stayed at the "Ipswich Stowmarket" Travelodge just off the A14 by Haughley. They were hungry in the morning as the accompanying LC was boarded up.

The only LC that I use these days is at Burford on the A40 as the alternative on that section is either the excellent but expensive Four Seasons or a detour off the main road.
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Re: RE: Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by KeithW »

Big Nick wrote: I came past last night and it's looking good!
The old Art Deco building is now gleaming white paint all over and there's a big red sign on the wall.....
Ducati!

This could be a new destination for motorbike enthusiasts. Wonder if there'll be a cafe too?

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Its a dealership owned by the Vindis group and renamed Ducati Peterborough. The web site talks about refreshments being available but that probably means a coffee machine.
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Nuke
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Nuke »

Last time I ate in a LC was at Membury Services, M4, about 1996.

We were taking my mother back to London after she spent her birthday with us in Bristol. The previous evening we had eaten at the Cribbs Causway Harvester as a birthday treat, 3-course steak meals with wine. Next day we stopped at Membury for an entirely functional and relatively light lunch, no wine of course.

The LC lunch bill was more than for the birthday treat dinner the previous evening.

I could hardly believe it, and I have never entered a LC since.
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TheLeeds
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by TheLeeds »

Quick question.
Anyone know what year they bypassed Fontwell Village and / or opened the Little Chef which is next to the roundabout now ?
I remember the old days, circa 1985, driving through the village itself when it was the A27, but I wasn't sure what year they changed it or built the LC there.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir//Litt ... 50.8558669
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by KeithW »

TheLeeds wrote:Quick question.
Anyone know what year they bypassed Fontwell Village and / or opened the Little Chef which is next to the roundabout now ?
I remember the old days, circa 1985, driving through the village itself when it was the A27, but I wasn't sure what year they changed it or built the LC there.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir//Litt ... 50.8558669
1989 according to the wiki. It was certainly open by 1991 when I drove it for the first time since 1983.

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A27

From the SABRE Wiki: A27 :
The junction of the A27 and A293

The A27 is one of few roads that goes through just about every possible incarnation on its meander along the south coast. For most of the journey it's probably the most important road in the region, although driving along it you wouldn't notice.

Back in the sixties it was considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country. Thankfully, although much of the road is still

... Read More
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by TheLeeds »

KeithW wrote: 1989 according to the wiki. It was certainly open by 1991 when I drove it for the first time since 1983.

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A27
Thanks for that. I was just wondering about it the other day, and then I realized I was assuming it had been there for much longer, until I remembered the original route through the village and past the old Renault garage.

From the SABRE Wiki: A27 :
The junction of the A27 and A293

The A27 is one of few roads that goes through just about every possible incarnation on its meander along the south coast. For most of the journey it's probably the most important road in the region, although driving along it you wouldn't notice.

Back in the sixties it was considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country. Thankfully, although much of the road is still

... Read More
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by Richardf »

I think it's very sad how Little Chef has declined over the years. I have some good memories of dining in their restaurants as a child. The pancakes and icecream were always nice, as we're the lollies (actually sweets on a stick) given to kids after the meal. In those days pubs weren't that family friendly so LC's were a reliable option for meals on the way home from somewhere.
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by KeithW »

Things went seriously wrong in the company. The last time I ate in a little chef I ordered a gammon steak thinking that they couldn't get that wrong. They managed and I got something better suited to use as the sole of a shoe than a meal.
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?

Post by SteveA30 »

They kept getting taken over by companies that were then taken over by someone bigger. Every innovation was then reversed and, so it went on. LC just needed stability , as they had in the 60's - mid 80's.
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