Where are the Little Chefs going?
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
True. A company gets the staff it deserves.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.
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.
https://www.instantstreetview.com/@50.8 ... ,-0.01p,1z
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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/
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
I think housing is being built on what was the car park.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?
Where are the Little Chefs going?
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Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
LC used to do unlimited tea/coffee in the mornings, stopping this turned a few people I know away from them.
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
The unlimited refills are one of the things that encourage me to use the OK Diners when I am on the A1.LC used to do unlimited tea/coffee in the mornings, stopping this turned a few people I know away from them.
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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.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
Re: RE: Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
I came past last night and it's looking good!trickstat wrote:I think housing is being built on what was the car park.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?
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?
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.
Re: RE: Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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.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?
Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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.
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
1989 according to the wiki. It was certainly open by 1991 when I drove it for the first time since 1983.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
http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A27
From the SABRE Wiki: A27 :
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
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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.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
From the SABRE Wiki: A27 :
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
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
Re: Where are the Little Chefs going?
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