Where are the Little Chefs going?

[DavidBrown]

If Brightside were bringing something different to the market, then I'd be interested. But cooked breakfasts you can get at so many places (heck, even on the A38 at Haldon all you need to do is pull a U-turn at that junction and go to the Haldon Forest Diner on the southbound carriageway, which offers a far bigger, and dare I say better, large breakfast for only £9). The lunch/evening menu is straight out of Wetherspoons, and as a result I just cannot see anything that makes me want to go.

[roadtester]

They're all over the eurogarages empire along with Greggs. We may see some changes now they own the northern bakery Cooplands though.

Oh 'eck. I hope that Cooplands doesn't get too Greggsified! We have a Greggs at the services on the A38 just before the M1 coming out of Mansfield. Handy as it's just over the road from work. Much as their veggie sausage rolls are a passable snack, I find most Greggs stuff seems really greasy. Cooplands seems to be that little bit better (and I can get the frozen ones in our local Heron!).

Cooplands and Heron Foods are both very interesting businesses. Value for money no-nonsense offerings and geographically concentrated (coincidentally or not) in Brexity areas like Lincolnshire. I can’t help but wonder if these couldn’t appeal more widely now everyone is feeling so hard up. There are now a few Herons in Cambs and I love going there. Big brands are surprisingly expensive there but some of the more keenly priced lines are amazing bargains.

[roadtester]

Another new roadside dining option has emerged in the form of the UK’s first Wendy’s drive-through, which opened a few weeks ago at Brampton Hut on the A1/A14.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/wisbec ... ndys/6452/

I’m hoping to get down there soon. I’m quite a fan of Wendy’s but I haven’t been since they re-entered the UK market.

[doebag]

I’m hoping to get down there soon. I’m quite a fan of Wendy’s but I haven’t been since they re-entered the UK market.

It won’t be the same without the square burger patty.

[doebag]

Do many people just jump in their car and drive off without some sort of planning and just stop when the decide they are hungry or need a rest ?

I always plot my stops so we can use village pubs, cafes or garden centres for food rather than anything close to a motorway or main road.

We do stop for more than a 20 minute splash and dash, but sometimes when a journey is work then a quick stop is done.

[roadtester]

I’m hoping to get down there soon. I’m quite a fan of Wendy’s but I haven’t been since they re-entered the UK market.

It won’t be the same without the square burger patty.

Oh no! I was a bit suspicious when I could see no mention of this famous feature on the post-relaunch UK Wendy’s website - disappointing to see it confirmed.

[B1040]

LC was focused too much on main meals, and insufficiently on the coffee break market.
Most motorway services I've visited in the last few years (smallish sample) seem to have evolved into the light meal market, and I can't recall any offering much beyond burgers and chips, or noodles.
When I'm on (infrequent) longer journeys, I always want a loo break, a coffee and a leg stretch. A small savoury snack for me and a cookie for Mrs 1040 are good. If the break is at lunchtime, we don't want anything too elaborate. We mostly find pubs. Morrison's cafe at Boroughbridge last summer was disappointing.
The new company is run by Loungers who have an extensive network of pub like outlets that are good for light meals.

[rhyds]

Do many people just jump in their car and drive off without some sort of planning and just stop when the decide they are hungry or need a rest ?

I always plot my stops so we can use village pubs, cafes or garden centres for food rather than anything close to a motorway or main road.

We do stop for more than a 20 minute splash and dash, but sometimes when a journey is work then a quick stop is done.

Personally I don't tend to plan my stops on long journeys. For example I'm off to Scotland in August and know where I'm staying every evening and a few roadside cafes/services I might stop at (Tebay etc) but I'm not poring over maps and planning a specific itinerary, as if I wanted to do that I'd go the whole hog and take a timetabled train

[rhyds]

Another new roadside dining option has emerged in the form of the UK’s first Wendy’s drive-through, which opened a few weeks ago at Brampton Hut on the A1/A14.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/wisbec ... ndys/6452/

I’m hoping to get down there soon. I’m quite a fan of Wendy’s but I haven’t been since they re-entered the UK market.

As long as they do better than Denny's in Swansea did it should be ok. Denny's assumed their usual kitchen record keeping would work for Welsh food standards requirements, however they didn't so they ended up with the lowest safety rating!

[Ruperts Trooper]

Do many people just jump in their car and drive off without some sort of planning and just stop when the decide they are hungry or need a rest ?

I always plot my stops so we can use village pubs, cafes or garden centres for food rather than anything close to a motorway or main road.

We do stop for more than a 20 minute splash and dash, but sometimes when a journey is work then a quick stop is done.

Personally I don't tend to plan my stops on long journeys. For example I'm off to Scotland in August and know where I'm staying every evening and a few roadside cafes/services I might stop at (Tebay etc) but I'm not poring over maps and planning a specific itinerary, as if I wanted to do that I'd go the whole hog and take a timetabled train

I've planned a big road trip for next month but left plenty of options open regarding where to eat and stay - but for big caravan trips my plans are more rigid, determined mostly about where I can park a 12m long outfit.

[exiled]

Another new roadside dining option has emerged in the form of the UK’s first Wendy’s drive-through, which opened a few weeks ago at Brampton Hut on the A1/A14.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/wisbec ... ndys/6452/

I’m hoping to get down there soon. I’m quite a fan of Wendy’s but I haven’t been since they re-entered the UK market.

As long as they do better than Denny's in Swansea did it should be ok. Denny's assumed their usual kitchen record keeping would work for Welsh food standards requirements, however they didn't so they ended up with the lowest safety rating!

Glasgow has already lost its Denny's, I suppose opening a sit down restaurant just as Covid hit was probably not the best business choice.

[Big L]

I don’t eat beefburgers, so most of the American fast food chains are of relatively little use to me. Thankfully Tim Hortons (Canadian) are currently on a big UK expansion.

[avtur]

... LC was focused too much on main meals, and insufficiently on the coffee break market....

Indeed it did but that was what customers wanted when LC was first set up. Many people think that LC was 'fast food', it wasn't, it was always cook to order, it was never really into splash and dash service. Over time customer requirements changed and demand for 'fast food' started to increase; LC didn't move with the times and started to loose out, this is back in the Trust House Forte days.

Mrs. A was a unit manager for LC for several years back in the 80's. The regional and senior management were almost exclusively male, old school, set in their ways and didn't adapt to the changing requirements of their customers; unit staff were almost exclusively female, the relationship between the two groups wasn't always happy and respectful.

Often a visit to LC would become a destination in its own right, rather than an on-route stop. The demands of destination customers didn't align with the demands on-route customers, It was a failure to get to grips with these differences which started their loss of market share.

[KeithW]

Indeed it did but that was what customers wanted when LC was first set up. Many people think that LC was 'fast food', it wasn't, it was always cook to order, it was never really into splash and dash service. Over time customer requirements changed and demand for 'fast food' started to increase; LC didn't move with the times and started to loose out, this is back in the Trust House Forte days.

I agree , most of my usage of LC was at what is now a convenience shop on the A428 here.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.22868 ... 8192?hl=en

When working late I would often stop off here on my way home from work for dinner. In fact I stopped using it when they no longer cooked to order and started serving reheated meals which were dried out and inedible. Ultimately however LC ended up being owned by venture capitalists who milked the business for what it was worth until it failed and then flogged off the sites. The LC I referred to at Caxton Gibbet initially became a pizza joint before morphing into a convenience store. South of the junction the old pub/chinese chippy burned down and became a McDonalds, Costa Coffee and Subway.

[rhyds]

They can’t be fish fingers on a breakfast surely? Odd shaped hash browns?

They're hash browns but turned on their side, they were definitely not fishy!

Also, I assume you’re one of those weirdos that don’t like eggs.

Fried eggs taste like greasy radial tyres to me, so I avoid them!

How would you know? Are crossplys tastier?

Crossplys can only be called Crossplys if they're made in the Crossply region of France, otherwise they're just sparkling tyres

[Glenn A]

Another chain that has gone is Frankie and Bennys, who used a similar concept to Little Chef by locating their restaurants on or just off busy primary routes with free parking. I can recall one in Ayr I used ten years ago near to the A77 and out of town retail outlets and car showrooms. They did seem quite popular and prices were reasonable, but the food was nothing special and portions small to keep prices down.

[Big L]

Another chain that has gone is Frankie and Bennys…

Reduced their numbers, but far from gone.

[Big L]

Crossplys can only be called Crossplys if they're made in the Crossply region of France, otherwise they're just sparkling tyres

[rhyds]

Another chain that has gone is Frankie and Bennys, who used a similar concept to Little Chef by locating their restaurants on or just off busy primary routes with free parking. I can recall one in Ayr I used ten years ago near to the A77 and out of town retail outlets and car showrooms. They did seem quite popular and prices were reasonable, but the food was nothing special and portions small to keep prices down.

I'd argue that Frankie and Benny's wasn't the same as Little Chef, being as they targeted retail parks rather than roadside locations. That made them closer to Nandos/Pizza Express type chains, who have also shrunk their site numbers considerably since COVID

[exiled]

Another chain that has gone is Frankie and Bennys, who used a similar concept to Little Chef by locating their restaurants on or just off busy primary routes with free parking. I can recall one in Ayr I used ten years ago near to the A77 and out of town retail outlets and car showrooms. They did seem quite popular and prices were reasonable, but the food was nothing special and portions small to keep prices down.

I'd argue that Frankie and Benny's wasn't the same as Little Chef, being as they targeted retail parks rather than roadside locations. That made them closer to Nandos/Pizza Express type chains, who have also shrunk their site numbers considerably since COVID

They seem to have been trying to fill the gap in restaurants that the likes of Buffalo Grill fills in France. Retail park out of town but local restaurants geared both for travellers and a local market, a gap that is still there in the UK. Covid would not have helped though they did run dark 'delivery only' brands from their restaurants even in the before times, but they had the problem of playing around too much with the menu. Most people like a lot of consistency in their food choices, not for the restaurant to change too frequently.