Where are the Little Chefs going?

[Glenn A]

Another problem with Little Chefs were they were really only set up for drivers and were often difficult to access for locals without cars. I doubt anyone in Haltwhistle who couldn't drive, or who fancied a walk for a meal out, wandered along the A69 to the Little Chef.

[trickstat]

I suspect another, rather gradual, factor in Little Chef's decline is that, over the years, improvements in cars and roads have made more journeys feasible without people feeling the need for a meal stop.

[Berk]

On the motorways and expressways, quite possibly. Perhaps when you still have routes which are still half-and-half like the A303, you may still want somewhere to take a break.

I still find the old rule about having a break every 2 hours to be useful, I don’t like needing to travel any longer unless it’s the last leg of the day.

[SarahJ]

Another problem with Little Chefs were they were really only set up for drivers and were often difficult to access for locals without cars. I doubt anyone in Haltwhistle who couldn't drive, or who fancied a walk for a meal out, wandered along the A69 to the Little Chef.

The local Little Chef was at Bardon Mill, so it would be a bit of a walk from Haltwhistle, but the locals from Bardon Mill might have walked. We lived (near) Haltwhistle and and used to drive there quite often. There was originally a cafe there. That was set in the building behind with the slits in the wall, and was more of an HGV stop. Where the little chef was, was just a gravel car park.
https://goo.gl/maps/ZnHX8u4ULA22

[Al__S]

On the motorways and expressways, quite possibly. Perhaps when you still have routes which are still half-and-half like the A303, you may still want somewhere to take a break.

I still find the old rule about having a break every 2 hours to be useful, I don’t like needing to travel any longer unless it’s the last leg of the day.

absolutely, but most people (eg not SABREisti taking a route "because it is more interesting") that's particularly long will probably do enough of it by motorway/expressway with a far high chance of being able to time stops for service areas.

Plus plenty of people are idiots that will do a four hour or more drive without a stop.

[vlad]

Another problem with Little Chefs were they were really only set up for drivers and were often difficult to access for locals without cars. I doubt anyone in Haltwhistle who couldn't drive, or who fancied a walk for a meal out, wandered along the A69 to the Little Chef.

There used to be one here on the A34, pretty much right in the middle of a residential area. I used to walk there several times a year with my parents, bribed with a milkshake or something in the Little Chef.

It closed in the 1990s at the latest; I don't think any of the buildings visible now even existed back when it was open.

[Glenn A]

Drove past the one near Haltwhistle on the A69 and it's been totally redeveloped as a Starbucks now, with no tell tale signs of what it was before. Also looks a lot more modern and upmarket than the tired seventies Little Chef building.

[tom1977]

Drove past the former Little Chef on the A30 at Sourton Cross and it is now a true assault on the senses. Massive signs on the building for Greggs, Burger King and Subway in a range of brand colours. You can't miss it.

[Glenn A]

I visited the former Little Chef near Bardon Mill on the A69, which has now become a Starbucks, last weekend. What a transformation, no dirty toilets, worn out decor, sullen staff and dirty tables, the place was clinically clean, looked modern and the staff were cheerful. OK £ 2.35 for a coffee isn't that cheap, but compared with Little Chef', Starbucks was miles better. Also a full car park suggests customers are satisfied.

[SteveA30]

Yeah, we got it several years ago that you hate LC's. Which one did you go to? I only rarely saw dirty toilets. most were clean and fresh. The refurbished ones didn't have worn out décor, especially the Heston Blumenthal ones, with blue sky ceilings and bright red and white decor. Staff varied from cheerful to bored but, that applies to many places. Car parks were often full, although it fell off during the turmoil caused by private equity owners looking for a quick buck. Mc and BK often have piles of leftover stuff on tables and BK is often scruffy. Starbucks and Costa are good but pricy and, don't do proper meals on plates with cutlery, made of metal. Nowhere is completely perfect.

[Glenn A]

Yeah, we got it several years ago that you hate LC's. Which one did you go to? I only rarely saw dirty toilets. most were clean and fresh. The refurbished ones didn't have worn out décor, especially the Heston Blumenthal ones, with blue sky ceilings and bright red and white decor. Staff varied from cheerful to bored but, that applies to many places. Car parks were often full, although it fell off during the turmoil caused by private equity owners looking for a quick buck. Mc and BK often have piles of leftover stuff on tables and BK is often scruffy. Starbucks and Costa are good but pricy and, don't do proper meals on plates with cutlery, made of metal. Nowhere is completely perfect.

The ones at Seaton Burn on the A1 and Penrith were awful and Bardon Mill was indifferent. People found alternatives that were cheaper and better.
Had LC competed better with lower prices, it would still be here as it was a major feature on A roads for decades.

[roadtester]

Little Chef was just completely past it. It was a bit like Rover Group and then Land Rover continuing to build the Allegro into the twenty-first century. Hopelessly outdated in concept and execution set against today's competition, although not without a perverse sort of almost masochistic nostalgic appeal for a small minority who found its unbelievable cr*pness sort of intriguing (probably includes me).

[KeithW]

Little Chef was just completely past it. It was a bit like Rover Group and then Land Rover continuing to build the Allegro into the twenty-first century. Hopelessly outdated in concept and execution set against today's competition, although not without a perverse sort of almost masochistic nostalgic appeal for a small minority who found its unbelievable cr*pness sort of intriguing (probably includes me).

The Allegro ended production in 1982 of course. As for LC the problem was as already stated was a succession of owners who saw the business as a cash cow in the short term and a real estate investment in the longer term. Had LC adopted the franchise model used by McDonalds, Burger King, Subway etc they could have done far better. When the franchisee has to put capital into the business they have a real incentive to make things work. Similar restaurant chains in the US such as Dennys, Big Boy and Applebee's have thrived as franchises. The final straw for LC was when the last owners arbitrarily cut staffing levels across the board. The LC at Caxton Gibbet did a good trade to that point. That ended when they started to run the joint with just 3 or 4 staff, 1 cook, 2 servers who doubled as table clearers and a part time washer up/till operator. To cope they started keeping food under a hot plate. Leathery eggs and gammon steaks that could do duty as soles for shoes soon made their mark. This is when it gained its reputation for poor cleanliness.

The nearest equivalent to LC in the USA was probably the Bob Evans chain which seems to have entered the same downward spiral and have now been acquired by a capital equity company.

[roadtester]

The Allegro ended production in 1982 of course.

Precisely - that's my point. That's around the time Little Chef should naturally have faded away as well.

[Glenn A]

The Allegro ended production in 1982 of course.

Precisely - that's my point. That's around the time Little Chef should naturally have faded away as well.

Pubs on or near main roads that offered meals all day long weren't very common in the early eighties, as the awful licencing laws were still in place then, which meant pubs couldn't open until 11.30 and had to close for three hours in the afternoon, supermarkets offering meals were a very long way off, and Little Chefs were often the only place to go to eat during daytime. I know there were still quite a lot of transport cafes around and the dependable van in a lay by, but for some parched family sweating away in their Allegro on a hot day and desperate to eat and drink, the Little Chef was a godsend when one appeared in the distance. Also it was a very successful and profitable brand for decades.
Yet changes came in the nineties as more pubs offered meals as the licencing laws were relaxed, supermarkets opened cheap cafes, and brands like Macdonalds took off. Little Chef didn't rise to the challenge, they suddenly became old fashioned and overpriced, and customers began to ignore them.

[SteveA30]

Little Chef didn't rise to the challenge, they suddenly became old fashioned and overpriced, and customers began to ignore them.

Because of the chaos of the late 90's and this century caused by short termism on the part of the many owners.

The final straw for LC was when the last owners arbitrarily cut staffing levels across the board. The LC at Caxton Gibbet did a good trade to that point. That ended when they started to run the joint with just 3 or 4 staff, 1 cook, 2 servers who doubled as table clearers and a part time washer up/till operator. To cope they started keeping food under a hot plate. Leathery eggs and gammon steaks that could do duty as soles for shoes soon made their mark. This is when it gained its reputation for poor cleanliness.

LC were fine in the 60's, 70's 80's and early 90's. These cash cow firms would mess up McD, Starbucks and the others if they were allowed to get their hands on them. I wish OK Diners had bought them, as they run a good but very small chain.

[roadtester]

...and Little Chefs were often the only place to go to eat during daytime.

Well precisely. They lazily abused their then near-monopoly by being overpriced and crap. That meant that they crumbled as soon as they had more competition - no goodwill towards the brand.

That said, I do agree that having a series of vulture owners didn’t help.

[trickstat]

IIRC the building that used to house a Little Chef on the A1 southbound about a mile north of the start of the Herrfordshire A1(M) has been unoccupied since the LC closed about 10 or so years ago. (The adjacent former Travelodge is now in different ownership). Within the last few weeks or so it has become, or is about become something called Cotey's Restaurant. While be interesting to see if it takes any business from the nearby Baldock Services.

[Jeni]

I wonder if the one on the A66 is still going?

[Berk]

IIRC the building that used to house a Little Chef on the A1 southbound about a mile north of the start of the Herrfordshire A1(M) has been unoccupied since the LC closed about 10 or so years ago. (The adjacent former Travelodge is now in different ownership). Within the last few weeks or so it has become, or is about become something called Cotey's Restaurant. While be interesting to see if it takes any business from the nearby Baldock Services.

Interesting that it hasn’t become a sex shop.