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roadtester wrote:I haven't been inside it yet but the Ely Little Chef is back up and running as a Starbucks.
It is literally unrecognisable as an LC - the exterior walls have been painted black and there's also a sort of pergola thing across the frontage that changes the whole shape and look of the building. I think the windows now go down to the floor.
The Burger King bit still appears to be open.
I went in this morning to scope it out! It's pretty smart, the new style of Starbucks where the chiller cabinet is separate from the counter, so it feels pretty big. A good few people in, a couple of business meetings taking place. Meanwhile work on Newmarket North seems well underway. (I had a breakfast bap in honour of LC's memory!)
I'm just in there now enjoying a nice cup of tea.
It's utterly transformed - modern, welcoming, the lot.
The biggest difference though is that there are actually some customers in here now.
Interestingly, the BK and Starbucks sides are now completely separate internally whereas before there was easy access between the two.
roadtester wrote:I haven't been inside it yet but the Ely Little Chef is back up and running as a Starbucks.
It is literally unrecognisable as an LC - the exterior walls have been painted black and there's also a sort of pergola thing across the frontage that changes the whole shape and look of the building. I think the windows now go down to the floor.
The Burger King bit still appears to be open.
I went in this morning to scope it out! It's pretty smart, the new style of Starbucks where the chiller cabinet is separate from the counter, so it feels pretty big. A good few people in, a couple of business meetings taking place. Meanwhile work on Newmarket North seems well underway. (I had a breakfast bap in honour of LC's memory!)
I'm just in there now enjoying a nice cup of tea.
It's utterly transformed - modern, welcoming, the lot.
The biggest difference though is that there are actually some customers in here now.
Interestingly, the BK and Starbucks sides are now completely separate internally whereas before there was easy access between the two.
2 or 3 years ago, Eurogarages took over the long-closed Worksop Little Chef and reopened it as a Starbucks. This was well before the current programme.
However, not that long after opening, part of the starbucks was closed off and reopened as a small Subway. The subway entrance was via Starbucks, and as you'd expect the Subway stinks the Starbucks out.
Short time after the Subway opened, building work took place to give subway it's own entrance. According to staff, Starbucks insisted on the Subway being completely seperate to the Starbucks area. You can see why, so I'd assume this is now the case at the new locations they're currently opening (with any partner brands).
To find LC's local to Epping, although 'local' may be stretching it a bit, use Google maps. They are up to date on the survivors. It shows Lolworth as closed. Swavesey is Herbie's American Bar and Grill, Fenstanton is just a BK.
A1 Black Cat still seems to be open.
A11/A1307 Fourwentways, is still open
A11 Barton Mills is still open. The old one on the e/bnd side is now the Pancake and Waffle Shack.
This only applies to Friday August 4. Tomorrow, who knows.........
ais523 wrote:
That one effectively serves as the catering for a hotel, so closing it might be a bit more complex than usual (unless the hotel just tells its customers to go to the McDonalds next door).
Travelodge don't do catering in the vast majority of their hotels, beyond breakfast bags and microwaveable burgers. Only a very small number have their own restaurants.
Where they are located next to other unrelated restaurants it is a convenience, rather than being any way reliant on them to provide a service to Travelodge guests.
ais523 wrote:
That one effectively serves as the catering for a hotel, so closing it might be a bit more complex than usual (unless the hotel just tells its customers to go to the McDonalds next door).
Travelodge don't do catering in the vast majority of their hotels, beyond breakfast bags and microwaveable burgers. Only a very small number have their own restaurants.
Where they are located next to other unrelated restaurants it is a convenience, rather than being any way reliant on them to provide a service to Travelodge guests.
An increasing number of Travelodge hotels have restaurants 150 out of 540 at last count. No surprise really as they are in competition with other chains such as Premier Inn who either have restaurants or are next to a pub that does breakfast and dinner at a minimum.
Whether you want to join us for our unlimited all you can eat breakfast now with freshly ground whole bean Lavazza coffee, lunch, dinner or a midnight snack, the team will be on hand to make you feel welcome and prepare your meal. If you fancy a tipple join us in the bar.
Outside of large towns and cities most Travelodge hotels are either on roadside service areas or located close to a pub or food outlet. This is not so much because they are trying to provide a service its more the simple fact that a local eatery is more likely to bring in the customers. In the past many were Little Chefs such as this one at St Clears where I stopped overnight before catching a ferry to Rosslare.
Back in the 1990s you would generally only find a Forte Travelodge at an A-road service area with a Little Chef next door and a petrol station. In fact, I think the Forte Travelodge was born out of Little Chef if I remember correctly, as it was called Little Chef Lodge. You didn't really get in-town Travelodges, as they were designed as motels. It's a 21st Century thing that they have lots of town and city centre locations, and those with adjacent pub restaurants used to be part of the Inn Keepers Lodge chain before Travelodge bought this chain several years ago. Of course, Premier Inn was a combination of Travel Inn and Premier Lodge. Also, lots of Holiday Inns used to be Forte Posthouse.
sotonsteve wrote:Back in the 1990s you would generally only find a Forte Travelodge at an A-road service area with a Little Chef next door and a petrol station. In fact, I think the Forte Travelodge was born out of Little Chef if I remember correctly, as it was called Little Chef Lodge. You didn't really get in-town Travelodges, as they were designed as motels. It's a 21st Century thing that they have lots of town and city centre locations, and those with adjacent pub restaurants used to be part of the Inn Keepers Lodge chain before Travelodge bought this chain several years ago. Of course, Premier Inn was a combination of Travel Inn and Premier Lodge. Also, lots of Holiday Inns used to be Forte Posthouse.
InnKeepers Lodge is still going but it's true that they did sell several hotels to Travelodge.
Travelodge isn't anything like as good at brand consistency as the other budget hotel chains - they seem happy to stick a Travelodge sign on almost anything.
That said, a surprising number of these budget hotels of all chains have switched brands - they are easily converted given the similarity of concept.
sotonsteve wrote:Back in the 1990s you would generally only find a Forte Travelodge at an A-road service area with a Little Chef next door and a petrol station. In fact, I think the Forte Travelodge was born out of Little Chef if I remember correctly, as it was called Little Chef Lodge. You didn't really get in-town Travelodges, as they were designed as motels. It's a 21st Century thing that they have lots of town and city centre locations, and those with adjacent pub restaurants used to be part of the Inn Keepers Lodge chain before Travelodge bought this chain several years ago. Of course, Premier Inn was a combination of Travel Inn and Premier Lodge. Also, lots of Holiday Inns used to be Forte Posthouse.
Well kinda.
Travelodge was an American firm that was acquired by Forte. In the US they typically were built next to one of the chain restaurants such as Waffle House or Dennys. Little Chef had separate origins having been started by Sam Alper who sold out to Gardner Merchant who were in turn acquired by Trusthouse Forte so it made sense to them to pair up the outlets.
Premier Inn started life when Whitbread started up Travel Inn to complement their Pub and Beefeater restaurant chain. They acquired Premier Lodge and later bought up a couple of dozen Express by Holiday Inn Express while selling off Beefeater and Brewers Fayre outlets which had no space for hotels.
An interesting combination was the Little Chef near Carlisle on the A595, where you could get petrol, eat and admire Malcolm Wilson's SAAB showroom. Now Paul's Plaice fish restaurant and the showroom was abandoned in the noughties when the dealership closed.
Glenn A wrote:An interesting combination was the Little Chef near Carlisle on the A595, where you could get petrol, eat and admire Malcolm Wilson's SAAB showroom. Now Paul's Plaice fish restaurant and the showroom was abandoned in the noughties when the dealership closed.
Glenn A wrote:An interesting combination was the Little Chef near Carlisle on the A595, where you could get petrol, eat and admire Malcolm Wilson's SAAB showroom. Now Paul's Plaice fish restaurant and the showroom was abandoned in the noughties when the dealership closed.
Drove past their yesterday and there is a Spar there as well. Quite convenient if you don't want a fish based meal, but want to buy a sandwich and soft drink.
This may have been covered already, but the Acle Little Chef has recently been converted to a Starbucks. One day it was boarded up, painted black and branded with Starbucks. Such a shame.
The Indian restaurant that had taken over the Barton under Needwood north bound Little Chef has already closed. The building is looking in an increasingly dodgy state and I can see it getting demolished before long. Hope I'm wrong
tidalflow wrote:This may have been covered already, but the Acle Little Chef has recently been converted to a Starbucks. One day it was boarded up, painted black and branded with Starbucks. Such a shame.
Not sure it's a shame really.
A lot of old Little Chefs are literally falling to pieces, boarded up, vandalised. Yep the brand is dead, but the Starbucks ex-LC's around here are still pretty obviously ex-LC and therefore some history does remain. They don't look like coffee shops really - they look like old Little Chefs and Happy Eaters.
I used the Norwich bound Little Chef at Newmarket a while ago. It was dated I admit, but it served a good range of food and drinks. I think the trouble is the country is being lured into these flashy chains serving food and drink, whilst forgetting our heritage.
tidalflow wrote:I used the Norwich bound Little Chef at Newmarket a while ago. It was dated I admit, but it served a good range of food and drinks. I think the trouble is the country is being lured into these flashy chains serving food and drink, whilst forgetting our heritage.
And fifty years ago, the road side cafes and pubs were saying the same about Little Chef, it's called moving with the times.
We went to Talke Pits Freeport mall the other day, a depressing experience, because it is really awful. However pulling on to the A34 from the A500 and driving in, it suddenly struck home that there is a Little Chef just off the roundabout. I honestly had never thought about this one yet I have driven past it many times. I suppose these sort of places never register in one's mind unless one is desperate for toilet or food/drink.
Been past the A1 South Witham/New Fox LC today, finally boarded up, "conservatory" removed, and after a quick glimpse through the open central "door" in the boarding, work ongoing inside. And passing Alwalton LC this evening, it seemed to be closed, but if so, it's yet to be cleared and boarded.
