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Berk wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2019 01:28
What’s the Irish equivalent of a Little Chef?? Yes, I know they used to have some branches in Ireland...
But what’s the homegrown offering?? If there is one.
Mother Hubbards (archive link) was the nearest equivalent, had 5 locations on major routes. Website has been a blank page for years, think the remaining premises run completely separately now.
Moyvalley N4 - bypassed, but by a toll road so still very popular
Ougterhard N6 - bypassed and closed down
Kilcolgan N18 - bypassed, still trading I believe
Cashel N8 - bypassed, but close to the junction and still trading
Larkins Cross N25 - not bypassed but I believe is still closed.
Most had filling stations, the Cashel pumps are removed but the canopy is still there; and the Ougterhard and Larkins Cross stations trade on despite the restaurant closing.
The food was actually pretty decent, though.
Applegreen's own-brand cafe operations (ACafe/GrillNFill) are probably the most widely spread similar setup to Little Chef now.
It's possible now to have a breakfast and a drink at Asda for £ 4 now, about a third of Little Chef, is it no wonder they went out of business. Also Trip Advisor helped their demise, as one star ratings and stinging comments about poor food, high prices, sullen staff and dirty toilets must have chased customers away.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 13:17
It's possible now to have a breakfast and a drink at Asda for £ 4 now, about a third of Little Chef, is it no wonder they went out of business. Also Trip Advisor helped their demise, as one star ratings and stinging comments about poor food, high prices, sullen staff and dirty toilets must have chased customers away.
Yes but not with the extended hours that Little Chef provided or in rural areas. Lots of luck finding an Asda Superstore cafe in St Clears Camarthen, what was the Little Chef there is now a Starbucks and you can pay £4 just for a coffee. Supermarket cafes don't have to make a profit they are loss leaders to tempt in the punters.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 13:17
It's possible now to have a breakfast and a drink at Asda for £ 4 now, about a third of Little Chef, is it no wonder they went out of business. Also Trip Advisor helped their demise, as one star ratings and stinging comments about poor food, high prices, sullen staff and dirty toilets must have chased customers away.
Yes but not with the extended hours that Little Chef provided or in rural areas. Lots of luck finding an Asda Superstore cafe in St Clears Camarthen, what was the Little Chef there is now a Starbucks and you can pay £4 just for a coffee. Supermarket cafes don't have to make a profit they are loss leaders to tempt in the punters.
It sounds obvious but competition is competition whether subsidised or not - you're right that supermarkets and chain pubs, not just Asda, don't saturate rural areas but customers are sparse too for roadside services in rural areas.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 13:17
It's possible now to have a breakfast and a drink at Asda for £ 4 now, about a third of Little Chef, is it no wonder they went out of business. Also Trip Advisor helped their demise, as one star ratings and stinging comments about poor food, high prices, sullen staff and dirty toilets must have chased customers away.
Yes but not with the extended hours that Little Chef provided or in rural areas. Lots of luck finding an Asda Superstore cafe in St Clears Camarthen, what was the Little Chef there is now a Starbucks and you can pay £4 just for a coffee. Supermarket cafes don't have to make a profit they are loss leaders to tempt in the punters.
However, extended opening hours for pubs and many roadside pubs serving meals from 12-9 helped to kill off Little Chef. Had Little Chef improved their meals, kept their prices down and had better customer service, they'd still be around.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:15
However, extended opening hours for pubs and many roadside pubs serving meals from 12-9 helped to kill off Little Chef. Had Little Chef improved their meals, kept their prices down and had better customer service, they'd still be around.
Agreed the basic problem was that once Forte sold the chain they were owned by a series of investment companies that had no knowledge of the catering business or any intention of investing in it. They simply used it as a cash cow and then when it stopped making money sold it on. The eateries have gone but somehow the web site lives on
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:15
However, extended opening hours for pubs and many roadside pubs serving meals from 12-9 helped to kill off Little Chef. Had Little Chef improved their meals, kept their prices down and had better customer service, they'd still be around.
Agreed the basic problem was that once Forte sold the chain they were owned by a series of investment companies that had no knowledge of the catering business or any intention of investing in it. They simply used it as a cash cow and then when it stopped making money sold it on. The eateries have gone but somehow the web site lives on
The internet probably led to Little Chef's downfall, as pubs and restaurants on or just off A roads started going online and advertising their meals. Also negative comments on Trip Advisor hastened the decline of many Little Chefs as one star ratings became too common.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 14:05
The internet probably led to Little Chef's downfall, as pubs and restaurants on or just off A roads started going online and advertising their meals. Also negative comments on Trip Advisor hastened the decline of many Little Chefs as one star ratings became too common.
I disagree, it possibly hastened it, but word of mouth from the end of the 20th C was already bad for Little Chef. As places like McDonald's spread, that were a lot cheaper, a lot more welcoming, Little Chef was squeezed out.
There is a space in the market for a diner like Little Chef, like the ones in Ireland or France, but it needs to be a lot cheaper and also in many cases serve the local hinterland. As Keith points out at the very point revamping and investment were needed the money was being hoovered out of the company. It is not the pubs that have taken the market, it is the fast foods or the odd little diner of the style of diner Little Chef could have been.
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exiled wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 14:14
I disagree, it possibly hastened it, but word of mouth from the end of the 20th C was already bad for Little Chef. As places like McDonald's spread, that were a lot cheaper, a lot more welcoming, Little Chef was squeezed out.
TripAdvisor had virtually zero effect on Little Chef but I can say that on this thread until I'm blue in the face...
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 14:05
The internet probably led to Little Chef's downfall, as pubs and restaurants on or just off A roads started going online and advertising their meals. Also negative comments on Trip Advisor hastened the decline of many Little Chefs as one star ratings became too common.
I don't think it made any significant difference personally, few people look up tripadvisor reviews before stopping at a road side cafe. I had used LC for years but by 2008 the cuts to the number of staff and decline in maintenance had become so obvious I stopped using them, the cut in staffing was really the killer for me. The time I went into a Little Chef it was the one at Caxton Gibbet (now a Costcutter convenience shop). It was a 7 PM I had been working late and it took 30 minutes for my Ham egg and chips to come as there was only 1 person cooking. To add insult to injury the toilets had clearly not been cleaned and there were dried food stains on the table mat.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 14:05
The internet probably led to Little Chef's downfall, as pubs and restaurants on or just off A roads started going online and advertising their meals. Also negative comments on Trip Advisor hastened the decline of many Little Chefs as one star ratings became too common.
I don't think it made any significant difference personally, few people look up tripadvisor reviews before stopping at a road side cafe. I had used LC for years but by 2008 the cuts to the number of staff and decline in maintenance had become so obvious I stopped using them, the cut in staffing was really the killer for me. The time I went into a Little Chef it was the one at Caxton Gibbet (now a Costcutter convenience shop). It was a 7 PM I had been working late and it took 30 minutes for my Ham egg and chips to come as there was only 1 person cooking. To add insult to injury the toilets had clearly not been cleaned and there were dried food stains on the table mat.
If you are going to be made redundant and your employer is on the verge of collapse, you wouldn't be that bothered about doing your job that well. Seen it at a personal level where I was based at an office that was being shut down and the staff were disinterested.
I agree that the main impact of the internet on Little Chef's decline was not Trip Advisor but its ability to tell you that there was a pub/fast food outlet/supermarket not far away that was likely to be cheaper and/or better.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:54
The one at Cardewlees, near Carlisle, also boasted a SAAB dealership on the site.
The one that is now Johns Plaice fish and chip restaurant? I guess that todays' Spar was previously the car dealer.
Looking at the old images on Streetview, it's also one of the few sites that has gone from petrol station to hand car wash and back to petrol station.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 21:42
If you are going to be made redundant and your employer is on the verge of collapse, you wouldn't be that bothered about doing your job that well. Seen it at a personal level where I was based at an office that was being shut down and the staff were disinterested.
The problem was not the attitude of the staff there were just not enough of them, one working tables, another washing up and cleaning down and one cooking just doesn't cut it when the place is 2/3 full. Been through the redundancy thing a few times over the years and know where you are coming from. If anything being one of those left after a wave of redundancies is worse than going as you end up inheriting other peoples problems and know your turn will come.
KeithW wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2019 14:32 If anything being one of those left after a wave of redundancies is worse than going as you end up inheriting other peoples problems and know your turn will come.
I was talking to a chap the other day who works for a firm that is shedding about half of its workforce to slim down pending a much rumoured takeover later in the year. He's being sent on every training course available so that he can cover all the missing staff in the interim period. He's been doing the job long enough to have seen it all before and knows that the extra money these new skills bring mean he's then a prime candidate for the chop next time round.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 21:42
If you are going to be made redundant and your employer is on the verge of collapse, you wouldn't be that bothered about doing your job that well. Seen it at a personal level where I was based at an office that was being shut down and the staff were disinterested.
The problem was not the attitude of the staff there were just not enough of them, one working tables, another washing up and cleaning down and one cooking just doesn't cut it when the place is 2/3 full. Been through the redundancy thing a few times over the years and know where you are coming from. If anything being one of those left after a wave of redundancies is worse than going as you end up inheriting other peoples problems and know your turn will come.
I know the feeling, although my job is a lot safer now, we had two waves of redundancies in the early part of the decade and it makes people who are left edgy. Also we lost an office in Crewe in 2005, and a lot of staff who were leaving just dumped their work in boxes unfinished and it was picked up months later by a legacy team elsewhere.
The company I work for has been through a few restructures in recent years, with one large round of redundancies that I was very worried about.
Fortunately someone in my department was thinking of leaving & took voluntary redundancy, which took the pressure of most of the rest of us.
This was due to the original boss retiring, & his son splitting off the most profitable part of the business into a separate company, with someone new taking on the rest.
Even after the round of redundancies the company had more staff than it really needed, & in recent years a lot of people haven't been replaced when they left.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:54
The one at Cardewlees, near Carlisle, also boasted a SAAB dealership on the site.
The one that is now Johns Plaice fish and chip restaurant? I guess that todays' Spar was previously the car dealer.
Looking at the old images on Streetview, it's also one of the few sites that has gone from petrol station to hand car wash and back to petrol station.
John's Plaice still has the red windows and shutters from the Little Chef era and the Spar was Malcolm Wilson SAAB for many years. Wilson relinquished the franchise in the noughties when SAAB was going downhill and it stood empty for a few years.
The A31 ex LC at Winterborne Zelston, which was reduced to Subway only has closed along with the petrol station. End of lease perhaps.
A31 Stoney Cross LC has been redone as a Greggs/Subway but, not opened. The furniture is stacked by the wall and a 'now closed' notice stuck to the door. I don't recall ever seeing it open though.
