Where are the Little Chefs going?

[SteveA30]

There was one at Boroughbridge n/bnd, which was numbered 015, suggesting it was an early example. Also, Aberford and near Garforth.

[wrinkly]

Was on the A1 yesterday afternoon. What was the Little Chef restaurant on the northbound side had a large open sign on the window and there did appear to be people in it. There is still a Travelodge there so maybe for now it is being kept as a restaurant mainly for people staying there who are probably short of dining options within walking distance.

The A1 is 400 miles long. Could you narrow it down a bit?

[Was92now625]

The A1 is 400 miles long. Could you narrow it down a bit?

Why would anyone want to make the A1 narrower ? The upgrades are to make it wider !

Sorry. Could not resist

[wrinkly]

A lot of people seem to say it's unnecessarily wide between Alconbury and Peterborough!

[Glenn A]

There was one at Boroughbridge n/bnd, which was numbered 015, suggesting it was an early example. Also, Aberford and near Garforth.

Perhaps this could be the one and maybe Jimmy Nail mentioned Wetherby as a way of covering up his past, as he was rumoured to be a football hooligan in real life.

[trickstat]

Was on the A1 yesterday afternoon. What was the Little Chef restaurant on the northbound side had a large open sign on the window and there did appear to be people in it. There is still a Travelodge there so maybe for now it is being kept as a restaurant mainly for people staying there who are probably short of dining options within walking distance.

The A1 is 400 miles long. Could you narrow it down a bit?

Ooops! Just north of the Black Cat in Beds. The A1 is quite narrow there but the roundabout is fairly wide

[SteveA30]

That will be the Black Cat LC with Travelodge. Probably one of the EG Diners now, until the end of April I believe. After that who knows?

[Berk]

How much capital have EG got?? They can’t keep a dying business going indefinitely??

I’m pretty sure we’ve covered this by now, but today’s travellers wish to stop off at major branded services on trunk roads, not so much at diners on minor trunk roads (which was effectively the status quo for many years).

[SteveA30]

There is a reduction in the number of A road cafes now, although some LC's have become private cafes, as opposed to restaurants. There seem to be more A road cafes north of the A14/A46 line than south, especially up the east side of England.

[Glenn A]

Drove past the LC on the A595 near Carlisle, which is now a fish restaurant and doing quite well. It still has the red window surrounds from its previous life, and is of a design that suggests it was built in the seventies.

[Al]

I called at Markham Moor last Monday (26th March), the northbound ex-LC was just the same as the last time I called in a couple of years ago (even largely the same staff and the same suffusion of red around the place), except the LC branding had all gone and there was an A5 piece of paper in the entrance door with "EG Diner, open 7AM to 7PM" handwritten in pen (in filled-in block capitals). They were doing a tea cake and a hot drink for £3.99, and very nice it was too. The menu was the usual on photocopied paper in plastic wallets (it was like this last time as well, from memory), and I've always been happy with the food here on the rare occasions I have eaten here in the past. One staff member I spoke with was quite upbeat about it all, and all the staff seemed to be "business as usual"...

I also called in there today, there are now large green & blue "EG DINER" stickers in two of the front windows but the A5 paper in the entrance door remains. There was one staff member I have seen before (the manageress, I think) plus three other ladies, the three pancakes with maple syrup were very nice and the service was very friendly.

The Subway next door was busier, as ever - but I want a break from a journey not a splash & dash so a restaurant/diner is my choice. From observations at both visits, quite a few families feel the same way and the place was as "busy" as it was a few years ago. Good Luck to them!

[James Heaton]

[quote="Al"]I called at Markham Moor last Monday (26th March), the northbound ex-LC was just the same as the last time I called in a couple of years ago (even largely the same staff and the same suffusion of red around the place), except the LC branding had all gone and there was an A5 piece of paper in the entrance door with "EG Diner, open 7AM to 7PM" handwritten in pen (in filled-in block capitals). They were doing a tea cake and a hot drink for £3.99, and very nice it was too. The menu was the usual on photocopied paper in plastic wallets (it was like this last time as well, from memory), and I've always been happy with the food here on the rare occasions I have eaten here in the past. One staff member I spoke with was quite upbeat about it all, and all the staff seemed to be "business as usual"...


The A17/A52 Burger King/EG Diner was much the same when I passed through a couple of weeks ago.

I know others have stated EG Diner goes at the end of the month, is this still the case? Would be expecting some action on converting them to whatever they'll be in the future by now?

Ironically - the one I stopped in a couple of weeks ago had the BK shuttered up for a few years in the late 00s with only the LC open!

James

[RJDG14]

Just a thought, are any of the EG Diners still going or not? I read that they were due to shut at the end of April, but wouldn't know for sure.

[Fenlander]

The ex-LC at Sutterton stayed open as an EG diner but with limited opening hours. Certainly the BK part of it was busier at lunchtime today.

[SteveA30]

I don't know why OK Diners are just sitting back and ignoring all these ex LC's. They haven't expanded for several years now. Far more menu variety than Starbucks.

[RJDG14]

Well part of it is that I think this diner concept, whether it be Little Chef or OK Diner, has sort of gone out of fashion - people are now looking for fast food or a quick snack when on the move.

On a side note, I find this a little bit weird, but I used to prefer Costa whereas I now seem to prefer Starbucks. The food and atmosphere in Costa used to be reminiscent of Cafe Nero (which has barely changed at all and is still the nicest of the three in my opinion) and Starbucks felt quite boring and bland, but everything in Costa has become more generic and mass produced feeling in the past 5 years while the menu in Starbucks has become quite interesting compared to what it was.

[Piatkow]

Well part of it is that I think this diner concept, whether it be Little Chef or OK Diner, has sort of gone out of fashion - people are now looking for fast food or a quick snack when on the move.

On a side note, I find this a little bit weird, but I used to prefer Costa whereas I now seem to prefer Starbucks. The food and atmosphere in Costa used to be reminiscent of Cafe Nero (which has barely changed at all and is still the nicest of the three in my opinion) and Starbucks felt quite boring and bland, but everything in Costa has become more generic and mass produced feeling in the past 5 years while the menu in Starbucks has become quite interesting compared to what it was.

Costa was fantastic until Whitbread bought it off the Costa family.

[roadtester]

Well part of it is that I think this diner concept, whether it be Little Chef or OK Diner, has sort of gone out of fashion - people are now looking for fast food or a quick snack when on the move.

On a side note, I find this a little bit weird, but I used to prefer Costa whereas I now seem to prefer Starbucks. The food and atmosphere in Costa used to be reminiscent of Cafe Nero (which has barely changed at all and is still the nicest of the three in my opinion) and Starbucks felt quite boring and bland, but everything in Costa has become more generic and mass produced feeling in the past 5 years while the menu in Starbucks has become quite interesting compared to what it was.

Costa was fantastic until Whitbread bought it off the Costa family.

So it's been going downhill since 1995?

Incidentally, Costa is currently being spun off from Whitbread because it has got so large:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43891128

[Hdeng16]

Well part of it is that I think this diner concept, whether it be Little Chef or OK Diner, has sort of gone out of fashion - people are now looking for fast food or a quick snack when on the move.

On a side note, I find this a little bit weird, but I used to prefer Costa whereas I now seem to prefer Starbucks. The food and atmosphere in Costa used to be reminiscent of Cafe Nero (which has barely changed at all and is still the nicest of the three in my opinion) and Starbucks felt quite boring and bland, but everything in Costa has become more generic and mass produced feeling in the past 5 years while the menu in Starbucks has become quite interesting compared to what it was.

Costa was fantastic until Whitbread bought it off the Costa family.

Ridiculous statement. I'd explain, but roadtester has already done so!

[roadtester]

Well part of it is that I think this diner concept, whether it be Little Chef or OK Diner, has sort of gone out of fashion - people are now looking for fast food or a quick snack when on the move.

On a side note, I find this a little bit weird, but I used to prefer Costa whereas I now seem to prefer Starbucks. The food and atmosphere in Costa used to be reminiscent of Cafe Nero (which has barely changed at all and is still the nicest of the three in my opinion) and Starbucks felt quite boring and bland, but everything in Costa has become more generic and mass produced feeling in the past 5 years while the menu in Starbucks has become quite interesting compared to what it was.

Costa was fantastic until Whitbread bought it off the Costa family.

Ridiculous statement. I'd explain, but roadtester has already done so!

As I think I've mentioned before, in the early to mid-nineties I was a lunchtime regular of the original Costa, which was a small standing room only place near Victoria Station. I was introduced to it by an Italian friend who reckoned it was just about the only place in the area where it was possible to get a decent coffee.

While most modern Costas are quite different to that original outlet, it's surprising how many elements have survived in terms of the range and so on - in particular, I think Costa have played a key role in popularising almond croissants which were a key part of the appeal back in the day!