Where are the Little Chefs going?

[Jamesabout29]

Wimpy are still going very strong in this area, with branches in Benfleet, Rayleigh, Wickford, Billericay, Basildon, Leigh On Sea, Westcliff and two in Southend among others.
They’re always busy when I see them, and considering the quality of food you can get for a decent price, I see no reason why they wouldn’t be.

[Chris Bertram]

... Old Elvet bridge ...

Less of the "Old" here, it's Elvet Bridge pure and simple. And I'm old enough to remember when it was still open to traffic as the main road out to Stockton and A1 south.

[SarahJ]

There has not been a Wimpy in Brighton since about 2002. You find them is the smaller towns. Eastbourne had one, but it's been removed during the recent works on the Arndale Centre. Another chain thats around here is called Poppins. A sort of a up to date Golden Egg. There was one in Eastbourne and I recently used one in Uckfield. http://www.poppinsrestaurants.co.uk/

Wimpy sort of comes and goes. One turned up at Stop24 on the M20, then was gone on my next visit. Another one turned up in Barking/Nam' in 2001 and was gone and turned into a KFC within a couple of years. I like em'

[trickstat]

I seem to recall there was a Wimpy somewhere in the massive Spectrum leisure centre just off the A3 in Guildford about 12 years ago. I think the same location was occupied by somebody else (possibly Burger King) when I was there again a couple of years later.

[Jeni]

All this talk made me go on a roadtrip to this strange little place in the middle of nowhere..

[Steven]

All this talk made me go on a roadtrip to this strange little place in the middle of nowhere..

Looks like Milford Common to me...

[Jeni]

Looks like Milford Common to me...

Correct

[B4444]

I wonder how long this sign has been/ will be, at Fontwell, although now a Burger King, and is shown as such on google maps.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.85647 ... 312!8i6656

[owen b]

... Old Elvet bridge ...

Less of the "Old" here, it's Elvet Bridge pure and simple. And I'm old enough to remember when it was still open to traffic as the main road out to Stockton and A1 south.

Sorry, I take your point, yes, it's Elvet Bridge. But it was referred to colloquially as Old Elvet Bridge in the city when I was growing up there. I used to cox boats along the river. "Old" Elvet Bridge was a cox's nightmare. The arches are not much wider than a rowing four or eight with its oars fully extended, and it is on a tight 90 degree bend on the river. "Easy arch" was used for upstream and "hard arch" for downstream. Hard arch was so named because the geometry of the bridge and the river and the current being with you meant it was harder to turn the boat before the bridge, straighten up to go through the arch, then turn the boat again immediately after the arch. If you caught a sudden gust of wind, or if the river was swollen and the current faster than usual, it was even worse. I confess I broke a couple of oar blades in my time. I dimly remember the days of through traffic using the old city centre roads, if I recall correctly New Elvet bridge was completed in the early to mid 70s.

[Delenn]

So, three weeks on and there is still no new signage at Feering. It looks from the outside like the Little Chef side might be open, but I'm not too sure. I wonder if they are actually making any money in the cafes still open that have no signage.

[roadtester]

I don't know about the Little Chef itself, but the tall freestanding Little Chef sign is still present at Beacon Hill near the A14 (actually just on the A140) close to Ipswich.

This seems to be one of only five sites shown on the map bit of the "Locations" page on the LC website, if that has any significance.

[SteveA30]

Interesting. Looking on Google for those 5 indicates only Seaton Burn and Ilminster are still Little Chef. Not Acle, Beacon Hill or Knutsford, which is isolated anyway. That one seems to have Spirit Guide Cara in residence, I wonder if she knows the future for LC? Ilminster has its sign blacked out so, the state of signs doesn't seem to mean much.

A casual look elsewhere indicates A1 Skellow and A30 Sourton are still LC. Sounds like disorganisation.

[Johnathan404]

Interesting. Looking on Google for those 5 indicates only Seaton Burn and Ilminster are still Little Chef. Not Acle, Beacon Hill or Knutsford, which is isolated anyway. That one seems to have Spirit Guide Cara in residence, I wonder if she knows the future for LC? Ilminster has its sign blacked out so, the state of signs doesn't seem to mean much.

A casual look elsewhere indicates A1 Skellow and A30 Sourton are still LC. Sounds like disorganisation.

I don't understand what you mean. There are no Little Chefs.

All Little Chef trademarks should have been removed from Euro Garages property and any that remain risk a hefty charge for infringement.

The five which appear on the very outdated website is just some crazy attempt to find your five nearest restaurants. If you use the search box, you can get the map to display five different restaurants supposedly near other places.

[roadtester]

Interesting. Looking on Google for those 5 indicates only Seaton Burn and Ilminster are still Little Chef. Not Acle, Beacon Hill or Knutsford, which is isolated anyway. That one seems to have Spirit Guide Cara in residence, I wonder if she knows the future for LC? Ilminster has its sign blacked out so, the state of signs doesn't seem to mean much.

A casual look elsewhere indicates A1 Skellow and A30 Sourton are still LC. Sounds like disorganisation.

I don't understand what you mean. There are no Little Chefs.

All Little Chef trademarks should have been removed from Euro Garages property and any that remain risk a hefty charge for infringement.

The five which appear on the very outdated website is just some crazy attempt to find your five nearest restaurants. If you use the search box, you can get the map to display five different restaurants supposedly near other places.

But a few days ago the Little Chef totem pole sign at Beacon Hill was still up and unobscured.

I (East Anglia) get exactly the same five sites coming up on the map without putting anything in the search box as SteveA30 (Dorset) and the sites are separated by hundreds of miles so whatever else is going on, it can hardly be an attempt, however wild, to present a user with the sites nearest to him/her!

[Johnathan404]

But a few days ago the Little Chef totem pole sign at Beacon Hill was still up and unobscured.

I didn't doubt that the sign exists - but the restaurant doesn't. As I said, if reported, the sign could get them in trouble.

I (East Anglia) get exactly the same five sites coming up on the map without putting anything in the search box as SteveA30 (Dorset) and the sites are separated by hundreds of miles so whatever else is going on, it can hardly be an attempt, however wild, to present a user with the sites nearest to him/her!

Yes, I see the same five default restaurants. When I said "crazy" perhaps I should have said "broken". If you press 'next' you will get five more equally random suggestions, they will be the same for all of us, because it's broken. If you type "Leeds" in the search box, it promises to find your nearest branch, which it says is on the A9.

There are no secret signals here, it's just not working.

[roadtester]

OK, so putting aside the question of surviving LCs as a bit of a red herring, how many of the "unconverted" Euro Diners still exist that haven't gone over to BK, Greggs, Starbucks or whatever?

That must also be a comparatively small number now, I'd have thought.

[Glenn A]

I wonder how long the Little Chef near Haltwhistle will last as this is the only one I see now. It does seem frozen in time with its seventies building and lighting, which I find appealing, and I hope if it is closed, someone can turn it into a decent restaurant.

[tipsynurse]

All Little Chef trademarks should have been removed from Euro Garages property and any that remain risk a hefty charge for infringement.

I'm not sure it would be hefty, seeing as the damage you can do to a defunct brand with little prospect of immediate use is limited. EG would probably have a fair point that KFG have left a Little Chef website pointing customers to their restaurants so they are contributing to the confusion.

Does anyone have any photos of new EG Diners? I have heard they have no signage and no menus... surely there must be £30 to buy a banner and print out a few menus if needed?

[Glenn A]

I do hope whoever takes over the remnants of Little Chef does something about the cleanliness. Countless posts on Trip Advisor have complained about dirty toilets, uncleaned tables and dirty floors. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence in a restaurant.

[Johnathan404]

I went to the Wimpy Express in Southsea to see what the fuss was about. The food was good but the environment was quite disappointing. Not everything was better in the '80s!

OK, so putting aside the question of surviving LCs as a bit of a red herring, how many of the "unconverted" Euro Diners still exist that haven't gone over to BK, Greggs, Starbucks or whatever?

There are about 34 branches under the holding name. It's hard to say for certain because, as you say, the only way to tell is to go inside and ask for the menu, and there is no official list online.

I wonder how long the Little Chef near Haltwhistle will last as this is the only one I see now. It does seem frozen in time with its seventies building and lighting, which I find appealing, and I hope if it is closed, someone can turn it into a decent restaurant.

I really don't think you've been paying attention.

I'm not sure it would be hefty, seeing as the damage you can do to a defunct brand with little prospect of immediate use is limited. EG would probably have a fair point that KFG have left a Little Chef website pointing customers to their restaurants so they are contributing to the confusion.

Does anyone have any photos of new EG Diners? I have heard they have no signage and no menus... surely there must be £30 to buy a banner and print out a few menus if needed?

OK, by "risk" I mean "they've been threatened with" rather than "they are legally sure to".

Photos are here, where you'd expect