Failed brands and branding - Little Chef Express sign 2013, fast food on M5 Motorway services, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Little Chef had a spin-off brand called "Little Chef Express" which Forte developed in 1995 as a rival to fast food outlets. The first Express outlet was at the Markham Moor service station (A1 North), though only as an addition to the existing Little Chef menu there. However, only five restaurants were ever built on the roadside, and the idea was re-developed when Little Chef was taken over by Compass, with the Express take outs being set up in food courts, including one in the Eurostar terminal Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as its "Early Starter" and "Jubilee Pancakes". The restaurants were mostly located on the roadside near A roads, often paired with a Travelodge motel, a Burger King and a petrol station. The chain was also located along motorways in Moto Services, for a time. The chain expanded rapidly throughout the 1970s, and its parent company would acquire the Happy Eater chain in the 1980s, its only major roadside competitor. When its owners converted all Happy Eater restaurants to Little Chef in the late 1990s, this allowed it to peak in scale with 439 restaurants. Little Chef began to face decline in the early 2000s, this mainly due to the chain expanding too fast, meaning it could not properly invest in all of its locations. Compared to its peak in the late 1990s, by 2005 the chain had lost almost half of its locations. In 2007, the chain entered administration, marking 41 out of 239 restaurants to close. This was followed by another closure programme in 2012 to reduce the chain to 94 restaurants. In early 2017, licence owners Kout Food Group sold the remaining 70 locations to Euro Garages, who would convert the restaurants into their partner franchises such as Starbucks, Subway and Greggs.
Size: 3000px × 4000px
Location: Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Tony Smith / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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