[Paul_Moxhay]

I get the feeling that Little Chef are in trouble. They have already closed many sites and have said that they are concentrating on keeping the remaining ones but I have heard recently of several more closures, some of which had charging which is now no longer available for us to use.

I cannot remember the details so if you want to use a charging station at a Little Chef I would recommend that you check first if itis still there and working.

 

[Electric Van Man]

These are almost all gone.
Bloody shame

 

[AtTheVan]

They made sense when people drove old cars on A roads that made you so tired and hungry that you had to stop off and have some greasy food every couple of hours. Not to mention having to get out and breathe some fresh air because the exhaust pipe was leaking through the rust holes in the floor.

These days people want to drive on motorways and keep driving rather than stop off for a sit down, Little Chef has just become obsolete. It's possible their charging could have saved them, but the EV revolution hasn't come quickly enough.

 

[richtrash]

One of the Little Chefs that closed a while ago was run for a while as an independent diner, it is now a Starbucks

The burning question is how is it that a company who only sells coffee and some cakes make a go of it yet a company that sells food as well can't make it work.

Would this have something to do with Starbucks tax arrangements

 

[AtTheVan]

One of the Little Chefs that closed a while ago was run for a while as an independent diner, it is now a Starbucks

The one on the A41 by the M53 turned into a Starbucks. It has coaches and cars in there all the time. Maybe it's the free wifi for all the business people who don't want to go to the office and can nurse a coffee for 8 hours.

 

[richtrash]

The one on the A41 by the M53 turned into a Starbucks. It has coaches and cars in there all the time. Maybe it's the free wifi for all the business people who don't want to go to the office and can nurse a coffee for 8 hours.

It's a sad state of affairs when a mocha choca latte espresso with caramel sauce, milk and ice topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce trumps a full English breakfast.

 

[Lee Dalton]

One of the Little Chefs that closed a while ago was run for a while as an independent diner, it is now a Starbucks

The burning question is how is it that a company who only sells coffee and some cakes make a go of it yet a company that sells food as well can't make it work.

Would this have something to do with Starbucks tax arrangements

I think it's twofold.
1) little chef got famous for serving crap food
2) Starbucks is 'cooler' than little thief

 

[richtrash]

What we need is for one of the "celebrity" chefs to turn the business around, would make quite good telly as long as it's not the fat tw*t Jamie Oliver

 

[SMike]

That's been done already - it was good TV but didn't ultimately work out

Little Chef drops Heston Blumenthal from menu

 

[richtrash]

That's been done already - it was good TV but didn't ultimately work out

Little Chef drops Heston Blumenthal from menu

Heston Blumenthal isn't a chef he's a mad scientist

 

[srichards]

They seem to be stuck in the 1970s. Going for a niche like gluten free, vegetarian and vegan travellers might be a novel way to survive.

 

[markweatherill]

Ah! the Olympic Breakfast! It seems to me wherever you find a Travelodge, you're likely to have a Little Chef nearby.

I still think wistfully about Happy Eater.

 

[Jools]

A Starbucks coffee probably costs more than an Olympic Breakfast - with a lot more profit, and customer turnaround too

 

[richtrash]

Thankfully there are some cafes out there that can make a go of it, some of my favourites for that all important full English

Super Sausage
Jackshill Café
Willoughby Café
Salt Box

 

[Grum]

I stopped using Little Chef when they replaced the bottomless pot with a cafetiere of instant coffee.
I don't use Starbucks either. They are overrated, overpriced and undertaxed.
My current caffeine fix is generally provided by Costa. Coffee is more palatable (but still overpriced). I don't know if they pay enough tax.

 

[Rory166]

I stopped using Little Chef when they replaced the bottomless pot with a cafetiere of instant coffee.
I don't use Starbucks either. They are overrated, overpriced and undertaxed.
My current caffeine fix is generally provided by Costa. Coffee is more palatable (but still overpriced). I don't know if they pay enough tax.

Does putting instant coffee in a cafetiere make it taste better?

 

[Aceshigh]

Congratulations on what has to be the oldest thread revival in the history of speak ev

 

[Grum]

AbsolutelyOTE="Rory166, post: 352079, member: 777"]Does putting instant coffee in a cafetiere make it taste better?[/QUOTE]
Absolutely not. Tasted like diesel. The only benefit was you no longer had to pick the coffee grounds out of your teeth (because the filter was invariably broken)!

 

[Brian10]

Little chef at scotch corner saved the day charged thro window for 2 hrs when rapid was faulty

 

[ChristopherO]

I think it's twofold.
1) little chef got famous for serving crap food
2) Starbucks is 'cooler' than little thief

That's about it.
Four decades ago it was a fun convenient place for us to stop with our young daughter.
Trouble is LC got stuck in that era. Now it is so dated and boring with an old fashioned menu and an environment that is not comfortable by today's standards.
The lesson for a service business is to evolve with trends and needs - or fail.
That's about it.