The Alconbury branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the northbound side of the A1 near Alconbury, Cambridgeshire
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A1 Northbound, Alconbury, Cambridgeshire, PE28 5YQ
ONSITE FACILITIES: None (site lost to upgrade of A1)
History[]
Opened in November 1983, Alconbury Little Chef replaced existing cafe, Mac's, as part of Forte's programme to replace independent cafes and restaurants with Little Chefs in order to rapidly expand the chain across the UK.
Mac's cafe in 1981, before it became Little Chef
Given the lack of Little Chefs operating on this section of the A1, evident by the lengthy 20 mile gap between the Southoe and Alwalton restaurants, a Little Chef at Alconbury was therefore justified. Around the same time, Forte opened up a couple of Happy Eaters a few miles north in Sawtry, as well as a new Little Chef on the southbound side in Sawtry in 1984, which Alconbury traded in tandem with, therefore providing travellers with plenty of dining options in the area.
In the mid 90s, plans were drafted to upgrade the A1 between Alconbury to Peterborough to motorway, upgrading the existing two lane carriageway to a high quality four laned motorway. Consequently, the Little Chef at Alconbury was demolished by 1996 in order to make way for the new road (the land the resturant originally sat on is now under the A1M) as was its southbound partner at Sawtry. Fortunately, the Happy Eater restaurants to the north survived the upgrade as they were bypassed by the new motorway and they even became Little Chefs by 1997, restoring a dual sided Little Chef site in this location. However, Sawtry South ceased trading by 1999 and Sawtry North in 2007, most likely due to the motorway upgrade which resulted in less traffic using the former A1 (now B1043), despite northbound being clearly visible to passing traffic.