The Allesley branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the westbound side of the A45 near Allesley, West Midlands.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A45 Westbound, Allesley, West Midlands, CV5 9AN
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso (forecourt), Londis (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Jacuzzi Hot Tub Centre
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
Following the construction of the A45 Meriden Bypass in 1958, a small service station, comprising of a filling station, was built on the westbound side to compliment the opening of the new road.
Following the establishment of Little Chef in 1958, Trusthouses, who acquired the company in 1960, were keen to start opening up branches across the country and one of the sites they chose was at Allesley. It's location between Birmingham and Coventry, coupled with the existing filling station, were perfectly good reasons for a Little Chef to be constructed here. Around the same time, another Little Chef was built on the eastbound side at Meriden, around two miles to the west of Allesley. The opening of Meriden and Allesley at similar times marked one of the first dual sided Little Chef sites on the road network.
As was the case with most of the early Little Chefs, it was likely that the Allesley branch was housed inside of a pre-fabricated building seating up to 20 people. However, given the growing popularity of the chain, it was also likely that the restaurant was rebuilt/remodelled in order to cater for more diners.
The Little Chef had been given a multitude of names over the years. In its early days, it was often referred to as Pickford Green, however; following the construction of its eastbound partner at Meriden, it was sometimes known as Meriden North from around 1968 onwards, with Meriden adopting the name of Meriden South. However, on Forte's numbering system, this branch was commonly known as Allesley.
In 1984, the Little Chef ceased trading, leaving the filling station to solider on alone. However, all was not lost as around fifteen years later, the restaurant was resurrected, complete with a new branch number (551) and a brand new building. Despite reopening to travellers on the A45, it was very short lived and it closed for the final time around 2001/02. Today the building is occupied by a hot tub shop, having played host to an independent known as Mumbai Blue prior to this. The Texaco filling station has since become a JET and now an Esso.