The Alwalton branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the southbound side of the A1 near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: A1 Southbound, Alwalton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE7 3UG
ONSITE FACILITIES: Starbucks Drive Thru, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Demolished
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
The Little Chef opened in 1960 and was built alongside BP's Night Owl filling station on the southbound side of the A1. The site operated in tandem with Kate's Cabin services, a truckstop located directly opposite on the northbound side which had been in operation since 1939.
By 1981, the Night Owl filling station had ceased trading, although the reasons for this were unknown, and was subsequently demolished shortly afterwards. In 1986, the Little Chef restaurant, which was likely housed in a prefabricated, flat-roofed structure, was demolished and was rebuilt utilising the pitched roof, double front design. At the same time, a Little Chef Lodge hotel was added to the site, although this became a Travelodge within the next few years.
In 1994, a Coffee Stop was added to the Little Chef, although this later closed and was subsequently replaced with a Burger King, housed in a new extension, in 1998. The Burger King however closed in the mid 2000s, before later reopening in 2013 and then closing for the final time in May 2018.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Alwalton ceased trading in January 2018, making it one of the last sites to have closed across the entire estate. Following a brief stint as an EG Diner, the building became empty in May 2018 and was demolished in June 2019 to make way for a new Starbucks Drive Thru, which opened in January 2020.
Owing to its operational period of 58 years, the Little Chef at Alwalton was crowned as being the oldest surviving branch of Little Chef in the entire UK.
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