Changes: Axminster

Revision as of 22:09, 25 November 2020

The Axminster branch was a Little Chef restaurant located on the A35 in Shute near Axminster, Devon.

Address and Onsite Facilities

ADDRESS: A35, Shute, Axminster, Devon, EX13 7PZ

ONSITE FACILITIES: Starbucks

History

Opened in 1984/85, Axminster was built as a standalone Little Chef restaurant in the village of Shute, a few miles away from Axminster. Throughout the 70s and 80s, and in order to rapidly expand the Little Chef chain across Britain, Forte set about purchasing a number of roadside buildings on major A-roads, including existing cafes and houses, and converting them into Little Chef restaurants. This was a process which saved time and money as it meant that Forte didn't have to build as many restaurants from scratch. Judging by its converted house design, it looks as though Axminster was one of these cases.

Although deprived of any other onsite facilities, Axminster's location on a single carriageway section of the A35 meant that the restaurant was easily accessible to all traffic. Furthermore, the route's popularity with holidaymakers retreating to nearby Cornwall and the rest of Devon meant that it was a site popular with tourists as well. It was a site well chosen.

Although it is believed that Axminster didn't receive the Choices makover in 2002, it received similar furniture used in this refurbishment scheme, giving the restaurant the character of a Choices branch without the use of menus from other brands. Around 2015, the restaurant was given a light refresh and the furniture had changed once again.

Despite doing a decent trade, coupled with the fact that this standalone Little Chef had dodged a huge closures list between 2001 and 2012 (an era when standalone restaurants were usually the ones up for the chop), the Little Chef at Axminster finally closed its doors in 2017, following Little Chef's takeover by service station operator, Euro Garages. It later reopened as a Starbucks.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Little_Chef_Infobox
 |title = Axminster
-|image = Axminster.png
+|image = Axminster.jpg
 |Name = Axminster
 |Number = 291
 |Year Opened = 1984/85
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |Name of village/town = Shute, Axminster
 |Name of county = Devon
+|Postcode = EX13 7PZ
-|Postcode = EX13 7PZ}}The '''Axminster''' branch was a Little Chef restaurant located on the A35 in Shute near Axminster, Devon.
+}}The '''Axminster''' branch was a Little Chef restaurant located on the A35 in Shute near Axminster, Devon.
-==Address and Onsite Information==
+==Address and Onsite Facilities==
 '''ADDRESS: '''A35, Shute, Axminster, Devon, EX13 7PZ
@@ Line 16: / Line 17: @@
 ==History==
-Opened in 1984/85, Axminster was built as a standalone Little Chef restaurant in the village of Shute in the south of Devon. Although Axminster wasn't occupied by any other facilities, it still had some positives to it which allowed this Little Chef site to be successful in a way. For starters, it was built on a single carriageway road, meaning that the Little Chef could feed Olympic Breakfasts to all traffic on the A35! Also, being in a densely populated village, the restaurant was well known by locals as well as fellow traffic on the A35 and the residents of Shute could walk just a few minutes away to enjoy the Little Chef experience, thus the restaurant attracted locals as well as travellers. In some people's opinions, Little Chefs located in the centre of villages are nicer than Little Chefs on dual carriageways so Axminster's location was chosen wisely.
+Opened in 1984/85, Axminster was built as a standalone Little Chef restaurant in the village of Shute, a few miles away from Axminster. Throughout the 70s and 80s, and in order to rapidly expand the Little Chef chain across Britain, Forte set about purchasing a number of roadside buildings on major A-roads, including existing cafes and houses, and converting them into Little Chef restaurants. This was a process which saved time and money as it meant that Forte didn't have to build as many restaurants from scratch. Judging by its converted house design, it looks as though Axminster was one of these cases.
+Although deprived of any other onsite facilities, Axminster's location on a single carriageway section of the A35 meant that the restaurant was easily accessible to all traffic. Furthermore, the route's popularity with holidaymakers retreating to nearby Cornwall and the rest of Devon meant that it was a site popular with tourists as well. It was a site well chosen.
-Like some other Little Chefs, Axminster is an example of a glorious 80s Little Chef. For starters, the restaurant is housed inside of a converted house which was the common Little Chef building of the 70s and 80s when Forte were expanding the Little Chef chain. Also, the restaurant retains its 80s logo, symbolising that it is a pretty old branch. As for the interior, it has its old school features such as the furniture and lampshades. The only modern feature of Axminster is the totem which sports the 1990s/2000s Charlie on it. Shortly before closure, the totem used a temporary sign which sported the 2016 Charlie.
+Although it is believed that Axminster didn't receive the Choices makover in 2002, it received similar furniture used in this refurbishment scheme, giving the restaurant the character of a Choices branch without the use of menus from other brands. Around 2015, the restaurant was given a light refresh and the furniture had changed once again.
-In March 2017, Axminster was one of a few Little Chefs to close down. It later reopened as a Starbucks
+Despite doing a decent trade, coupled with the fact that this standalone Little Chef had dodged a huge closures list between 2001 and 2012 (an era when standalone restaurants were usually the ones up for the chop), the Little Chef at Axminster finally closed its doors in 2017, following Little Chef's takeover by service station operator, Euro Garages. It later reopened as a Starbucks.
@@ Line 30: / Line 32: @@
 [[Category:Current Starbucks Sites]]
 [[Category:2017 Closures]]
+[[Category:Little Chefs on the A35]]