The Bangor branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located at the junction of the A55, A5 and A4244 in Llandygai near Bangor, Gwynedd.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Bangor Services, Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4BG
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, ASDA Express (forecourt), Starbucks on the Go (forecourt), Subway (forecourt), Greggs (forecourt), Burger King, Starbucks Drive Thru, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Burger King
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
The site was originally built by motorway service area operator Top Rank in 1991. Like other rival operators, for example Welcome Break and Granada, Top Rank saw A-roads as a great potential market and opened two sites at Bangor and Newark (A1/A17/A46). These were essentially scaled-down motorway services, with Bangor sporting a restaurant, shop, games arcade, lodge and filling station.
In 1992, Top Rank's roadside services were the subject of a management buyout with new company Pavilion taking control. However, by 1994, Pavilion decided to scale back their A-road involvement and sold off Bangor and Newark to Trusthouse Forte. Following Forte's acquisition of the site, the restaurant at Bangor became a Little Chef, with the hotel becoming a Travelodge.
In 1994, a Coffee Stop was added to the Little Chef, although this was later replaced with Cafe Nescafe which then became Burger King.
In 2001, Compass created the concept 'Little Chef Choices'. The format was used to take advantage of the number of catering names they owned (namely Harry Ramsdens, Caffe Ritazza, Upper Crust and Wiseguys Pizza), and thus increase the variety of options available to customers at selected Little Chef sites. Each Choices site was accompanied by a thorough refurbishment with lowered lights, tablecloths, and oak and steel fittings used to create a High Street ambience which would attract more evening diners. In 2002, there were plans for the Little Chef at Bangor to receive the Choices makeover; however, this never materialised in the end.
In 2006, a Coffee Tempo! takeaway unit was added to the site, although this was later replaced with Little Chef Express in 2012.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Bangor 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 was refurbished in 2019 and the site traded as a standalone Burger King. A Sainsbury's on the Go shop was added to the building, although this was short lived and closed in October 2021.
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