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The Barton Stacey branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the westbound side of the A303 near Barton Stacey, Hampshire. 

Address and Onsite Information[]

ADDRESS: A303 Westbound, Barton Stacey, Andover, Hampshire, SO21 3NF

ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, Londis (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Rollover (forecourt), Starbucks, Travelodge (Book Room)

History[]

Originally known as Drayton Filling Station, Barton Stacey services dates back to 1959, having started as a family run business on former War Department land. The services consisted of a petrol station, a transport cafe and a couple of cottages to the east. The transport cafe was built in a house like building, with the ground floor serving as the cafe and the first floor serving as a living space for the owners.

In 1968, the A303 between Bullington Cross and Weyhill was upgraded to dual carriageway, following an increased demand for the route. The services survived the upgrade but was now only accessible to westbound traffic using the route.

The transport cafe was later leased to Wimpy, which later became a Little Chef around 1970, as part of then owners, Trusthouse Forte's plan to expand the chain by converting a handful of roadside cafes and houses across Britain's road network into Little Chef restaurants. As a result of becoming a Little Chef, it became an offset pair with the Longparish branch, its eastbound partner, located a few miles to the west.

Original Barton Stacey LC

The original Little Chef at Barton Stacey in 1975

By 1986, traffic levels on the A303 had increased significantly and Barton Stacey started to become a very cramped service station. As a result, Forte, the owners of the restaurant, and Mobil, the forecourt operator, joined forces to develop a new service station. The filling station was redeveloped and the Little Chef was moved to the eastern side of the services, on the site of the former cottages. It was housed inside of Little Chef's new building design of the era with the pitched roof, double front design. Furthermore, the new services became the trial site for the Little Chef Lodge chain of hotels, although this later became a Travelodge by 1989. The former restaurant building was left empty and today, is in a state of disrepair.

Given the popularity of the site, the Little Chef gained a Coffee Stop in 1994. However, when new owners, Granada, took over the site in 1997, this became a Burger King, although this later closed.

In the television world, Barton Stacey services and the outside of the Little Chef appeared in an episode of Top Gear, as well as Big Chef Takes on Little Chef.

In 2017, the Little Chef closed its doors as part of the Euro Garages takeover. It sometime later reopened as a Starbucks.

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