The Beacon Hill branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located at the junction of the A14 and A140 near Needham Market, Suffolk.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Beacon Hill Interchange, Needham Market, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 8LP
ONSITE FACILITIES: Shell, Select (forecourt), Deli by Shell (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Burger King, Greggs, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Burger King, Greggs
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
The site was first opened in 1988 by Norfolk House and was located at the junction of the A45 (now A14) and the A140 just outside of Ipswich. In the first instance, the site comprised of a forecourt, operated by Fina, and a restaurant, which traded as a Kelly's Kitchen. This was one of only 18 Kelly's Kitchens/ Fina sites operating across the UK. Kelly's Kitchen restaurants were very distinctive, housed inside of buildings with an overhanging roof, cottage styled windows and a large funnel-like chimney built into the roof.
The Kelly's Kitchen brand was later purchased by Crest Hotels who were then purchased by Trusthouse Forte in 1990. Following Forte's purchase, all 18 Kelly's Kitchen restaurants were rebranded as Little Chefs by 1991, with the Beacon Hill site being converted in 1990. The 1990s introduced further developments and changes to the site, including the construction of a Travelodge hotel in 1994 and the addition of a Coffee Stop in 1995, although this was later replaced with a Burger King in 1998.
In 1994, the A45 between Cambridge and Felixstowe was re-numbered the A14 following the opening of the M1-A1 link road (Catthorpe to Huntingdon).
An interesting feature of Beacon Hill services was a sign by the exit which indicated that the next Little Chef was 7 miles away at Stowmarket. However, reference to this was removed in 2012 when Stowmarket ceased trading, but the sign itself wasn't removed completely until 2015/16 because the Burger King logo replaced the black text.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Beacon Hill 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 October 2018 to become a Burger King and Greggs combination site, although it was initially expected that the site would've become a Starbucks.
Although the totem sign by the A140 was replaced with an EG Group one, the totem sign within the service area itself, adjacent to the former Little Chef building, was not replaced and as such, still features covered up Little Chef signage.
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