The Bickerstaffe branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A570 near Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A570 Rainford Road, Bickerstaffe, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 0EZ
ONSITE FACILITIES: BP, Londis (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Starbucks, Subway
History[]
The site was first built in the late 1980s by Little Chef's rival chain, Kelly's Kitchen, and was located just off Junction 3 of the M58 Wigan to Liverpool motorway, just outside of Ormskirk. The site was a joint venture between a brewing company, who operated the restaurant, and Petrofina, an oil company who operated the forecourt. This was one of only 18 Kelly's Kitchens/ Petrofina 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 site and the roof.
In 1989/90, Forte were eager to expand the Little Chef portfolio and therefore decided to acquire the Kelly's Kitchen chain and rebrand all 18 restaurants as Little Chefs, resulting in a rival brand being removed from the roadside.
The Little Chef at Bickerstaffe had all the key ingredients of a successful site. Its location just off the M58, a services-free route, coupled with its placement next to a roundabout and filling station meant that it was an attractive stop for long distance traffic.
However, despite proving popular, it was a site which was earmarked for closure in 2012, having been listed as one of 67 profitable sites by then owners, RCapital. It closed by February 2012 and was later replaced with a Starbucks, which was later joined by a Subway.