The Blyth branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the southbound side of the A1 near Blyth, Nottinghamshire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: A1 Southbound, Blyth, Nottinghamshire, S81 8EL
ONSITE FACILITIES: None
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Empty
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
The history of the site (hereafter referred to as 'Spital' dates back to at least 1948, with maps showing two buildings which appear to be a house and café building. The restaurant building was named Police House, and later became Tom's Cabin. The cafe became a Little Chef in circa. 1976, as part of Forte's nationwide expansion of the chain.
In 1989, a Forte Travelodge was built behind the restaurant, despite clear competition from a nearby Travelodge located two miles north at Blyth services operated by rival motorway service station operator Granada. However, following Granada's later acquisition of Little Chef and Travelodge, the lodge at the Spital site closed in favour of the hotel at the larger Blyth services. The building was dismantled and the hotel was relocated to Lincoln (Thorpe on the Hill). For some time, the former land was used as storage for damaged vehicles; however, it appears from satellite imagery that the land has since been cleared.
In 1990, planning permission was granted for the construction of a Happy Eater restaurant on land adjacent to the Little Chef. It is unknown as to whether this was proposed on the opposite side of the A1 or directly alongside the Little Chef; however, the restaurant never came to fruition.
In 2002, Little Chef was sold by then owners, Compass Catering, to new owners Permira, along with Travelodge. At this time, there was a cull of sites with some older, standalone sites closing, with Blyth being one of the affected branches.
The site has since been operated by many independent cafes, including Katie's Kitchen, Joey's Truckstop, Frankie's Diner (which closed and became boarded up in 2008), Hannah's Kitchen, Katy's Diner, Joey's Diner and finally Flo's Cafe, the latter of which closed in Summer 2021. In late 2022, transport and logistics firm Riva Pearl Group purchased the site, reopening it as a truckstop and café, forming part of the Pearl Truck Stop chain. They closed the café in 2024, leaving the building empty once again.
Gallery[]
