The Brenzett branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A259 in Brenzett, Kent.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A259 Straight Lane, Brenzett, Romney Marsh, Kent, TN29 9TY
ONSITE FACILITIES: Shell, Select (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Skinners Sheds
History[]
Located on the main route between Folkestone and Hastings, the Little Chef at Brenzett opened in 1988/89 alongside a filling station at a roundabout site.
Looking at its location, Brenzett Little Chef appears to be very remote indeed. However, given the fact that it was located just a stone's throw away from the coast, coupled with the fact that there were a lack of existing Little Chefs nearby, this made the site a very attractive stop for both holidaymakers and long distance traffic alike, therefore its location made sense. However, its rural location meant that when new refurbishments were rolled out to most sites nationwide, Brenzett remained at the back of the queue. Aside from the furniture, which was updated in its recent years, the restaurant interior was still reminiscent of an 80s Little Chef even by 2012, sporting the bare brick walls, red lampshades, red and cream tiling and servery bar. This however wasn't a bad thing as the site was well looked after in its time and the retro fittings gave the site a lot of character, whilst also giving those who grew up with Little Chef in the 80s a feeling of nostalgia.
Sadly, in 2012, Little Chef's owners R Capital announced a massive cull of what it deemed to be 67 loss-making sites and Brenzett was one of them. It's closure by February 2012 marked the end of an era, especially given that, by this point Spean Bridge was both the furthest south and furthest east branch in the UK. Conveniently, it closed at the same time as Spean Bridge Little Chef, which was crowned as the furthest north and furthest west branch in the UK. After closure, the site remained empty for a while, until it was taken over by Skinners Sheds, in which it serves as their base.