The Doncaster branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the northbound side of the A1 near Skellow, South Yorkshire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: A1 Northbound, Skellow, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN6 8LR
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso (forecourt), Costcutter (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Rollover (forecourt), Burger King, Greggs, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Burger King, Greggs
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
A cafe known as 'The Haven' was built at the site in the 1960s, later becoming the Doncaster branch of Happy Eater in the 1980s. The restaurant was housed in a building which looked like a large house, with an extension later built to the back. It operated in tandem with a Texaco filling station and a Travelodge hotel, with the latter added in the late 1980s.
The Happy Eater was visited by then-Prime Minister John Major on his way to a Young Conservatives conference in February 1991. The press were disappointed that he left without leaving a tip. Major came to be closely associated with the Happy Eater brand.
There was a proposal to replace this part of the A1 with a motorway, which was policy from 1989 until 1997. Had it gone ahead, it's likely that the service area would have had to close.
In 1986, Forte had acquired the Happy Eater brand and, by 1997, had converted a large majority of Happy Eater restaurants into Little Chefs. The Happy Eater at Doncaster became a Little Chef in 1996.
In the 1990s, Forte launched a trial concept in a bid to try and attract more evening diners, especially from the lodges and a young professional clientelle. Certain restaurants were given an internal makeover with new carpets, tables, chairs, softer lighting, blinds and higher quality partitions and kitchen areas and were also treated to air conditioning. These restaurants were also given blue branding on the outside to set them apart. It is unclear whether the blue signified that the restaurants were a new concept, whether it was chosen to set apart those that were air conditioned or whether it was part of a plan by Forte to rebrand the whole estate. However, following Granada's acquisition of Little Chef in the mid 1990s, the signage at the Doncaster branch was reverted back to a red colour scheme.
In the late 1990s, and following Granada's acquisition of Little Chef, a Burger King was added to the site.
In the early 2000s, the Little Chef at Doncaster featured menus from Harry Ramsdens; however, the menus were removed by 2004.
Following the closure of the Burger King in the mid 2000s, a Coffee Tempo! takeaway unit opened in its place, although this closed by 2011.
In 2011, the Little Chef received the 'Wonderfully British' refurbishment along with nine other sites. Wonderfully British was the follow-on, slightly tweaked version of the "Hestonised" site, with slightly different interior finishes, new branding (Charlie lost his tray and instead had his arms open to welcome visitors) and Little Chef's new "grab and go" take-away option branded as Good to Go.
Several celebrities visited the Little Chef during its operation, including Harry Styles in 2010 and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2014.
In 2015, the Burger King was re-introduced to the site.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Doncaster 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 July 2018 to become a Burger King and Greggs combination site, opening in September 2018.
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