The Cirencester branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A417 near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Burford Rd, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5DS
ONSITE FACILITIES: Co-Op Petrol, Co-Op Food (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Burger King, Greggs, Travelodge (Book Room)
History[]
Originally, Cirencester had opened between 1980 and 1982 at a small site on a small road just off a roundabout on the A419 and like many others, this site of had many advantages to it. For starters, its location off a roundabout meant that all traffic on the road could gain access to the site and this of course was good news for the Little Chef as it had the ability to serve various routes rather than just one. Also, its position right next to the town of Cirencester meant that locals could dine at the Little Chef as well as travellers on the A419, meaning that the restaurant could serve a wide variety of audiences rather than just travellers. It was well chosen by Forte really.
However in 1998/99, the Little Chef had ceased trading. The reason why it closed though was unknown.
Happily though, this was not the end as in 2002, then owners Compass had opened a new Little Chef restaurant at a service station at a junction just off the A417 just outside of Cirencester. This meant that the Little Chef could continue to serve traffic and locals in and around the town of Cirencester but at a better site. The new site was located about a mile away from the old one.
At the time of opening, the restaurant had immediately received the New Choices Makeover, giving it some smart new furniture and access to exciting menus from Harry Ramsdens, Upper Crust, Wiseguys Pizza and Caffe Ritazza. Nowadays it trades again as a standard Little Chef but quite a smart one.
In many ways, the new Cirencester Little Chef was much better than the old one. For starters, its position next to a junction meant that the restaurant could continue to serve all traffic travelling in and out of Cirencester which shows that Compass knew a thing or two about their locations. Also, the Little Chef was positioned alongside a filling station and a Travelodge hotel, meaning as well as giving the site the perfect combination of facilities, these extra facilities helped the Little Chef to attract extra custom to the site. Also, visibility wasn't an issue this time as the site could be well spotted from the road compared to before where visibility was poor.
In 2013, Kout Food Group opened a Burger King restaurant alongside the Little Chef, meaning that travellers could have a second restaurant option to choose from. In 2017, Euro Garages took over the Little Chef chain and throughout the year, a majority of the restaurants were converted into brands such as Starbucks and Subway. By January 2018, only half of the Little Chef restaurants remaining were converted, leaving around 35 to 40 Little Chefs still trading. Due to Euro Garages being unable to use the Little Chef name after 31st January 2018, they had to think of an option to quickly convert the remaining restaurants. This was when EG Diner was born and Cirencester was one of the first of these to open. However in June 2018, the EG Diner at Cirencester ceased trading and later reopened alongside a newly refurbished Burger King as a Greggs.
