The Wrexham branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located at the junction of the A483 and A5152 near Wrexham, Wrexham.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Wrexham Rd, Rhostyllen, Wrexham, Wrexham, LL14 4EG
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, Spar (forecourt), Starbucks on the Go (forecourt), Starbucks, Subway, Travelodge (Book Room)
History[]
The Little Chef at Wrexham first opened in 1987/88 and replaced a former branch at Gresford, located around four miles north of Wrexham on the A483, which closed by 1980. The reason why it closed was unknown but the most likely reason was probably due to changes in the road network in the local area, resulting in a loss of passing trade. Forte reacted by finding a site which could continue to serve traffic on the A483, particularly the northern section of the road which became a Little Chef free zone after Gresford closed. They ended up choosing a site at the busy Croesfoel Interchange, located just off the Wrexham bypass which skirts the west of the town and was well known for its high volumes of traffic. The restaurant opened beside a filling station.
In 1988, Forte added a Little Chef Lodge to the site. This gave Little Chef their perfect "triple treat" line up. The lodge later became a Travelodge when Forte acquired the brand. In the mid 90s, when Granada took over from Forte, a Burger King was added to the Little Chef in order to provide a second restaurant option. However, this later closed for good.
The site continued to trade well until 2012 when then owners R Capital decided to close 67 sites that it deemed to be underperforming with Wrexham identified as one of these. By the end of July, it had closed its doors, leaving the Travelodge and filling station to soldier on alone.
However, all was not lost as the Little Chef later reopened as a Starbucks and Subway combination site, with the Starbucks housed in the Little Chef space and the Subway housed in the Burger King space. The restaurants are operated by Euro Garages.
