The Hailsham branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A22 in Hailsham.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: Hailsham BN27 4AA
ONSITE FACILITIES: None
History[]
This branch opened as a Happy Eater in the late '80s, and had previously been two different restaurants - The Country Fox and The Old Orchard. It opened as a direct competitor to the Lower Dicker Little Chef - which was just down the A22. The two would be rivals for many years.
In 1990, changes were made to the two restuarants. A new Happy Eater was to open at Hellingly, just south of both restaurants at the Boship Roundabout. As a result, Forte (who owned both chains) decided that the Happy Eater would move to the new branch, and the Little Chef at Lower Dicker would be closed and the Little Chef would be reopened here. Little Chef would take over the site in 1991, and the rivalry between the two restaurants would continue albeit at new sites.
More changes would occur in 1996 which spelled trouble for the Hailsham branch. Granada - new owners of both Happy Eater and Little Chef decided to phase out the Happy Eater brand, which meant the site at Hellingly would become another Little Chef. This caused problems for both branches - and as a result, it was decided in 2000 to close Hailsham.
The former branch reopened in the 2000s as Connaught Commercials, a vehicle seller. However, it closed in the early 2020s, and the site is currently for sale.