The Little Paxton branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the southbound side of the A1 near Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A1 Southbound, Little Paxton, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 4EN
ONSITE FACILITIES: None
History[]
The Little Chef at Little Paxton opened at some point between 1972 and 1976 as part of Forte's mission to expand the Little Chef chain across the UK. Forte's choice for a new restaurant at Little Paxton was a sensible one. Whereas the northern and central sections of the A1 were home to a fair handful of Little Chefs at the time, it was the southern section which had a lack of existing branches, with Biggleswade being the only branch between Peterborough and London. However, with the inevitable closure of Biggleswade by 1976, this would leave a lengthy section of the A1 deprived of any Little Chefs, with Alwalton, near Peterborough, being the most southerly based restaurant on the road. Forte reacted to this by focusing on its expansion on this section of the A1 and as a result, opened up the Little Paxton restaurant. In order to cater for northbound traffic, a Little Chef at Southoe, located a quarter of a mile opposite on the northbound side, opened around the same time as Little Paxton. Both were housed inside of matching buildings with flat roofs and windows facing out onto the road and both operated together as a dual sided site.
In 1996, the plug was pulled at Southoe, leaving Little Paxton to soldier on alone. However, it wasn't long until Little Paxton ceased trading as in 2004, then owners Permira put 131 Little Chefs up for sale, with quieter sites and those without a lodge facility deemed to be the most vulnerable. Little Paxton was one of the branches on the list and it closed by 2005.
Whereas most former Little Chefs on the A1 have now become independent cafes, the Little Paxton restaurant was not to be. Since closure, the restaurant has remained as an abandoned eyesore on the side of the road and was even the subject of an arson attack which burnt the inside of the former restaurant out. There are currently no plans to replace the Little Chef as of today.