The Mackworth branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A52 in Mackworth near Derby, Derbyshire.
Address and Onsite Facilities[]
ADDRESS: A52 Ashbourne Road, Mackworth, Derby, Derbyshire, DE22 4ND
ONSITE FACILITIES:
History[]
Located on one of the the main route between Stoke on Trent and Derby, the Mackworth branch of Little Chef opened around 1974 in a small rectangular building attached to a filling station, which at one time was branded as Gulf. In fact, some of its windows looked right into the forecourt, similar to some other sites which opened around the same area, such as Chicklade.
A small but busy site, Mackworth was in fact the only Little Chef to have opened on the A52 between Stoke on Trent and Derby. Furthermore, its location on a single carriageway section of road near the large city of Derby, coupled with its placement next to a filling station, were all factors which suggested that it was a site well chosen by then owners, Forte.
In 2001/02, Little Chef was sold by then owners Compass Catering to new owners Permira of Canada, along with Travelodge. It this time there was a cull of sites with some older, standalone sites closing and Mackworth was one of the casualties. It closed in 2002 and has since played host to a number of independent restaurants, including: Spice 52, Ivory and Sal's Diner, which later closed. The neighbouring filling station eventually closed as well and became home to Nico's Hand Car Wash and Car Sales, which had also closed. Before the car wash had officially opened, lots of DNA from the filling station's former usage remained for a few more years, including fuel pumps and the cash sign. The entire site is now abandoned.
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