The Malton branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A64 near Claxton, North Yorkshire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: A64, Claxton, York, North Yorkshire, YO60 7SG
ONSITE FACILITIES: None
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Demolished
History[]
The Little Chef at Malton first opened in 1985 and was built on the site of the former Thrust filling station. The restaurant was housed in a building constructed using stone, most likely to reflect the character of the surrounding area.
Following Little Chef's then owners, the People's Restaurant Group, suffering from financial difficulties, the Little Chef at Malton, alongside 40 other branches, closed in January 2007. However, the restaurant would later reopen in 2009 by then CEO Ian Pegler, who wanted to get the number of Little Chef sites back up to 200 and expand the chain in the North East. Unfortunately, the expansion was limited and Pegler only ended up reopening three other Little Chef sites between 2008 and 2009.
Prior to its reopening, the abandoned Little Chef at Malton appeared in the opening sequence to each episode of the Channel 4 television programme, Big Chef Takes on Little Chef.
In January 2012, then owners R Capital announced the closure of 67 unprofitable Little Chefs nationwide, with Malton being one of the affected branches. The Little Chef closed, for the second time, by February 2012.
Following the closure of the Little Chef, the building has since played host to a number of independent restaurants and cafes, including Uncle Joe's Diner, Hickory's Roadhouse and Grill, Huckleberry's American Diner (twice), Holy Moly Deep South Kitchen and Cafe 64. In 2025, and following the closure of Huckleberry's American Diner, the building was demolished.
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