The Oswestry (alternatively Mile End) branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located at the Mile End services at the junction of the A5 and A483 near Oswestry, Shropshire.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Mile End Services, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 4JA
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, ASDA Express (forecourt), Starbucks on the Go (forecourt), Subway (forecourt), Greggs (forecourt), Burger King, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Empty
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
Mile End Services first opened in July 1987, following the opening of the Oswestry Bypass a year earlier in 1986. In the first instance, the site played host to an Esso filling station, a Little Chef restaurant, a Little Chef Lodge hotel and a tourist information centre.
In 1988, the Little Chef Lodge hotel was re-branded as Travelodge.
In the 1990s, a Forte Coffee Stop was added to the site, although this later closed and was replaced with a Burger King following Granada's acquisition of Little Chef.
In 2001, Compass created the concept 'Little Chef Choices'. The format was used to take advantage of the number of catering names they owned (namely Harry Ramsdens, Caffe Ritazza, Upper Crust and Wiseguys Pizza), and thus increase the variety of options available to customers at selected Little Chef sites. Each Choices site was accompanied by a thorough refurbishment with lowered lights, tablecloths, and oak and steel fittings used to create a High Street ambience which would attract more evening diners. The Little Chef at Oswestry was one of approximately 30 sites selected to become a Choices branch in 2002; however in 2004, the Choices concept was dropped and the menus from the other brands were removed.
In 2006, a Coffee Tempo! takeaway unit opened at the site; however, this was short-lived and was removed by 2009.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Oswestry ceased trading in January 2018, making it one of the last sites to have closed across the entire estate. The restaurant then became an EG Diner, which traded until October 2018. Owing to the high concentration of restaurant and takeaway brand already within the services, namely Burger King and a Subway and Greggs in the forecourt, and immediately adjacent, including a KFC, Starbucks Drive Thru and OK Diner at the Oswestry Gateway site located directly opposite, it became difficult for Euro Garages to find a replacement for the Little Chef and, as such, the former restaurant has lain empty ever since its closure
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