The Penrith branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the westbound side of the A66 near Penrith, Cumbria.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: A66 Westbound, Redhills, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DT
ONSITE FACILITIES: Burger King, Greggs, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Burger King, Greggs
History[]
The Little Chef at Penrith first opened in 1987 and was built alongside a Little Chef Lodge hotel on the westbound side of the A66, located a short distance away from Junction 40 of the M6. The restaurant was housed within a large brick building perched on top of a small hill.
By 1989, the Little Chef Lodge hotel became a Travelodge, alongside all other Little Chef Lodges across the country.
In 1994, a Coffee Stop was added to the Little Chef, although this later closed and was subsequently replaced with a Burger King in 1999, following Granada's acquisition of Little Chef. The Burger King however closed in the mid 2000s, but was later resurrected by Kout Food Group in 2013.
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 Penrith 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.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Penrith 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 Summer 2018. In late 2018, the building was refurbished to become a Burger King and Greggs.
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