The Podimore branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located at the Podimore Roundabout serving the A37 and A303 near Yeovil, Somerset.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Podimore Roundabout, Podimore, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8JG
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, Londis (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), Burger King, Greggs, Subway, Travelodge (Book Room)
LITTLE CHEF NOW: Burger King, Subway, Greggs
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History[]
The Little Chef at Podimore first opened in 1988 and was built alongside a filling station and Travelodge hotel at the busy Podimore Roundabout located a short distance away from Yeovil. The restaurant was housed in a building with a pitched roof, double front design, the typical building style for Little Chefs opening at the time.
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 2006, a Coffee Tempo! takeaway unit was added to the site; however, this was later removed.
In 2011, the Little Chef received the 'Wonderfully British' refurbishment along with nine other sites. Wonderfully British was the follow-on, slightly tweaked version of the "Hestonised" site, with slightly different interior finishes, new branding (Charlie lost his tray and instead had his arms open to welcome visitors) and Little Chef's new "grab and go" take-away option branded as Good to Go. The Good to Go counter would later become a Little Chef Express.
Following the takeover of the Little Chef brand by Euro Garages in 2017, the Little Chef at Podimore ceased trading in January 2018, making it one of the last sites to have closed across the entire estate. Following a brief stint as an EG Diner, which closed in June 2018, the building was then refurbished to become a Burger King, Subway and Greggs combination site. A Sainsbury's on the Go shop was added to the building in 2019, although this was later replaced with a SPAR shop in 2021; however, this was very short lived and closed just months later.
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