The Puesdown branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A40 near Compton Abdale, Gloucestershire.
Built as a standalone site, Puesdown Little Chef opened its doors to the public in 1988/89. It was housed inside of a modern looking building with lightly toned bricks, a difference to most of the other 80s sites.
In terms of location, Puesdown Little Chef was at a great little site. For starters, it had the ability to serve both sides of the A40, therefore all traffic travelling on the road could pull over and enjoy a meal whilst taking a break from the road. Also, its location in the Cotswolds on top of a hill meant that diners could enjoy the countryside that was surrounding the Little Chef, therefore this made the branch an enjoyable place to dine at for those who like a good view. It was well chosen by Forte when they built it.
Located a few miles away to the east of Puesdown was Northleach Little Chef which to some extent was in competition with Puesdown. Both were very successful branches in the end and both seemed to do a good trade but in 1994/95, Northleach closed for good, therefore Puesdown seized it's opportunity to earn more custom and make more money due to the typical Northleach custom being diverted to Puesdown.
Sadly in 2004/05, 131 Little Chef sites were sold off by then owners, Permira. One of these sites included Puesdown and it sadly closed its doors by 2005.
Happily this was not the end though as the old Little Chef was heavily refurbished and was eventually transformed into a house. The builders still kept the Little Chef building for the exterior, but in terms of the interior, you couldn't tell it was a Little Chef back in the past. Happily though, the Little Chef identity isn't completely lost at the site as a few trading lamposts remain as do the old poles of the totem.