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|Number = 123 |
|Number = 123 |
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|Name = Skeeby |
|Name = Skeeby |
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| − | |Year |
+ | |Year Opened = 1972-76 |
| + | |Year Closed = 2017 |
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|Name of road = A1 |
|Name of road = A1 |
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| − | |Name of village/town = Skeeby, |
+ | |Name of village/town = Skeeby, Richmond |
|Postcode = DL10 5EQ |
|Postcode = DL10 5EQ |
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|Name of county = North Yorkshire |
|Name of county = North Yorkshire |
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| − | |image = Skeeby_little_chef.jpg}} |
+ | |image = Skeeby_little_chef.jpg}} |
| + | The '''Skeeby '''branch was a Little Chef restaurant located on the A1 near the small village of Skeeby, North Yorkshire. |
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| + | ==Address and Onsite Information== |
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| + | '''ADDRESS: '''A1 Northbound, Skeeby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 5EQ |
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| + | '''ONSITE FACILITIES: '''Travelodge ([https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/221/Scotch-Corner-Skeeby-hotel Book Room]) |
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| − | The site is commonly known as Skeeby as the village lies very nearby to the site but is sometimes referred to as High Brough Moor which is the name given by the Highways Agency. |
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| + | For more information, visit [https://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/High_Brough_Moor Motorway Services Online] |
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| − | The Little Chef first opened during the 1970s when it replaced a small cafe known as the Clock Cafe. This suggests that along with many other transport cafes, Forte bought the Clock Cafe to transform it into a more profitable Little Chef restaurant and to also spread branches across the country. The Little Chef had the addition of a Travelodge hotel and a Shell filling station during the 1990s. All in all, a successful Little Chef restaurant located north of the busy Scotch Corner junction. |
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| + | ==History== |
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| + | Life at Skeeby started in the 1960s when an independent, known as the Clock Cafe, opened on site. The cafe sat about 1 mile south of the famous Scotch Corner junction, a busy intersection serving two roads (A1 and A66) heading towards Scotland. |
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| − | The restaurant is still operating today and is one of the oldest surviving in the UK. It has not recieved a refurbishment and keeps its old look. The future of Skeeby is in doubt due to the upcoming upgrade of the A1 which is set to reduce access to the Little Chef. |
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| + | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| + | In the early-mid 1970s, Forte, along with many other transport cafes, bought the Clock Cafe and replaced it with a Little Chef restaurant as part of their plans to expand the chain rapidly across the UK. In order to save money and time, Forte decided to house the new Little Chef inside of the original Clock Cafe building. However, the restaurant was later rebuilt in a much more modern building, which still exists today. |
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| + | [[File:Skeeby MK1.png|left|thumb|314x314px|The original Little Chef building, before it was later rebuilt]] |
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| + | In 1988, the site saw the addition of a Little Chef Lodge hotel in order to provide accommodation for tired travellers. This was later rebranded as Travelodge in 1989. |
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| + | |||
| + | Owing to its prime location beside the busy A1, Forte wasted no time in adding a Little Chef Coffee stop to the building in the early 90s, although this was later removed. |
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| + | |||
| + | Around 1997, another Little Chef had opened up shop at the nearby Scotch Corner Services, located a mile north of Skeeby Little Chef. Given the plentiful choice of facilities at Scotch Corner Services, as well as it being accessible to all traffic on two major routes (the A1 and A66), it was likely that the Little Chef here would be a more popular site than Skeeby. However, the restaurant at Scotch Corner ceased trading by 2008, as part of Moto's restructuring. This left Skeeby as the sole Little Chef trading in the area. |
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| + | |||
| + | In late 2009, [[Rainton North]] Little Chef (located 20 miles south) closed. This left Little Chef with unused Coffee Tempo equipment and signage. Rather than letting it go to waste, the equipment was transferred to Skeeby and a new Coffee Tempo outlet opened there instead. However, this proved to be unpopular and was consequently gone by 2011. |
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| + | |||
| + | In 2012, it was announced that the A1 between Leeming Bar and Barton (the section that the Little Chef stands on) would be upgraded to a new three laned motorway. Work on the new road started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. As a result, a huge amount of traffic was taken away from the Little Chef, despite still being accessible via a local access road. However, this would not be the strict cause for the demise of the restaurant as in the same year, Euro Garages purchased the chain and over the next year, closed all of the Little Chef restaurants nationwide. Skeeby closed in May 2017 and as of today, nothing has ever replaced the restaurant, leaving it as an abandoned eyesore next to the surviving Travelodge hotel. |
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| + | |||
| + | <gallery widths="185"> |
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| + | 2015-11-12 07-47-13.jpg|Skeeby Interior |
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| + | 20160213 145701.jpg|The Little Chef in 2016 |
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| + | Skeeby Interior 2020.jpg|The interior of the abandoned Skeeby Little Chef in 2020 |
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| + | Skeeby 2020 1.jpg|The interior of the abandoned Skeeby Little Chef in 2020 |
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| + | Skeeby 2020 2.jpg|Skeeby Little Chef in 2020, still abandoned |
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| + | Skeeby_2008.PNG|Google StreetView in 2008 |
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| + | Skeeby_2009.PNG|Google StreetView in 2009 |
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| + | Skeeby_2011.PNG|Google StreetView in 2011 |
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| + | Skeeby_2015.PNG|Google StreetView in 2015 |
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| + | </gallery> |
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| + | [[Category:Little Chefs on the A1]] |
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| + | [[Category:Current Travelodge Sites]] |
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| + | [[Category:Former Coffee Tempo! Sites]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | [[Category:2017 Closures]] |
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| + | [[Category:1972-76 Openings]] |
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Revision as of 11:20, 16 May 2021
The Skeeby branch was a Little Chef restaurant located on the A1 near the small village of Skeeby, North Yorkshire.
Address and Onsite Information
ADDRESS: A1 Northbound, Skeeby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 5EQ
ONSITE FACILITIES: Travelodge (Book Room)
For more information, visit Motorway Services Online
History
Life at Skeeby started in the 1960s when an independent, known as the Clock Cafe, opened on site. The cafe sat about 1 mile south of the famous Scotch Corner junction, a busy intersection serving two roads (A1 and A66) heading towards Scotland.
In the early-mid 1970s, Forte, along with many other transport cafes, bought the Clock Cafe and replaced it with a Little Chef restaurant as part of their plans to expand the chain rapidly across the UK. In order to save money and time, Forte decided to house the new Little Chef inside of the original Clock Cafe building. However, the restaurant was later rebuilt in a much more modern building, which still exists today.
The original Little Chef building, before it was later rebuilt
In 1988, the site saw the addition of a Little Chef Lodge hotel in order to provide accommodation for tired travellers. This was later rebranded as Travelodge in 1989.
Owing to its prime location beside the busy A1, Forte wasted no time in adding a Little Chef Coffee stop to the building in the early 90s, although this was later removed.
Around 1997, another Little Chef had opened up shop at the nearby Scotch Corner Services, located a mile north of Skeeby Little Chef. Given the plentiful choice of facilities at Scotch Corner Services, as well as it being accessible to all traffic on two major routes (the A1 and A66), it was likely that the Little Chef here would be a more popular site than Skeeby. However, the restaurant at Scotch Corner ceased trading by 2008, as part of Moto's restructuring. This left Skeeby as the sole Little Chef trading in the area.
In late 2009, Rainton North Little Chef (located 20 miles south) closed. This left Little Chef with unused Coffee Tempo equipment and signage. Rather than letting it go to waste, the equipment was transferred to Skeeby and a new Coffee Tempo outlet opened there instead. However, this proved to be unpopular and was consequently gone by 2011.
In 2012, it was announced that the A1 between Leeming Bar and Barton (the section that the Little Chef stands on) would be upgraded to a new three laned motorway. Work on the new road started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. As a result, a huge amount of traffic was taken away from the Little Chef, despite still being accessible via a local access road. However, this would not be the strict cause for the demise of the restaurant as in the same year, Euro Garages purchased the chain and over the next year, closed all of the Little Chef restaurants nationwide. Skeeby closed in May 2017 and as of today, nothing has ever replaced the restaurant, leaving it as an abandoned eyesore next to the surviving Travelodge hotel.
