The Staxton branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A64 near Staxton, North Yorkshire.
The Little Chef first opened in 1986/87 and was built alongside a filling station at the Staxton service station, about 5 miles west of the seaside resort of Scarborough. It was the third Little Chef restaurant to be built on the A64 with Bramham Little Chef already operating at the western end of the Tadcaster-York corridor and Malton operating not too far away.
Now, Staxton was positioned at a very clever location. For starters, it was positioned on a non-dual carriageway section of the A64, meaning that it could be easily accessed by all traffic travelling on the road. Also, it's location near Scarborough had a positive impact on the Little Chef. Many of us know Scarborough as a town which attracts thousands of holidaymakers every year with its seaside personality and traditional seaside features such as a small funfair and a pier. Some people may say that Little Chefs are associated with holidays and that they are a great place to go whilst on holiday car journeys - it was a nostalgic thing really. Thus, the Little Chef here would've been sure to attract holidaymakers to the site and also passing traffic who were on the hunt for an Olympic. Staxton seemed to be busy throughout its lifetime, suggesting that holidaymakers and passing traffic were successfully attracted to the site. It was the perfect place to have a view.
Sadly, the Little Chef at Staxton closed forever in 2008, meaning that holidaymakers could no longer come here and would instead have to dine at Malton if they wanted a Little Chef to go to. But even Malton closed in 2012, meaning that York East was the only option left and this is located miles away from the coast!
The Little Chef has since become Harpers Fish and Chips which in a way brings the seaside tradition but the site will of course never be the same without the Little Chef. Some travellers may notice that an extension was added to the building after the Little Chef closed.
