The Lincoln branch was a former Little Chef restaurant located on the A46 near Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It is sometimes known as the Thorpe-on-the-Hill restaurant.
Address and Onsite Information
ADDRESS: A46, Thorpe on the Hill, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 9AJ
ONSITE FACILITIES: Esso, Shop 'n Drive (forecourt), Costa Express (forecourt), EG Diner, Burger King, Travelodge (Book Room)
History
The site was first built in the late 80s by Little Chef's rival chain, Kelly's Kitchen. The site was a joint venture between a Brewing Company, who operated the restaurant, and Petrofina, an oil company who operated the forecourt. This was one of 18 Kelly's Kitchens/ Petrofina sites operating across the UK. Other sites included Black Cat (A1), Seaton Burn (A1), Crewe (A500) and Beacon Hill (A14). Kelly's Kitchen restaurants were very distinctive, housed inside a building with an overhanging roof, cottage styled windows and a large funnel-like chimney built into the site and the roof.
In 1989/90, Forte were on the hunt to expand the Little Chef chain and decided to buy out Kelly's Kitchen and rebrand all 18 restaurants as Little Chef. By 1992, Forte had added a Travelodge to the site giving them the dream combo. By 1995 Granada got their hands on Forte and added a Burger King to the site, although this later closed.
The Little Chef at Lincoln had all the ingredients of a successful site. For starters, it was positioned just off a roundabout serving busy traffic heading in and out of Lincoln, making it easily accessible and spotable to all traffic. Also, the neighbouring filling station and lodge presented a great opportunity for Little Chef to attract additional custom from the facilities. The Little Chef was also positioned next to a large population source in the form of Lincoln, meaning a high chance of attracting locals to the site.
Following the takeover by Euro Garages in 2017, Lincoln was one of a number sites converted to an EG Diner in January 2018. This is due to the expiration of Euro Garages' right to use the Little Chef brand name. These sites are likely to be re-branded as another brand at a later date.