One of Norfolk’s last Little Chef restaurants in Acle has closed down
The former Little Chef restaurant in Acle has now closed. Photo: George Ryan - Credit: Archant
They were once a staple of any long journey along Britain's A-road network.
Opening its first restaurant in 1958, Little Chef was a favourite stop off for families heading on holiday.
After a boom in the 1970s and 80s the chain struggled to adapt to changing consumer demands and from its peak of 439 restaurants, today fewer than 70 remain.
MORE: Jobs secure as Euro Garages acquires Little Chef restaurant chain from Kout Food GroupNow one the region's last Little Chefs in Acle has closed.
After trading from its premises just off the A47 en route to Great Yarmouth for over 25 years, the site is now boarded up.
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In February the chain's 78 remaining sites were sold to Euro Garages, which operate several roadside restaurants.
Since the takeover several Little Chefs have shut.
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In 2009 celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal appeared in a high profile Channel 4 documentary to try to turn around the roadside diner chain's fortunes, with some success before his concepts were dropped four years later.
