Happy Eater
restaurant chain | |
Founded | 1973 |
---|---|
Founder | Sir Michael Pickard |
Defunct | 1997 |
Fate | Merged into Little Chef |
Owner | Kout Food Group K.S.C.C. (trademarks) |
Happy Eater was a
History
In 1973, a former
In 1980, the brand further expanded when its 21 locations were sold to the
Decline
In 1996, Granada purchased Forte, as it had become known, and began to streamline their business by converting the Happy Eater locations to the Little Chef brand. By 1997, all Happy Eater restaurants were either converted or closed, helping Little Chef reach its peak of 439 restaurants.[7] This would prove challenging for Little Chef, as some Happy Eater locations were originally built to compete with Little Chef, meaning now the restaurants were now directly competing with themselves. This ultimately meant Little Chef would close many locations throughout the 2000s as a result of falling profits.[8]
The defunct Happy Eater brand is currently owned by Kuwaiti firm Kout Food Group, who were the last organisation to license out the Little Chef name until January 2018. The group closed its UK offices in 2020, meaning the Happy Eater trademark is now registered in Kuwait.[9]
Legacy
The 1986 film,
Between July and August of 2018, an art exhibition about Happy Eater was held at Taco in London.[13]
In November 2022, Loungers announced they were launching Brightside to fill the gap in the market created by the demise of Little Chef and Happy Eater. In February 2023, their first location opened in a former Happy Eater building near Exeter.[14][15]
References
- ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps.
- ^ "Contact- Toran Indian Cuisine". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (31 December 1995). "Is a great English fry-up safe on the motorway?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Happy Eater - motorway services". Motorway Services Online. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ISBN 9781861896315.
- ^ Steafel, Eleanor (26 February 2019). "'A Nando's wing roulette with no sides?' The picture that proves MPs should never eat in public". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ "Happy Eater - motorway services". Motorway Services Online. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Cannon, Finley (16 October 2022). "Every former Little Chef in Bedfordshire and what they are now". bedfordshirelive. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Search for a trade mark - Intellectual Property Office". trademarks.ipo.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Mona Lisa: going back to the locations of the British neo-noir, 35 years later". BFI. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) - IMDb, retrieved 4 November 2022
- ^ "Truth Seekers ending explained - What happened?". Digital Spy. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Happy Eater - Exhibition at TACO in London". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ morningadvertiser.co.uk. "New Loungers concept to reinvigorate roadside dining". morningadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ kate (11 February 2023). "Brightside Opens its Doors in Exeter". Loungers. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
External links
Media related to Happy Eater at Wikimedia Commons