Happy Eater
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Happy Eater was a chain of roadside restaurants in the United Kingdom. It was owned by the Trust House Forte hotel group since 1 August 1986 when THF bought its 70 restaurants from the hotel division of Imperial Group plc (including Welcome Break service stations) from Hanson Trust plc. Three Happy Eaters were at motorway service stations. THF was taken over in 1995 by Granada. Most Happy Eaters were in south-east England, the Midlands and most noticeably along the A1. They had many facilities for young children to occupy themselves with, usually outdoors.
Happy Eater was formed by Michael Pickard (a former managing director of THF and former pupil of Oundle School) in 1973. In 1980, when it had 21 restaurants, it was taken over by Imperial Group.
The brand ceased to exist in 1997 when Granada converted the restaurants into Burger Kings and Little Chefs. Granada said this was because people were eating at Little Chefs rather than the Happy Eaters. Granada also said profits would double when they were rebranded.[citation needed] However, the Little Chef brand itself soon ran into financial trouble following the conversions.
[edit] Popular culture
- The Torchwood episode Random Shoes features a roadside restaurant called Happy Cook, which features a similar logo (and name) to Happy Eater.
- The movie Rise of the Footsoldier features prominent scenes in a Happy Eater restaurant.
[edit] References
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