Burger King outlet at Warwick Southbound, located left of the main entrance and concourse in the food court area, alongside other food brands, opposite a large seating area. Burger King opened when the site did in 1995. Had Warwick South opened any earlier, this unit would be Julie’s pantry instead. Welcome Break began using BK in 1995 when they were acquired by Granada (formerly Moto), a brand deeply in favour of installing Burger Kings. BK was one of the first high street names to saturate motorway services & in the 90s, they were very popular. Since then, they have declined. The main reason for this is their relaxed attitude towards price inflation. To keep operators happy, BK commonly inflate their motorway prices significantly, causing customers to be put off by prices which are sometimes 50% more than what you would pay at a high street branch. Despite this, BK are still a well-known name & have a solid customer fan base, meaning they still trade enough. BK lacks any customer seating of its own, so customers can use the communal seating opposite. It’s a fairly small unit, but was fully stocked when I visited and all the self-service machines were working. BK was last refurbished at Warwick South in 2017 and features a BK logo which was discontinued in 2021. It’s now a modern looking BK with Welcome Break’s 2014 flooring scheme just in front of it. Burger King contributes towards the idea that Welcome Break food courts are useless in the mornings, and also quite unhealthy. Pret opening at Warwick South has helped rectify this. BK does offer breakfast items, however they are quite limited and it doesn’t open until 9am. BK also doesn’t have many healthy food options on their menu. Burger King’s largest competitor, McDonald’s, was much slower at embracing the roadside, as McDonald’s is largely only available at Roadchef and Extra sites as well as a few A-Road locations. BK have several partnerships with operators, such as Moto, Welcome Break & EuroGarages, meaning BK is present at most motorway services and a large volume of A-road sites, especially former Little Chef buildings. Burger King was moderately busy during my visit due to the time of day being just before lunchtime, and Warwick South was busy due to several coaches stopping whilst I was here. BK was quieter than KFC. Burger King is signposted from the M40 Southbound, so customers stopping can expect to find this Burger King here. BK is also advertised lots around the site and from the exterior of the amenity building, as it’s one of Warwick South’s main brands.

Photo taken on 24/06/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Warwick, Burger King, M40, Welcome Break