Costa Coffee lounge at Clacket Lane Eastbound, located in the food court between the entrance and LEON, opposite customer seating. It’s a large outlet, with seating of its own. Costa has traded at Clacket Lane East since 2000, replacing a Cafe Continental which the site opened with in 1993. Costa was significantly refurbished & the layout was changed in 2020, when the food court area was completely overhauled. It now looks much fresher, with large windows at the back overlooking vegetation & the car park. Costa is also in an obvious location within the amenity building, on route between the main entrance and toilets, picking up more passing trade. Costa is a well known name to motorway services, & is extremely popular (Roadchef’s 2nd most popular brand after McDonald’s). However, some customers are put off due to their price inflation. Nationwide, Costa have significantly inflated their prices since 2017, but this inflation is greater at motorway services due to high demand. Expensive prices means customers are more likely to choose McDonalds, which also serve coffee, but for a much cheaper price. This Costa will also loose some trade to the drive thru kiosk on-site, enabling customers to purchase the same products without leaving their car. This lounge is not open 24 hours. When it closes for the night, customers can use Costa Express machines in WHSmith. Unlike Westbound, this Costa seems to be integrated into the food court area more. Many motorway services coffee shops (Starbucks/Costa) seem to be set apart from food court areas to make them feel more exclusive. They are also more obvious on their own. When Costa was sold to Coca Cola in 2021, M&S food products became available at all Costa stores, meaning Clacket Lane Eastbound now offers M&S food, something it didn’t have previously. Costa was fairly busy during my visit due to it being the Easter holidays, so the site was busier than ordinary. All customers using the facility were able to sit down, so it wasn’t overcrowded. Costa is signposted from the M25 Anti-Clockwise, but as a drive thru. Customers are likely to still expect an interior lounge however. This Costa lounge is advertised lots around the site & from the exterior of the amenity building, so customers are aware of it.

Photo taken on 05/04/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Clacket Lane, Roadchef, M25, Costa