Motorway Services Online

Happy Eater

49 more photos in the gallery

Locations:	up to 85
Often accompanied by:	Esso
Used by:	Welcome Break
Introduced:	1973
Removed:	1996
Predecessors:	Welcome Break
Successors:	Little Chef
See also:	AJ's, Brightside

Happy Eater was a family restaurant chain which became a common sight in the 1980s, especially in southern England. It was known for its distinctive yellow branding, animal-shaped outdoor play areas and its slightly unwell-looking red mascot.

Forte considered Happy Eater to be the most upmarket roadside brand they owned. The Happy Eaters were more spacious than their siblings at Little Chef, they had better play areas and they had separate kitchens. Each restaurant had a yellow theme, with yellow light shades hanging from the roof and yellow Formica tables, with bright red plastic edging and steel legs.

Childrens' caps and badges were provided saying "I'm a Happy Eater", as well as Lego and games. A cassette called Mr Happy's Fun Tape was sold in partnership with Chessington Zoo. Parents Magazine declared Happy Eater the best restaurant chain for families in 1983, and the Daily Mirror said it was the best roadside restaurant chain in 1991.

Happy Eaters were especially busy on Sundays, as families would head out of town for the day. On weekdays the trade came mostly from businessmen. Meals included the 'Happy Eater Fast Fry', 'Bangerbake' and fish and chips, while children's meals included 'Dog's Delight', 'Little Porkers' and 'Mr Happy's Ice Cream'.

In 1991, the brand came to be associated with then-Prime Minister John Major, who was seen dining at one while on his way to a speech and reportedly visited regularly.

Much has been said about Happy Eater's unfortunate logo. It was supposedly trying to indicate that culinary delights were available within, but in the end it was redrawn in 1993 to remove the hand (example). By then most branches had already closed.

View Happy Eater menu (1979)

Company History

The Winning Post Happy Eater.

Happy Eater was set up in 1972 by Michael Pickard, who left Trust Houses when they merged with Forte. The company was owned by Courage Brewery, itself owned by the Imperial Group, with Happy Eater being based at 'Pickard House' in Epsom. The first branch opened in Ripley in May 1973.

Michael Pickard was later joined by former Trust Houses colleague Allen Jones, who had previously set up Welcome Break Family Restaurant. It was initially decided that Happy Eater would focus on the south east while Welcome Break remained in the south west, but by 1978 any Welcome Breaks that weren't re-branded had been closed. The new company opened up franchising opportunities, and said they were targetting "High Streets, shopping centres and main roads in the southern half of England".

"We're not only creating an industry but a profession."
Sandy Ross, Commercial Director, 1985

By 1980, Happy Eater had 21 restaurants. These mostly used existing pubs and cafés, usually next to a petrol station. Their policy was to look for "a straight road approach, easy access and good parking".

At this point Happy Eater began to scale up their operation, with a standard building design that could be constructed quickly, and a partnership with Esso that helped them find new locations, but all were aiming for the same user experience. More bright yellow colours were introduced. Most sites were now leased from a garage or petrol station; a few were owned and one was franchised. Two older branches were joined to their own Pickard Motor Hotels.

The number of restaurants had grown to 85 before Imperial Group were acquired by Hanson Trust in 1986, which sold its hospitality chains to Trusthouse Forte that August. Forte ended a few projects they thought would be unprofitable, including a planned Happy Eater video game - that was later launched under another brand, 'Dizzy'. In general Forte approved of Happy Eater, noting its careful site selection and long opening hours. They wanted to expand it to 200 branches, treating it as the middle ground between their Little Chef and Harvester brands.

A report found that the average spend on a meal in 1986 was £3, with their hamburgers priced at £2.75, a meal they encouraged visitors to try as it was becoming "increasingly popular". During the two takeovers, Allen Jones and Jane Pickard left Imperial Group and went on to form a similar chain, AJ's.

With Forte already owning 220 Little Chef restaurants, the Monopoly and Mergers Commission were called in to investigate their purchase of Happy Eater. This concluded that the takeover was no threat to the public interest, as new restaurants could still enter the industry.

Forte developed Happy Eater as their more upmarket brand, introducing a new styling in May 1989 which was much less formal, offering customers a variety of seating including stools and sofas, known as the Mark II era. This was trialled at Peterborough and Colsterworth. By contrast, Little Chef was a more 'common man's' brand, and one that Forte appeared to prioritise.

By 1991, the menu charged 75p for a cup of tea, £2.90 for a burger, chips and dessert, and £1.55 for pancakes with maple syrup. These prices were marginally cheaper than Little Chef's offer, and its menu more varied, with bold options like breaded baby sweetcorn, chilli con carne and passion cake and chocolate pudding.

Closure

Trusthouse Forte were bought by Granada in 1995, who said both Happy Eater and Little Chef were "tired". Granada believed in the power of a strong brand and economies of scale, and decided that there should be one roadside restaurant chain that they would promote relentlessly. They decided this would be Little Chef, and all the Happy Eaters were immediately converted to Little Chefs.

This meant there was now an over-saturation of Little Chef restaurants, including some branches that had been originally intended to compete with each other. This eventually led to a mass-closure of restaurants.

To try to protect itself from the takeover, Forte put together a plan which would have seen both Little Chef and Happy Eater sold to Whitbread. This would have create a whole new scenario where Happy Eater may well have continued trading. That said, even before the takeover, some Happy Eaters were still being converted to Little Chefs.

Legacy

The Happy Eater signpost.

A chain of restaurants in Mauritius now operates under the 'Happy Eater' name, with a very similar logo. They say they were founded in 1996.

The rights to the Happy Eater name in the UK are now owned by Kout Food Group in Kuwait, following the liquidation of their subsidiary, which had been dedicated to monetising the Little Chef and Happy Eater brands. Note that this did not necessarily mean they were seeking to open new restaurants, but that they may not have turned down an opportunity if one arose. It's not clear what the current owner's intentions are, beyond protecting their intellectual property.

Happy Eater's early days was stated as one of the inspirations for the restaurant chain Brightside, which launched in February 2023.

Locations

See also: Map of Happy Eater restaurants

Happy Eater operated at the following locations.

Note that the branch numbering was not always consecutive, or consistent. In the Forte era, some planned Little Chefs and Happy Eaters were swapped around as construction started, causing confusion in the historical records: we believe our list is an accurate record of what actually opened as a Happy Eater.

Where further information is available on the service area, you can tap its name for details.

Branch Number	Restaurant	Road (at the time)	Notes
078	Andover North	A303
079	Andover South	A303
048	Apex Corner	A1	Closed circa 1994 (not converted).
098	Attleborough	A11
062	Baldock	A1
039	Barham	A2	Closed circa 1996 (not converted).
031	Basildon	A127
070	Belbroughton	A491
077	Bere Regis	A31
004	Betchworth	A25	Closed circa 1996 (not converted).
099	Bicester	A41	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
065	Birstall	A62
102	Burford	A40	Was planned to be a Little Chef.
001	Burgh Heath (Pickard Motor Hotel)	A217	Originally Heathside Hotel. Not converted.
073	Burnley	A671 (M65)	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
046	Burton South	A38
013	Camel Cross	A303	Closed in favour of Camel Hill Little Chef, which became a Happy Eater.
069	Cannock	A5	Was Jubilee Café.
058	Capel St Mary	A12
002	Charing	A20	Second branch to open, July 1973.
055	Chester	A41	Closed circa 1996 (not converted).
017	Chipping Norton	A44	Opened December 1980. Closed circa 1996 (not converted).
030	Codford	A36
040	Colsterworth North	A1
101	Colsterworth South	A1
076	Colwyn Bay	A55
???	Coombe Lane (Kingston Bypass) North	A3	Opened 1975, closed very early (not converted).
???	Coombe Lane (Kingston Bypass) South	A3	Opened 1975, closed 1979 (not converted).
061	Croxton	A45	Closed circa 1994 (not converted).
081	Daventry	A45	May 1986 opening, 67th Happy Eater to open
025	Detling	A249
074	Detling South (Stockbury)	A249
097	Doncaster	A1
045	East Dereham	A47
066	Elkesley	A1	Closed circa 1994 (not converted).
087	Feering	A12
005	Felbridge	A22	Closed circa 1996 (not converted).
032	Freckenham	A11
035	Hailsham	A22
096	Hailsham	A22
003	Handcross	A23	Known for being the "third oldest" branch.
???	Henstridge	A30	Former Welcome Break.
034	Hindhead (Pickard Motor Hotel)	A3	Previously the Royal Huts Hotel.
006	Hogs Back	A31
064	Holbeach	A17	Was Gedney Guest House (not converted).
010	Holmwood	A24	Former Welcome Break, converted in 1978.
012	Hooley	A23	Was Cosy Corner Café
027	Horsham	A24
083	Ilminster	A303
015	Kennford North	A38	Former Welcome Break.
016	Kennford South	A38
009	Lamberhurst/Flimwell	A21	Former Welcome Break. Opened on 19 June 1978, later rebuilt.
028	Leicester Forest East North & South	M1	Two restaurants within the motorway service area. At least one was in the transport café. Northbound opened first.
075	Manchester	A34
024	Markham Moor	A1
089	Martlesham	A12
059	Matlock (Darley Dale)	A6
063	Membury West & East	M4	Outside the motorway services. Converted circa 1992.
104	Newark	A1/A17/A46
041	Newmarket North	A14
042	Newmarket South	A14
094	Northop Hall	A55
036	Nottingham	A52
093	Oakmere	A556	One of the first to become a Little Chef
019	Peterborough	A1
085	Picket Post	A31
037	Rainton North	A1	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
038	Rainton South	A1	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
011	Rake	A3	Former Welcome Break. Closed circa 1994, after the bypass (not converted).
100	Ross Spur	A449 (M50)	At the northbound Welcome Break site.
044	Royston	A505
108	Saltash	A38	January 1989 opening, 89th Happy Eater. One of the first to become a Little Chef.
047	Sawtry North	A1
051	Sawtry South	A1
056	Saxmundham	A12
029	Selby Fork	A1
???	Send	A3	The first branch - opened in May 1973. Was Crossways Café.
049	Skipbridge	A59	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
082	South Cave East	A63	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
086	South Cave West	A63	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
103	Sparkford	A303	Built to replace Camel Cross.
072	St Leonards	A31	Opened 1986 on site of Wimpy. Closed around 1996 (not converted).
043	Swindon	A419
023	Tempsford	A1	Opened June 1982.
071	Thirsk	A168	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
091	Todhills	A74	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
???	Tottenham Court Road	A400	Franchised restaurant.
022	Ware	A10	Was Jack's Café.
067	Westcott (Quarrendon)	A41	Was John's Café. Closed 1994 (not converted).
084	Western Avenue	A40
080	Weston on the Green	A34
054	Whitchurch	A49
018	Whitstable	A299
092	Widnes	A562	One of the first to become a Little Chef.
057	Wisbech	A47	Possibly 2 restaurants?
052	Wisley North	A3
053	Wisley South	A3
026	Worthing	A27
021	York	A64	One of the first to become a Little Chef.