Chicken tikka set to spice up Little Chefs

MATHEW HORSMAN

Those who frequent roadside restaurants - and who has not stopped at a Little Chef or a Granada services? - should brace themselves for radical changes in the way their food is prepared, presented and priced.

Having won its bid for Forte, Granada has grandiose plans to introduce new menus, refurbish tired decor and launch fast-food formats at many of the 430 Little Chef and Happy Eater outlets that dot the country.

Tossed on the ash-heap of history will be the quintessential 1960s-style Little Chef restaurant, with staid furnishings, too few waitresses and a long wait for coffee and a bun. The greasy spoon breakfast will still be on offer, of course, but there will be more colour on the plate, a smattering of "ethnic" dishes and conformity.

And it is all likely to cost more, as Granada aims to maximise profits. Forte itself has already begun to toy with making changes before being forced onto the defensive by Granada's pounds 3.8bn takeover challenge. But the plans were too little, too late.

Granada has spent two years analysing the chains, and has identified 300 outlets which it intends to make over. The better-known Little Chef brand will get a all-day snack and patisserie range and a takeaway counter, while just under 100 sites will be transformed into fast-food outlets such as Burger King or Pizza Hut.

Menus will be rewritten, with more expensive ingredients replaced by cheaper alternatives. Tired items will dropped in favour of more fashionable selections - such as chicken tikka or spicy chicken wings. Granada expects to spend about pounds 50,000 per outlet to improve interiors, cash register systems and the menus. For the fast-food outlets, the bill for renovations will rise to about pounds 250,000 per site.

It is all worth it, the company says, because it will push profit margins up by 2 percentage points across the board.

Additional profits will come from the huge cost savings Granada plans to achieve with the merging of its catering operations with those of Forte. Granada's executives have criticised Forte for allowing local managers too much discretion in buying supplies. It reckons it can reduce the catering bill by as much as 10 per cent.

Welcome to the future of British roadside catering: brand names, quick service and homogenised cuisine. At least you know what you'll get.