Long forgotten brands that sank without trace

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Whataday
Posts: 361
Joined: Fri 22 Aug, 2003 00.08
Location: Cardiff
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There's always talk on here along the lines of 'whatever happened to...' and yesterday i was in a Burger King with some friends and the conversation got onto fast food chains.

Does anyone remember The Great British Burger chain of restaurants? I think they were a bit more upmarket than McDonalds and offered a plate service rather than takeaway. When i was very young I have memories of having 2 or 3 in my hometown and they seemed to disappear overnight. I have a feeling one became a Wimpy.

Ive looked on Google and there seems to be hardly any reference to them online so the company seems to have gone without a trace. Does anyone know what happened?
JAS84
Posts: 585
Joined: Fri 12 Aug, 2011 10.23
Location: Hull, UK

Google just brings up a place in Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan. I assume that isn't the same firm?
westy 2
Posts: 78
Joined: Mon 28 Apr, 2008 22.39

Is Wimpy still going?

I know the one in Walsall became Burger King years ago, but there was one in Dale End, Birmingham, until a few years back.
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woah
Posts: 365
Joined: Sun 28 Mar, 2010 12.39

Wimpy still has a good few restaurants dotted around the place - I've only seen a couple myself (one in Doncaster, and one in a bowling alley in Newcastle) - both look dismal and are very empty.

We used to have one attached to a petrol station here in Sheffield till about 2005, think that's the last we saw of them here.
stu
Posts: 236
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 19.34
Location: Kings Oak

There's a Wimpy in Nottingham hidden in a dated mall that is delightfully stuck in a timewarp (opposite an entrance to some underground caves)
Alexia
Posts: 2999
Joined: Sat 01 Oct, 2005 17.50

I remember the Great British Burger. Store signage was red with a Dad's Army style Union Flag triangle in the corner. Newport had one, as did Cwmbran, until at least 1993. Font used was similar to Courier New I believe.

As for what happened to them; this article from 1994 suggests an acquisition by Wimpy / abandonment by franchisees.
wells
Posts: 747
Joined: Sun 31 Jul, 2005 14.52

You could image the 'Great British Burger' brand being used today.
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DVB Cornwall
Posts: 519
Joined: Fri 24 Jun, 2005 21.42

Wimpy still has a significant presence it seems ....

see here ……..

WIMPY.UK.COM
02-Dec-2012 @ 20:15
Image
Alexia
Posts: 2999
Joined: Sat 01 Oct, 2005 17.50

DVB Cornwall wrote:Wimpy still has a significant presence it seems ....

see here ……..

WIMPY.UK.COM
02-Dec-2012 @ 20:15
Indeed - and they pop up in the oddest places, like service stations in the Westcountry!
Dr Lobster*
Posts: 2104
Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2003 20.14

The thing I remember about wimpy is for years it was one of the few places where you could smoke at your table. I haven't eaten there for years, always remember it was pretty grotty.

Another brand which just vanished was Tandy. When I was a child I loved going in there and looking at all the gadgets and electronic kits and components. Maplin covers most of now, but I'd still describe their product line as more mainstream than enthusiast .
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rdobbie
Posts: 276
Joined: Thu 08 Jul, 2004 18.12

Deep Pan Pizza Company - anyone remember them? The restaurants were on retail parks and were a similar format to Pizza Hut, but the pizzas were nicer. I remember they once did a promotion with Cadburys where 4 tokens from Dairy Milk wrappers got you any large pizza for free.
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