Metropol

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?

Google just brings up a place in Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan. I assume that isn't the same firm?

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.

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.

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)

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.

You could image the 'Great British Burger' brand being used today.

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

see here ……..

WIMPY.UK.COM
02-Dec-2012 @ 20:15

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!

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 .

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.