Industry | Roadside restaurant chain |
---|---|
Founded | February 1995 |
Founder | City Centre Restaurants |
Owner | Lawrie & Daughters Limited |
Website | www |
OK Diners Limited (trading as OK Diner) is a British chain of roadside restaurants founded in February 1995 by City Centre Restaurants. The chain has a retro American diner theme with 1950s music, chequerboard flooring, booth seating, chrome details and memorabilia on display. [1] [2]
As of October 2024, the chain has nine restaurants, and is owned by Lawrie & Daughters Limited, a real estate business. [3]
In February 1995, OK Diner was created by John Roebuck and Tony Horsfall to be part of City Centre Restaurants, who also owned the Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito brands at the time. [4]
In September 2001, City Centre Restaurants sold OK Diner to managers Ian Hendry and Dafydd Poole in order to focus on other business interests. [5] [6]
In January 2004, OK Diner opened in a former Little Chef in Grantham, Lincolnshire. [7] In the following year, it acquired another former Little Chef in Egginton, Derbyshire. [8]
In July 2014, Dafydd Poole (now known as Dafydd Lawrie) bought out Ian Hendry's stake in the business. [9]
In July 2024, OK Diner faced criticism at its Northop Hall restaurant for issuing parking fines to diners. Dafydd Lawrie explained that the restrictions were necessary due to the parking area being misused by visitors accessing nearby services. He added that diners who had contacted their head offices had their fines canceled. [10]
As of October 2024, the chain has nine restaurants. [11]
A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a combination of booths served by a waitstaff and a long sit-down counter with direct service, in the smallest simply by a cook. Many diners have extended hours, and some along highways and areas with significant shift work stay open for 24 hours.
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Roadchef Motorways Limited is a company which operates 21 motorway service areas in the United Kingdom.
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Zizzi Restaurants Limited, trading as Zizzi, is a chain of Italian-inspired restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is the sister restaurant of ASK Italian, both having been founded by Adam and Sam Kaye. In February 2015, Bridgepoint Capital completed a £250 million acquisition of the two brands. They were subsequently bought by TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2020.
Killamarsh Central is a former railway station in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, England.
Little Chef was a British chain of roadside restaurants; founded in 1958 by Sam Alper and Peter Merchant who were inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English breakfast – as well as its "Early Starter" and "Jubilee Pancakes". The restaurants were mostly located on A roads, often paired with a Travelodge motel, a Burger King and a petrol station. The chain was also located along motorways in Moto Services, for a time.
Strensham services is a motorway service station on the M5 in Worcestershire, England. It is operated by Roadchef. In August 2011, it was rated as 4 stars (southbound) and 3 stars (northbound) by quality assessors at Visit England.
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In Britain, a cafe or café, also known colloquially as a caff or greasy spoon, is a small eatery typically specialising in fried foods or home-cooked meals.