From All-Day Breakfasts to the Wall Street Journal: The True Story of Our Little Chef Sex Shops

When the Wall Street Journal rings a sex shop in Yorkshire, you know something odd has happened.

But that’s exactly where we found ourselves recently, after the WSJ ran a feature titled “Things Are Getting Awkward in England as Roadside Diners Turn Into Sex Shops.” The Daily Mail picked it up. Then Loose Women had their say — more on Coleen Nolan in a minute. Suddenly everyone wanted to know the same thing: is it true that Britain’s most famous Little Chef sex shop conversions belong to us?

It is. Our stores at Grantham and Pontefract on the A1 spent decades serving Olympic Breakfasts before they ever sold a vibrator — and there was a third, at Sawtry, with a story all of its own. This is the full account, told by the people who actually did it.

By the Pulse & Cocktails team — the people who own the buildings.

What happened to Little Chef?

If you grew up in Britain any time between the sixties and the noughties, you know Little Chef. The red-and-white signs. The Fat Charlie logo. The lollipop after your meal. For generations of families, a Little Chef stop was the highlight of a long car journey — or at least a truce in the back-seat war.

At its peak, the chain ran over 400 roadside restaurants. But the 2000s were unkind. Fast food chains moved in, motorway services got better, and by 2007 Little Chef had gone into administration, closing 28 branches across the country. The brand limped on for another decade before disappearing entirely in 2018.

Which left a very particular kind of building standing empty along Britain’s A-roads. Detached. Well-sized. Brilliant parking. Passing trade measured in the tens of thousands of cars a day.

Someone was going to do something interesting with them.

How three Little Chefs became sex shops

That someone was us. In 2008, we took on the former Little Chef at Stoke Rochford, just south of Grantham on the A1, and opened it as the road’s first adult superstore south of Leeds — the original Little Chef sex shop, if you like. Sawtry in Cambridgeshire followed in 2010, about 40 miles further down the road. Pontefract, at Barnsdale Bar on the A1 northbound, completed the set in 2012.

Why old roadside diners? They’re close to perfect for what we do. The buildings are the right size to stock a proper range: toys, lingerie, bondage gear, the lot. Not the cramped back-street shops people used to picture when they heard the words “sex shop.” The parking is generous. And the locations, right on the Great North Road, mean you can pull in, browse, and be back on your way without a fuss.

The conversions themselves took some doing. Griddles out, shelving in. But look closely at Grantham or Pontefract today and the bones of the old diner are still there. Same footprint, same big windows, same layout that once held rows of laminated menus.

Vice charted the A1’s transformation a few years back and called it Britain’s sexiest motorway. We’d argue it’s technically an A-road, but we’ll take the compliment.

Whatever happened to Sawtry?

Sharp-eyed readers will notice we said three conversions but only two stores. Sawtry deserves its own paragraph.

Our Cambridgeshire branch traded happily on the A1 for over a decade — until the road claimed it back. The site was earmarked for a new Moto motorway services, and despite our objections (we did ask to be part of the scheme), planning permission was granted. The store closed in 2022 and the old building was demolished. The services opened in 2025.

So the building that started life flipping pancakes and spent twelve years selling lingerie is now, once again, somewhere you stop for a coffee. There’s a circle-of-roadside-life poetry in that, even if we’d rather still be trading there.

“Two bacon, egg and chips, please”

Here’s the bit every journalist asks about, because it’s true: people still walk in expecting breakfast.

Not often these days, but it happens. Someone who hasn’t driven that stretch of the A1 in fifteen years pulls in on autopilot, strolls through the door, and asks for a fry-up — then goes very quiet as they clock the shelves. Our staff have got the gentle redirection down to a fine art. Most people laugh. A few have stayed to browse.

We’ve become a landmark in our own right, too. Ask anyone who regularly drives the A1 and they’ll know exactly which buildings you mean. There are worse legacies than being the reason a thousand road-trip conversations suddenly get interesting.

Why the Wall Street Journal came calling

An American financial newspaper writing about sex shops on the A1 takes some explaining.

Partly it’s just a great story — the very British collision of a nostalgic roadside diner and an adult superstore writes its own headline. The WSJ leaned into the awkwardness, the Mail leaned into the nostalgia, and Loose Women leaned into the laugh. During a segment on repurposed Little Chef sites, the panel got onto the adult retailer that kept taking them over, and Coleen Nolan admitted she knew exactly who we were, joking: “Anything with a pulse!”

Coleen, the kettle’s always on.

Underneath the fun, though, there’s a real shift worth noticing. Sexual wellness has moved into the mainstream. The subject that once required a brown paper bag is now discussed on daytime telly, stocked in high-street chemists, and covered by broadsheets. Our stores just happen to be a very visible, very photogenic symbol of that change.

We’ll be honest: we’re rather proud. Not many Yorkshire retailers get a call from the Wall Street Journal.

The secret reason roadside works

There’s one more thing the press coverage danced around, and it’s actually the heart of why these stores exist.

Lots of people are nervous about visiting an adult store. Not because of what’s inside — because of who might see them going in. A shop on your local high street means bumping into your neighbour, your colleague, your kid’s teacher.

A store on the A1, miles from anywhere you’re known, with a big anonymous car park? That changes everything. You can take your time. Browse without watching the door. Ask our staff anything — and people do ask everything — knowing the only other customers are strangers passing through.

It’s why the Little Chefs were never the whole story. Today we run 17 stores across the UK, and many follow the same thinking: our Essex store sits on the A12, Kettering on the A14, Lichfield on the A38, Brough on the A63, Saxilby on the A57. Roadside, discreet, easy to get to, easy to leave.

That discretion is why nervous first-timers become regulars. If you’ve been curious but hesitant, a roadside store is genuinely the easiest first visit you can make.

Your questions, answered

Which Pulse & Cocktails stores used to be Little Chefs?

Two of our current stores: A1 South at Stoke Rochford near Grantham (converted in 2008) and A1 North at Barnsdale Bar, Pontefract (2012). A third, at Sawtry in Cambridgeshire (2010), traded until 2022, when the site was demolished to make way for a new motorway services.

Why did sex shops take over Little Chef buildings?

When Little Chef went into administration in 2007, its roadside sites became available — and they turned out to be ideal retail spaces. The buildings are the right size for a full adult superstore, the parking is excellent, and A1 locations offer passing trade with built-in privacy.

Do people really still ask for breakfast?

Occasionally, yes. Drivers who remember the buildings as Little Chefs sometimes wander in expecting a fry-up. Our staff point them towards the nearest café — though a few have stayed for a look around.

Where are the sex shops on the A1?

Ours are at Stoke Rochford on the A1 southbound near Grantham, and Barnsdale Bar on the A1 northbound near Pontefract. They’re two of our 17 stores across the UK — use our store finder to locate your nearest.

What did Coleen Nolan say about Pulse & Cocktails?

During a Loose Women segment about former Little Chef sites being repurposed, the panel discussed how we’d taken over several of the old roadside diners. Coleen Nolan admitted she was familiar with the chain, joking, “Anything with a pulse!”

Is it awkward visiting an adult store for the first time?

Far less than you’d expect. Our roadside locations were chosen precisely because they’re discreet, and our staff are trained to be welcoming and completely judgement-free. Browse quietly or ask questions — both are absolutely fine.

The welcome hasn’t changed

The Olympic Breakfast is long gone, but one thing survived the conversion: these are still buildings people pull into off a long road and leave feeling better than when they arrived.

If you’re passing down the A1, call into Grantham or Pontefract and see a piece of accidental British retail history for yourself. Or find your nearest of our 17 stores — no fry-up, but a very warm welcome.