I'm sure we would all welcome the return of franchises. I doubt the park will be thinking this way though as some of the franchise fees for these brands are astronomical. The whole reason they went down the own brand route was so they could source their own stock and consumables to maximise margin on what they sold.Wonder now if they regret getting rid of the franchise units , e.g. McDonalds, given that Merlin would not having to supply the stock or the staff to run them....
Thought the reason McDonald's went was because it had ridiculously low hygiene ratings? That said though, I wouldn't mind kfc to return. I think the gravy they serve at fcc (and ffac last season) is actually oxtail soup, and though tower's wasn't as bad, legolands fcc was more grease than chicken last year.Wonder now if they regret getting rid of the franchise units , e.g. McDonalds, given that Merlin would not having to supply the stock or the staff to run them....
Thought the reason McDonald's went was because it had ridiculously low hygiene ratings? That said though, I wouldn't mind kfc to return. I think the gravy they serve at fcc (and ffac last season) is actually oxtail soup, and though tower's wasn't as bad, legolands fcc was more grease than chicken last year.
Because McNuggets?I'd give anything to have Maccies back on the park (and at Chessie as well).
The majority of us applauded the move from big branded outlets to the introduction of in house catering. Chessington at this time was impressing us with the variety of high quality Merlin owned outlets and everything looked promising. Fast forward 8 years and I think it has been a massive missed opportunity.
I think now it would be a good time to bring back in some big brands. We are undoubtedly living in a culture dominated by brands, especially with the younger generation, seeing these brands on park in a classy way will no doubt offer better customer satisfaction ratings alongside releasing some of the pressure from the failing in-house outlets.
Some of the food is nice, I think fried chicken is also very good. But for the cost it's not good value at all. You can get nicer chicken at KFC for a lot cheaper than you can for a meal at fried chicken co. The same applies at burger kitchen, it's about £7.50 for a standard meal there now. The prices seem to rise and rise each year, and way more than the likes of KFC and McDonald's.
As for themed outlets. I wonder how much of that was decided by Alton towers/tussards or by the companies. I expect it was probably tussards who said you could have the franchise but you will have to spend a fortune refurbishing the restaurant to fit the area.
The only ones left that are nicely themed is pizza pasta at towers and KFC at Thorpe. The rest are all generic Merlin chains.
Pizza Pasta is one of the park's better eateries but I wouldn't describe it as 'themed'.
I think the Tavern is the only real themed outlet on park now, left over from the days of Merrie England.
There is, yeah - the Courtyard Tavern. The Tavern is open at the moment, but Courtyard BBQ - where you could get food - is currently closed. It's currently unclear whether that will open this season.I can't remember - does the Courtyard have a pub in it? Thanks.