Small chains

It being rather a wet day, we spent part of Monday in the High Street of Bognor Regis. A town which is rich in charity shops and Polish groceries, and which also sports a Wimpy Bar, a chain which was important when I was young, but which has more or less vanished from view. While reference 1 suggests that it is not just in Bognor where it is hanging on. I also learn that Wimpy Bar was invented by Lyon's Corner House.

We declined the Wimpy, but a bit further along the street, came across the Poppins Café, which we accepted, which turns out to be one of a chain of such scattered across the towns of southern England - but new to us.

I opted for cheese omelette with salad, which turned up looking very bright and fresh, with the omelette being very neat and round. On investigation it turned out to have been cooked in a pan, in the ordinary way, but inside a special contraption, about the size of a microwave, which heated the bottom of the pan and grilled the top of the omelette at the same time. Not quite the same as an omelette which had been slowly & lovingly turned by hand over a slow heat, but as I have already said, bright and fresh - and entirely eatable.

An establishment which was run by two men and two women, all four foreign and middle aged, possibly two couples. With manners and presentation which suited the business well. I expect they did a good trade with young families and with pensioners such as ourselves.

Reference 1: http://www.wimpy.uk.com/.

Reference 2: http://www.poppinsrestaurants.co.uk/.