The success of food on the move at Welcome Break’s Birchanger site on the M11 in Bishops Stortford is driven by a ’day-part menu’ that has been designed to satisfy eating needs and maximise sales. The breakfast menu kicks off at 6am with breakfast baps, sausage rolls and hot pastries; and at 11.30am the site moves onto a lunchtime hot menu, which includes meat and chicken burgers, as well as more substantial pastry products and a vegetarian option.

Helen Rounce, forecourt operations manager at Welcome Break, says: "Sandwiches are the most popular choice at lunchtime, and our chilled sandwich menu comprises six freshly-made-in-store filled baguettes. While the core demand is at lunchtime, our filled baguettes are available 24 hours a day.

"For added interest we run a monthly food-to-go promotional programme consisting of a ’Hot Special’ and an additional baguette filling."


Best forecourt facilities - sponsored by wayne

When Longs Corner Service Station in Howden, East Yorkshire, was in development, owners Jos Richardson & Son focused hard on the forecourt facilities area, with ease and convenience being the main criteria. And the result helped it win the Best Forecourt Facilities category.
Facilities include a car wash, jet wash vacuum and free air if the customer fills up with petrol, along with free-to-use wifi, toilet, baby change, coffee lounge and free ATM. Managing director, Joseph Richardson, says: "We have a 6.5m distance between the pump islands and plenty of additional parking so the site can be very busy but not feel congested. Our aim was to create a destination of choice and if we did that we knew the sales would follow." Local car wash competition includes a rollover car wash at a nearby forecourt and two hand car washes, but marketing activity keeps the site competitive.


best forecourt innovation - sponsored by imperial tobacco

The award for Best Forecourt Innovation, a new category for 2012, could go to no other than Euro Garages, the overall winner of the 2011 awards.
Innovation is what makes the Top 50 Indie tick, and the company’s first motorway services area development Rivington Services on the M61 in Lancashire was the result of an 18-month £12.3m investment programme.
Operations manager, Salim Hasan, says: "Our core focus has to be on building loyalty, and to do that requires relentless commitment to service standards, a strong value-for-money proposition and a focus on innovating the forecourt. If you put your customers first, innovation is the outcome."
"Forecourt retailing never sleeps," adds Salim. "You have to constantly find new ways of raising the bar and out-performing the sector. It’s that kind of focus on innovation that drives loyalty and strong financial performance."