When going for a burger meant having a Wimpy

MEMORIES OF RESTAURANT LOVED BY BROADMARSH SHOPPERS

- NICOLE HAYNES

WITH its first restaurant opening in London in 1954, Wimpy was the first UK-based hamburger chain.

Prior to McDonald's, Wimpy ruled the roost as the go-to spot for a quick bite to eat.

Wimpy started life as a US chain in 1934, before moving to the UK in 1954. It has since relocated its headquarters to South Africa.

There used to be more than 1,000 Wimpy restaurants, but in the UK the number has slowly dwindled with just 62 branches remaining.

Some readers will remember Nottingham's Wimpy restaurant, which opened in the Broadmarsh Centre in 1975 and was run by the same manager, Akram Malik, from 1983 to 2019.

After more than 43 years in the city, in 2019 the Nottingham restaurant closed due to the shopping centre's impending redevelopment.

The next nearest branch was in Long Eaton, just over the Derbyshire border.