Chariots and Cherry Pie is the brainchild of my husband, Jonathan, and myself. We thought up the idea while on our sunloungers in Turkey on our summer holiday last year.

Jonathan and I both love America – and all things American – and wanted to bring an authentic, fun and memorable concept to the UK which embraces true Americana.

We have both travelled all over the States and our first-hand experience of ‘real’ American food and friendly, impeccable service has always impressed us. Plus we love the fact that true American diners appeal to people from all walks of life, of all ages and are used for pleasure and business purposes alike.

Right from the start we wanted to create a business with a ‘wow’ factor which would make people smile. And that’s how the idea was born to combine a premium hand car wash with an amazing diner offering gourmet food and drink.

My background is in PR. I started Oxford-based Bottle PR in 2003 and sold my half last year. Jonathan had started and operated a property maintenance company for several years. So, after brainstorming numerous different business ideas, we decided to join forces and appointed an executive chef, a general manager and a wider team of consultants, covering everything from food hygiene to car wash services.

Our car wash facility has been designed and built by market leaders Karcher, and our executive chef has created a mouth-watering menu which includes all the items you’d expect from an American diner, including all-day breakfasts, amazing malt milkshakes, gourmet burgers and hot dogs, pulled pork (my favourite!) and traditional desserts including sundaes, home-made apple pie and, of course, our signature cherry pie.

We decided early on that we wanted to take our concept out on tour via a mobile operation.

Oxford Mail:

Jonathan and Claire Hilsdon

After much research, we commissioned a company in Wellingborough to build from scratch our own mobile diner, based on the traditional American Air Stream. Serving a cut-down version of the main diner menu, the mobile diner is available for festivals and events.

Our second task was to find a location for our first ‘static’ site. We decided on a closed down pub in Grove on the edge of Wantage and completed on the day Jonathan and I left for our honeymoon on October 26 last year.

Formerly The Volunteer Inn, we fell in love with the site as we felt it lent itself perfectly not only for a 100-cover American diner but also for a fantastic hand car wash service and an 11-bed motel. We purchased the site freehold and instructed local architects to put our imagination on paper.

Then came a massive and unexpected blow. We heard just three weeks after purchasing The Volunteer that Network Rail were going to close the bridge on the A338 – just 400 yards from the entrance to the pub – from the day we were planning to open! One of the things which had attracted us to The Volunteer was the volume of traffic using the A338 each day (in excess of 13,000 vehicles) and to hear that this stream of traffic was to be diverted was a real nightmare. As it happens, the work by Network Rail hasn’t started yet and we are still unsure as to when the work will commence.

As we had put so much time, energy and savings into the business, we had to go back to the drawing board.

We knew we had to quickly find another site to open sooner, while we were awaiting news on the bridge closure at Grove. And that’s how we found the site on the A420 next to the BP garage. We believe the former Little Chef site has massive potential and were delighted to get a long-term lease and permission to bring the Chariots and Cherry Pie concept to this site first.

We call it Route 420 – as you would expect – which opened its doors temporarily on March 26 this year. It has been both an eye-opener and a roller-coaster for Jonathan and I.

There have been lots of amazing moments – but also lots of tears. It is a relentless industry and you have to be on top of your game 100 per cent of the time. There have been days when we’ve thought ‘how are we going to get through today?’ – but somehow we always do. We are fast learners!

It’s also a struggle balancing a home life with a new career and business. Between us, we have four children and we have to make a conscious effort to ensure Chariots and Cherry Pie doesn’t take over.

We are striving to get a better work/life balance but it’s still early days and both Jonathan and I recognise that being hands-on is very important.

We are so excited about opening the doors permanently to Route 420 in early June as well as launching our hand car wash service.

With over 22,000 vehicles using the A420 each day, and with local towns and villages crying out for something new and different, we are confident that this inaugural site will become the blueprint for future ones.