Bakery chain Greggs will reopen 800 shops next month – but is keeping the locations secret over fears fast food fans will bombard branches.
The pasty and sausage roll outlets are expected to start serving customers up and down the country in June.
‘We have planned and delivered robust shop trials using our new operational safety measures and they have progressed well allowing us to now move to open an increased number of our shops from mid-June,’ a spokesperson for the company said.
Customers queued outside a Greggs bakery in Newcastle after the store reopened for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic
Greggs is set to reopen around 800 of its stores next month as coronavirus restrictions are eased across Britain (Pictured: A Greggs branch in Cardiff on March 24)
The bakery chain is expected to begin serving customers in mid-June, after it successfully trialled the reopening of a dozen stores in the North East earlier this month.
‘We have planned and delivered robust shop trials using our new operational safety measures and they have progressed well allowing us to now move to open an increased number of our shops from mid-June,’ a spokeswoman said.
The chain did not specify exactly how many stores it hopes to open, but it is understood to be around 800 of its 2,050 sites.
Greggs began the process of reopening a series of stores earlier this month, after the bakery chain closed its doors on March 24 due to the pandemic.
At the time, the chain said the decision to close was an attempt to protect staff from the spread of the virus and avoid crowds gathering for takeaways.
The company said: ‘Given the current and likely impacts of coronavirus we are now planning for the closure of our shop estate by close of business on Tuesday 24 March in order to protect our people and customers.’
The bakery chain had previously delayed plans to open 20 of its stores due to fears of overcrowding, the Sun reported.
Draconian lockdown measures implemented by Boris Johnson amid the pandemic on March 23 have slowly been relaxed by the government in recent weeks.
The prime minister this week revealed plans to open non-essential retailers from June 15, after homewares stores including IKEA and Matalan were allowed to welcome customers back.
Bars, restaurants and pubs are still required to remain shut, but rules have allowed for takeaway and delivery services to remain open.
Earlier this month, McDonald’s began reopening its British stores, starting with 15 in and around London.
Starbucks also reopened 150 of its stores, with Nandos, Wagamamas, KFC and Subway among the fast food chains offering takeaway and delivery.
Greggs began the process of reopening a series of stores earlier this month, after the bakery chain closed its doors on March 24 due to the pandemic
The future of McDonald’s: £25 limit per car at drive-thrus , plastic screens at counters and staff getting daily temperature checks – as fast food giant announces 975 branches will reopen next week
By Luke May for MailOnline
McDonald’s has announced nearly 1,000 more restaurants will reopen for drive-thrus or deliveries from next week, under a new lockdown friendly measures with a £25 cap on orders.
Each franchise has been asked to make sure its staff are fit and able to work, following nearly two months of lockdown measures.
From next Tuesday McDonald’s will begin announcing the restaurants that have reopened. By Thursday, 975 franchises will have reopened.
Cleaning stations will be set up inside McDonald’s restaurants for visiting delivery drivers, who will have no contact with restaurant staff when they arrive to pick up orders
Footage shows how restaurants are reopening with protective screens between staff and customers. Workers are also expected to wash their hands every 30 minutes.
Protective screens have been put in place inside the kitchens and at drive-thrus to lower the risk of contamination.
For customers, the major changes are a reduced menu and a £25 spending cap, which has been introduced as staff get used to working in smaller teams and to reduce waiting times at drive-thru lanes. Diners are also being asked to pay via contactless cards.
A McDonald’s spokesman said: ‘We can today announce that by 4th June, 1,019 of our restaurants will have reopened, either for Drive Thru or McDelivery.
‘This means every Drive Thru in the UK and Ireland will reopen between Tuesday and Thursday next week and we will start to expand the availability of McDelivery too.
Customers are being asked to pay with contactless cards when using McDonald’s drive-thrus, while cleaning of payment equipment will be stepped up
Perspex screens between drive-thru workers and customers have been installed to further reduce the risk of spreading the virus
‘This is only possible following the hard work of the teams in our 44 pilot restaurants.
‘Over the last fortnight, our employees, franchisees and suppliers have worked tirelessly to implement new procedures to enable safe working so that we can now help all parts of the UK and Ireland to enjoy the return of the Big Mac.
‘With fewer employees working in our kitchens and service areas, our teams will still need your patience and support as they continue to adjust to the new ways of working.
McDonald’s staff will regularly disinfect surfaces at their stores to reduce the risk of customers and employees transmitting coronavirus between each other
Staff will wear face masks under the plans to reopen McDonald’s stores across Britain which will look very different as Britain begins to exit the coronavirus lockdown
Workers will wear protective gear including gloves in their stores as they prepare food for contact-free delivery, and hand over bags to delivery drivers to take to customers
‘Face coverings, gloves, Perspex screens and new safety and hygiene processes mean it will look different, it will take a little longer and as we have seen in the pilot restaurants, we expect demand will be high. Please bear with us, we will continue to put our people first – their safety is our priority.’
Drive-thrus reopening as lockdown measures ease has caused long queues as fast-food fans look to get their first fix of McDonald’s since restaurants were shut.
In some cases McDonald’s has had to shut drive-thru lanes, while there have also been complaints of delivery driver safety after they were seen queuing out the door in London to pick up orders.
Staff are being kept apart where possible, with additional screens being installed inside kitchens and at drive-thru windows
Kitchens have been refitted with perspex glass, while staff are wearing additional PPE inside the fast food restaurants. There will also be zero contact between delivery drivers and kitchen staff, McDonald’s has announced
Staff at each restaurant are having their temperatures regularly checked to ensure they are fit to work and are not potentially spreading the virus
What will be included in McDonalds’ limited menu?
Main Menu:
Cheeseburger
Hamburger
Double Cheeseburger
Big Mac
Quarter Pounder with Cheese
McChicken Sandwich
Filet-O-Fish
Chicken McNuggets
Chicken Selects
Sides & Desserts:
Fries
Mozzarella Dippers
McFlurry (Oreo, Maltesers, Smarties)
Fruit Bag
With more than 900 more drive-thru lanes reopening by next Thursday, the fast food giant says it is working to keep customers levels down.
It is only announcing which stores have reopened on the day it happens.
A McDonald’s spokesman said: ‘In the last week, on occasion, we have taken the decision to close Drive Thru lanes where demand has impacted local communities or the safety of our people or customers.
‘We will continue to work with local authorities and the police as we extend our reopening plans.
‘With smaller teams, we will still be offering a limited menu over reduced hours, and we ask that you make contactless payments and limit your spend to £25.
‘We are continuing to review these measures as we reopen, but for now, these restrictions remain in place to help our employees, customers and delivery partner couriers to remain safe.
‘To manage the anticipated demand, we will release the locations of the reopening restaurants on the morning of each day.’
Staggering footage showed vehicles snaking up and down roads waiting to access the restaurants, with many people having to wait over two hours to get their food.
Videos soon emerged on social media, after members of the public filmed the queues in utter disbelief, including one showing a seemingly endless stretch of traffic waiting to access the McDonalds A41 Watford restaurant.
Aghast, the individual filming the video could be hear saying: ‘How badly do they want a big mac. That’s a two hour wait for some nuggets.’
News of McDonald’s return comes as Halfords announced it will fully reopen 53 UK stores by Friday with customers allowed back inside to browse shelves.
The car parts retailer will deploy marshals to guide people throughout the shops and use ‘sneeze screens’ to keep people safe.
Bosses expect a surge in customers wanting to get behind the wheel of cars that have been unused for several weeks.
KFC and DIY store Wickes announce plans to reopen branches as phone data reveals Britain is continuing to edge out of lockdown with rush hour traffic up two percentage points on week before
Fast food giant KFC has announced it will reopen a total of 500 stores by the end of the week with stores offering a limited menu.
The restrictions is to allow staff to prepare food while adhering to social distancing rules.
So far around 80 branches have reopened, offering drive through and delivery services.
Meanwhile, DIY retailer Wickes has revealed it will be reopening six stores with strict social distancing measures from tomorrow in Pudsey, Cheltenham, Preston, Sevenoaks, Cricklewood and Hailsham.
The news comes as phone data suggests Brits are making more journeys on the roads than they were a week ago.
Fast food giant KFC has announced it will reopen another 80 branches for delivery. Pictured: one of its branches in Southampton
The fried chicken chain announced on March 25 it was closing all of its restaurants, pictured, despite government guidance stating that takeaways could remain open
In the subsequent weeks, however, it gradually began to open some kitchens for delivery, pictured, and dozens more will be following suit over the coming days
DIY retailer Wickes, pictured, has revealed it will be reopening six stores with strict social distancing measures from tomorrow in Pudsey, Cheltenham, Preston, Sevenoaks, Cricklewood and Hailsham
KFC closed all of its restaurants on March 25, despite government guidance stating that takeaways could remain open.
The firm said at the time the decision has been made ‘to help protect the wellbeing and safety of our teams and of our guests’.
In the subsequent weeks, however, it gradually began to open some kitchens and dozens more will be following suit over the coming days.
The company said in a statement today: ‘We’re reopening our restaurants in a responsible way, with stringent processes and hygiene measures in place.
‘We’ll be serving a limited menu to help the smaller kitchen teams maintain social distancing.
‘Opening these restaurants will mean that we can continue donating food to NHS and key workers – we’ll be delivering 10,000 meals a week from these restaurants in partnership with Deliveroo.’
It follows in the footsteps of Nandos, Burger King and Wagamama, who have all announced plans to reopen restaurants this week.
Paula MacKenzie, managing director for KFC UK & Ireland, said: ‘I’m really proud of the way we, with our franchise partners, have been able to carefully get some of our restaurants back open for delivery over the last two weeks.
‘This next stage allows us to continue to provide wider access to hot food for those who need it most, whether that’s key workers after a long shift or those working from home who need a quick, affordable dinner for the family.’
Meanwhile, more journeys are being made on Britain’s roads compared to last week, data from Apple suggests.
Traffic on the A40 Western Avenue (the right hand lane is inbound towards central London) in Acton, West London, today
Traffic on the M4 motorway (left hand lane is inbound towards London) at Datchet near Windsor in Berkshire this morning
More journeys were being made on Monday, data suggests, as this image from the A2, near New Cross in south London that afternoon, pictured, suggests
Apple data, pictured, shows how use of its Maps app has changed compared to a ‘baseline figure’ on January 13 – before lockdowns were enforced
Data from TomTom for the last week, pictured, shows how congestion is still well down on the average since people were told to stay at home for everything other than essential journeys last month, but has been gradually increasing in recent days
The tech giant has released figures which show how frequently its Maps app has been used compared to a ‘baseline figure’ on January 13 – before lockdowns were enforced around the globe.
In the UK, usage was up nearly two percentage points on Monday, April 27, compared to seven days before – a trend that was also reflected in London specifically.
The iPhone-maker announced it would be releasing the data earlier this month in an attempt to track how fewer people are driving, walking and using public transport than at the start of the year as a result of Covid-19 measures.
However, Apple insists that sharing the data is not a breach of its customers’ privacy, as it said in a statement: ‘The information is generated by counting the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions.
‘Maps does not associate mobility data with a user’s Apple ID, and Apple does not keep a history of where a user has been.’
Similar data from TomTom shows how congestion is still well down on the average since people were told to stay at home for everything other than essential journeys last month, but has been gradually increasing in recent days.
Cars, vans and lorries on the M4 motorway (right hand lane is inbound towards London) at Datchet in Berkshire this morning
Traffic builds up on the A102 at Greenwich in South East London this morning as the coronavirus lockdown continues
It comes as a poll today showed that more than a quarter of Britons do not want coronavirus lockdown eased even if the government’s five tests are passed.
The problem faced by ministers when they do decide the shackles can be loosened have been underlined by signs that the public support for the curbs is entrenched.
Research by YouGov found 28 per cent want the lockdown to stay in full even if the conditions set for starting to return to normal life are met.
Some 22 per cent would like to see more shops open, 11 per cent schools up and running, and a tenth say regions should be released at different times.
Just 4 per cent want the lockdown lifted entirely, according to the survey for the Times.
Despite Downing Street insisting that curbs remain in place until at least May 7 there are signs that the rules are already being relaxed in the face of growing Tory alarm over the economic impact.
New guidance is being issued to councils on refuse and recycling sites, while Michael Gove gave a strong hint that garden centres and other shops where social distancing can be most enforced could follow soon.
Speculation was fuelled last night as the wording of the government’s ‘five tests’ for easing restrictions was subtly changed.
Slides displayed at the daily No10 briefing held by Matt Hancock showed that it is now saying there must be no second peak ‘that overwhelms the NHS’.
That is potentially more achievable than avoiding a second peak altogether – although Downing Street insisted there had been no adjustment.
Frantic work has been going on behind the scenes to produce an exit plan, although officials are adamant nothing will be announced formally this week.
Ideas being mooted include letting family and friends mix in ‘bubbles’ of 10 people rather than just households.
The government’s key ‘stay at home’ message is expected to be overhauled to make clear people should do their jobs wherever possible.
Travellers are likely to be urged to wear makeshift face coverings on the train, tube and bus – after Nicola Sturgeon broke ranks with the rest of the UK by changing the advice to Scots. No10 says it is not immediately proposing to change the guidance.
Customers and staff will be able to clean their hands with sanitiser dispensers that will aim to ensure the cleanliness of their fast food restaurants