Ready to ROLL! Greggs will reopen 800 UK branches on June 18 with the remaining 1,250 to welcome customers by July 1
- Greggs did not reveal which stores will open first but said 150 will be franchises
- The shops will have a limited menu with new 'operational' measures for safety
- It comes after Greggs opened doors at a few branches in North East last month
Greggs will reopen 800 UK branches on June 18, with the remaining 1,250 to welcome customers by July 1.
The popular bakers could not reveal which stores will open first but said 150 will be franchises.
The shops will have a limited menu and new 'operational' measures to keep customers and staff safe.
The popular bakers could not reveal which stores will open first but said 150 will be franchises (file photo)
It comes after Greggs threw open the doors to a select few branches in the North East at the end of last month.
The shops created one-way systems with only four customers allowed inside at any one time.
The firm used several branches in the North East to test new social distancing rules - including the one-way system.
Despite the phased reopening, the bakery chain remained tight-lipped over which branches would open and exactly when.
There were fears the battle for steak bakes and sausage rolls may force staff and customers to break social-distancing rules.
The shops will have a limited menu with new 'operational' measures to keep customers and staff safe (file photo showing the social distancing measures in place)
The handful of branches opened last month were watched closely by bosses, who wanted to test how the new safety measures could be rolled out to other shops.
In a statement to customers, Greggs CEO Roger Whiteside said last month: 'We've recently opened a selection of shops on an ad-hoc basis in the North East trialling delivery, collection and standard walk-in orders.
'This was so we could test out new operational safety measures to roll out on a wider scale when the time is right.
'The trials have been performing well, providing useful feedback from colleagues and customers, and we'll continue to adapt as we learn more and work to the latest Government advice.
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'We plan to start preparing and opening more shops nationwide from around June 18 and we're currently in the process of selecting around 800 shops to reopen, this will initially include approximately 150 franchise shops.
'All shops will open with our new tested operational measures in place. And although they will open with a reduced range, this will be a significant step in us helping the nation get back up and running and serving the communities that we operate in.
'We'll continue to look for the best ways to serve customers whilst keeping everyone safe, and as long as we can continue to do this, the final phase in our plan is to open all shops with our new operational measures in place by July 1.'
Greggs began the process of reopening a series of stores earlier last 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 PM 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 last month, McDonald's began reopening its British stores, starting with 15 in and around London.
Starbucks also reopened 150 of its stores, with Nandos, Wagamama, KFC and Subway among the fast food chains offering takeaway and delivery.
Swarms of people have descended on McDonald's drive-thrus across the country and queued for up to two hours as the fast-food giant reopened nearly 1,000 stores.
This week swarms of people have descended on McDonald's drive-thrus and queued for up to two hours as the fast-food giant reopened nearly 1,000 stores (pictured in Brighton today)
In a bid to try and stop the lengthy queues when drive thrus return, McDonald's announced its chosen restaurants on the day they opened.
All of McDonald's drive-thrus were open by yesterday, meaning 1019 of its restaurants be serving customers in their cars or via McDelivery.
Customers are ordering from a reduced menu, with a spending cap of £25, as McDonald's cuts the number of staff working in its kitchens to maintain social distancing measures.
As queues build, staff have been out in car parks and drive thru lanes trying to direct traffic - with long waiting times being reported up and down the country.
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.
McDelivery drivers will have no direct contact with staff inside the restaurant and handwashing facilities have been set up to prevent any possible spread of Covid-19 germs.
In a bid to try and stop the lengthy queues when drive thrus return, McDonald's (pictured in Brighton today) announced its chosen restaurants on the day they open
Reduced hours mean there will be no breakfast offering, with restaurants only serving customers between 11am and 10pm.
Milkshakes are among the items missing from the menu, as well as fruit bags.
A McDonald's spokesman said: '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.'
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