Greggs will reopen around 800 stores from mid-June

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. 

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. 

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. 

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, 1019 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.

‘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. 

‘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. 

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.