A number of fast-food retailers are preparing to reopen to customers - according to reports.
As of Tuesday, April 28, 2020 - here's what we know so far.
Burger King
Burger King has revealed it will open 10 more restaurants across the country.
The move comes after the recent re-opening of six branches - all offering a limited menu to customers through delivery services including Deliveroo and Just Eat.
Burger King's chief executive Alasdair Murdoch told The Mail on Sunday that the next branches to open will be in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee and Merton in London - however the exact locations have not been confirmed.
Greggs
Greggs have confirmed it is looking to reopen with a number of stores expected to reopen their doors as early as next week.
The bakery chain said it was looking to open a 'small number' of stores to trial how it would reopen more than 2,000 stores across the UK.
Although the full details of how the trial will operate have not been released, it is believed a number of Newcastle stores will be among the first to welcome customers back.
But due to current coronavirus lockdown rules, it remains highly likely that Greggs would operate a takeaway service only with a limited number of staff working at each store.
It's understood that a limited number of stores could open by May 5, as part of a staggered plan to reopen fully once restrictions are lifted.
A spokesperson for Greggs said on Sunday, April 26: "We want to play our part in getting the nation back up and running again so we are planning to conduct a limited trial with volunteers to explore how we can reopen our shops with new measures in place that keep our colleagues and customers as safe as we can when we re-open at scale."
McDonald's
No confirmed date has been revealed as to when McDonald's will return, but work is going on behind the scenes to prepare for a 'small-but-steady' return across the country.
Paul Pomroy, McDonald’s CEO UK and Ireland said on Tuesday, April 28: "In March, we took the decision to temporarily close our restaurants in the UK and Ireland for the safety of our people and customers. Recently, we began working through a potential and limited reopening.
"We have been listening to our employees and customers as well as engaging with government and trade bodies to help ensure we do this responsibly, when the time is right.
"Restarting our business is not an easy task even when reopening in a limited capacity. We have set ourselves some key criteria for reopening, all of which take time – first and foremost ensuring the wellbeing of our people and creating the right environment for them to return to work; secondly ensuring we have enough supply of fresh produce; and finally working in-step with government guidelines to ensure the safety of our customers.
"This week we are carrying out some operational tests to explore what our reopening might look like; the restaurant where these tests take place will remain closed to the public.
"These tests will include exploring social distancing measures for our crew, PPE options and opening in a limited capacity.
"For now we remain closed, and will only reopen when we are absolutely confident we can have the right measures in place to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.”
Nando's
Nando’s has said it is reopening six of its UK restaurants for delivery from today (Tuesday, April 28).
The peri-peri chicken chain said it will reopen the kitchens of four restaurants in London and two in Manchester to offer a delivery service through Deliveroo.
It comes after Nando’s restarted cooking at these sites last week to serve food for NHS workers and charities.
The restaurant chain said it will offer deliveries from its Camberwell, Canary Jubilee, Clink Street and Gloucester Road sites in London.
It will also serve customers in Manchester from its Fallowfield and Printworks locations.
Nando’s said it will offer a reduced delivery menu from these sites, but will not be offering eat-in or collection services.
In a statement, Nando’s said: “The menu will be reduced to help the team maintain social distance in the kitchen and food prep areas, but never fear as the majority of Nando’s favourites such as peri-peri chicken wings, halloumi and peri chips will now be available to enjoy at home.
“Each Nando’s restaurant has been working under Public Health England guidelines for the past week on top of their existing health and safety procedures.
“Every member of the team has been washing their hands more frequently while maintaining social distance during shifts.
“After a successful trial re-opening serving meals to local good causes, they are now upping production to serve the public.”
The company stressed that this is the “first phase” of its reopening plans but more restaurants could follow suit and open for deliveries if it is successful.
Nando’s said that each restaurant will also continue to cook meals every shift for local charities and NHS workers.
KFC
KFC is set to reopen more of its branches across the country after bringing in a new set of rules to keep staff and customers safe.
The fast-food retailer began closing its stores on March 23 following the government's decision to place the UK on lockdown.
At that time, KFC said that it wanted to "protect the wellbeing and safety" of staff and customers, and confirmed that the temporary closures would be "until further notice."
It was then revealed earlier this month that eleven stores would reopen as part of an initial phase, including two sites in Manchester.
The chain is however offering a "limited menu" to customers and service is delivery-only, available through Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats for those who live near one of the restaurants.
In a statement about reopening stores, KFC explained: "To do this in the right way, we’ve put new processes in place and stepped up our already stringent hygiene measures.
"We’re serving a limited menu, which means we can have a smaller kitchen team to maintain social distancing.
"Our teams are amazing and we’d never ask them to come back to work if they weren’t comfortable, so they’re returning on an opt-in basis. ”
“The key workers across the country are doing a phenomenal job. So to say a huge thank you, these restaurants have now donated over 5,000 meals to them in partnership with Deliveroo – and will continue to donate 100 meals a week each.”
The full list is as follows:
- Heaton Chapel
- Tamworth
- New Oscott
- Manchester Hulme
- Manchester Deansgate
- Portsmouth
- Aldershot
- Ipswich – Cardinal Park
- Glasgow – Pollockshaw Road
- Glasgow – Great Western Retail Park
- Enfield – Coliseum Retail Park
- Bury – Moorgate Retail Park
- Bently Bridge – Bentley Bridge Pleasure Park
- Great Bridge – Great Bridge Retail Park
- Romford Gallows – Colchester Road
- Tyburn – Kingsbury Road
- Norwich – Mile Cross Lane
- Brighton – Western Road
- Putney – High Street
- Mornington Crescent
- Hammersmith – Kings Street
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