Greggs planning on 'reopening small number of stores before opening all UK branches'

26 April 2020, 19:39

Greggs could reopen a small number of stores before opening all its 2,050 branches in the UK, according to reports.

The popular bakery chain closed a month ago to protect its staff and the public from the outbreak of coronavirus.

But now Greggs is planning on a "limited trial" with volunteers to investigate ways of safely re-opening.

Speaking to The Sun, a Greggs spokesperson said: "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."

It is not clear how many branches could reopen or what kind of service Greggs will offer.

Many other chains such as McDonald's, Burger King and KFC also closed amid the pandemic.

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Nick Ferrari tries out the new Greggs steak bake

But now some chains are starting to reopen a small number of branches but putting strict measures in place for safety reasons.

After announcing the closure of stores last month, Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said: "It has become clear that to help us all maintain social distance we need to go further and close all of our shops completely.

"Whilst our shops will be temporarily closed, our dedication to our communities won’t stop.

"We’ll continue to provide support to our local communities by distributing any remaining unsold food and offering support for those in hardship through the Greggs Foundation."