KFC, Burger King and Pret a Manger announce limited reopenings
16 April 2020, 12:29
Burger King, KFC and Pret a Manger have announced they will be launching limited reopenings of certain stores across the UK.
The three firms all said when they reopen, staff will be wearing PPE and abiding by social distancing rules.
Pret a Manger will be open for deliveries and takeaways, with Burger King and KFC only providing deliveries initially.
The firms argued that a gradual reopening of stores will help NHS staff and key workers and that staff will be protected by stringent safely measures.
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Pret a Manger will be opening 10 stores across London, near to hospitals, and they will be run by 160 staff members who have volunteered to return to work.
We reopened 10 shops today and wanted to share some of the new measures we’ve put in place to protect our teams and customers. Thank you for your support and stay safe ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8KXjQhzOxX
— Pret (@Pret) April 16, 2020
These stores are Fulham Road, South Kensington, St George University, St John's Wood, Tooting Broadway, King's Road, City Road, Great Portland Street, Vauxhall and Warren Street.
CEO Pano Christou said: "In doing so, this will help give frontline healthcare workers better access to freshly prepared food while also getting our supply chain up and running again to deliver food to the homeless.
"These shops will open tomorrow for takeaway and delivery only, offering a reduced range of Pret favourites, as well as a selection of essentials like milk, bread and butter.
"We’re bringing back our 50% discount for NHS workers until the end of the month and 7,000 additional meals per week will be donated to our charity partners."
Burger King will be operating four sites across the UK in Bristol, Swindon and Coventry, with more expected to open in the coming weeks.
Katie Evans, the marketing director at Burger King UK, said: “We hope that reopening these restaurants for delivery services goes some way to lifting our customers’ spirits in these difficult times.”
List of restaurants currently open for delivery only. pic.twitter.com/ikRGsGiZkB
— KFC UK & Ireland (@KFC_UKI) April 16, 2020
KFC has opened 11 restaurants in London, Hampshire, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sussex, Greater Manchester and Staffordshire.
In a statement, the company said: "We’ve spent the time since closure developing new processes to ensure we can reopen carefully and responsibly, which we’ve now started to do.
"We also saw the impact the situation is having on those who may not be able to easily get to the supermarkets, like key workers. There’s a need for affordable, accessible food and we wanted to do our part.”
According to government guidelines, restaurants are not allowed to serve food in store, but can operate a collection or delivery service.
