Greggs gets set to serve customers at 800 shops
North East Greggs stores are rising to the challenge of putting its new safety measures to the test, leading bosses to plan the relaunch of 800 more shops by mid-June.
The bakery chain has opened a select number of its counters across the region as it starts to trade again following the Government’s decision to close restaurants and cafes to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus.
This has included one at Prince Edward Road in The Nook in South Shields, another on Bede Trading Estate and its shop off Springwell Road in Sunderland, which have seen customers queue outside using social distancing measures since they opened once again earlier this month.
They are said to be among the dozen taking part in the trials, which are now set to be ramped up.
The firm has not officially put a figure on the number of shops it will open, but it is understood to be planning to serve from around 800 of its 2,050 locations across the country.
A spokesperson for the company, which runs around 2,050 shops across the country, said: "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.”
Government guidance has slowly become less strict after the country was forced into lockdownattheendofMarch.
Many restaurants have remained closed through the period, with some opening for takeaways.
In Sunderland, KFC reopened its branch in Pennywell last week, leading to long queues at the weekend as people collected takeaways, with deliveries also available.