a quiet start as city’s greggs stores reopen their doors
SOME Greggs stores in Wales opened for the first time in three months yesterday morning.
The bakery chain has opened 800 outlets across the UK, and just over 50 in Wales.
In Cardiff, the outlets are mainly around the city centre and were very quiet when they opened just before 9am.
A number of new measures to keep customers safe, including floor markings, protective clothes for staff and screens at counters have been put in place.
There will also be a reduced menu to ensure social distancing in kitchens and workspaces.
Vegan sausage rolls are on that menu, but that has not pleased everyone.
Television presenter Piers Morgan joked: “If you still have vegan sausage roll cravings after three months of lockdown, you need a psychiatrist not Greggs.”
Greggs warned sales are likely to remain subdued as it copes with fewer customers allowed in stores at any one time.
There were some queues at the store in Leckwith, Cardiff.
As a result of the expected fall in sales, an unspecified proportion of staff “will remain furloughed until sales levels begin returning to normal”, the company said.
Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “Looking forward, although great uncertainty remains, we are excited to be resuming our service for many customers this week.
“We are confident of our ability to adapt to market conditions in the short term while continuing to invest in the long-term growth of our business.”
Its remaining 1,000 sites are planned to reopen by early July.
Meanwhile, thousands of Costa Coffee shops will be opening their doors by the end of June, as a survey found Britons are missing cafes more than pubs.
The retailer announced 1,100 of its 2,700 branches will reopen for takeaway and delivery customers within the next two weeks, after nearly three months of closure.
Some 45% of consumers said they miss visiting coffee shops, compared with 44% who said they miss pubs, according to a lockdown survey by Market Measures.