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A customer receives their order inside a prototype location of fast food giant McDonald’s for restaurants that respect the 1.5m social distancing measure in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
REUTERS / Piroschka van de Wouw – RC2QFG9ZMRKB
McDonald’s says it could introduce table service, with burgers and fries transported to customers in carts from which they can pick up their orders.
- Reuters Amsterdam
- Last update: May 3, 2020, 11:15 p.m. IST
Big Macs delivered in food carts, hand sanitizers at the entrance, and designated waiting places to separate customers could become a feature of McDonald’s restaurants in the Netherlands when they are allowed to reopen.
In a lawsuit at a restaurant in the city of Arnhem, McDonald’s has been looking for ways to maintain social distance when the coronavirus blockade is relaxed.
“We have tried to figure out how to keep our customers and employees safe, while maintaining a restaurant environment,” McDonald’s Netherlands spokeswoman Eunice Koekkoek told Reuters.
“These are drastic changes, but we hope to make them so that customers don’t notice them too much.”
Restaurants, bars and other public places in the Netherlands have been closed since March 15. As of Friday, 39,791 coronavirus cases had been confirmed with 4,893 deaths.
But new infections have been declining, prompting calls to loosen the blockade after its current deadline of May 19.
A decision on the reopening of restaurants and bars is expected around May 12, but Prime Minister Mark Rutte has ruled out a return to normal.
If they reopen, they should keep customers and staff at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart to avoid a new wave of infections.
McDonald’s says it could introduce table service, with burgers and fries transported to customers in carts from which they can pick up their orders.
Other new features would include handwashing stations at the entrance and a host behind a plastic screen that shows customers their place in line.
Many restaurant owners in the Netherlands fear that social estrangement simply takes them out of business.
But McDonald’s expects its new setup to work at 180 larger restaurants from its 252 franchises in the country.
“On average, this will allow us to serve around 66% of our normal number of clients,” said Koekkoek.
“We do not expect reopening to be allowed before June. But even then, we will move forward in steps. Readjusting 180 restaurants is a difficult task.”
About three-quarters of 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide were operational as of Thursday, including almost all of its nearly 14,000 outlets in the United States, where transit cars are common.
