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Baker and takeaway food chain Greggs has changed his mind about the reopening of 20 stores next week, fearing crowds of customers who might flock.
All of the more than 2,050 Greggs stores have been closed since March 24, when the UK imposed a coronavirus blockade, even though the government allowed takeout stores to remain open.
The group, known for its sausage rolls and vegan snacks, had said Monday that it planned to reopen 20 stores in the Newcastle area starting next Monday in a trial to see if it can effectively operate with physical distancing measures as it moves. ease closure.
However, now he has changed his mind. “Due to the strong interest in our 20-store test and the risk that an excessive number of customers plan to visit Greggs, we will now operate these tests behind closed doors to effectively test our new operational security measures,” a spokesperson said Thursday. .
“We will continue to review this and invite walk-ins to our stores only when we can be sure to do so in the controlled manner we intended.”
Greggs hoped that if the feedback was positive from the trial, it could move to phase two, with the reopening of 700 stores.
He warned that phase two would only be possible if the government had taken a first step to relax the closure, which could be to reopen schools, allowing more people to return to work.
Greggs’ working assumption was that the schools would reopen on June 1, allowing second-tier stores to reopen on June 8.
The final phase of its initial plan was to open all stores with new operational measures in place before July 1, which is when the government’s job retention suspension plan is slated to end.
