Greggs is opening 800 branches from June - here’s how to check if your local branch is one of them

Greggs closed its doors on 24 March in line with the UK lockdown, but following the successful reopening of some of its stores, the bakery chain has announced that 800 branches will open from June. New social distancing measures and a slimmed down menu will be put in place at stores across the country. This is everything you need to know. When will Greggs reopen? Greggs CEO, Roger Whiteside announced that a selection of Greggs branches in the North East had reopened on a trial basis, testing how delivery, collection and walk in orders would work using new safety measures. It was revealed that the trials have been “performing well” and that more branches will be opening. “We plan to start preparing and opening more shops nationwide from around the 18th of June and we’re currently in the process of selecting around 800 shops to reopen, this will initially include approximately 150 franchise shops,” Whiteside said. Will there be social distancing measures in place? All new stores that reopen will have the tried and tested operation measures in place to ensure the safety of both staff and customers. This move comes after initial plans to reopen 20 stores in April fell through due to fears that social distancing measures would not be successfully upheld. Which stores are opening? The plan is to have all Greggs shops reopened with new operational measures in place by 1 July. Prior to this however, Greggs is beginning with a phased approach to opening its doors, with 150 shops initially being reopened around 18 June, and the eventual goal to open 800 branches. These branches will likely follow the lead of previous Greggs stores that have opened and offer delivery, collection and take away services - not sit in. However the company has not confirmed which stores will reopen. You can use the Greggs store locator tool to find your nearest branch. The UK government announced that all “non-essential” retailers in England would be able to resume from June 15, with the likes of markets and car dealerships being able to open from June 1. Boris Johnson said that the hospitality industry and other public places would be able to reopen in July “at the earliest”. The four phase route map in Scotland could see pubs and restaurants waiting longer to open their doors than in England. What is the reduced menu? The stores that will be reopening their doors to the public will be working from a “reduced range”. There has not been any announcement about what this menu could look like - and it could vary from branch to branch. It is likely that the more popular items will still be included in the limited menu, such as sausage rolls, steak bakes and cheese and onion pasties. Will my Greggs gift card still be valid? Greggs states that “all gift cards are valid for two years from date of purchase”. If you’ve got a Greggs gift card that you’ve not been able to use due to lockdown, and you’re concerned about losing the balance on it, you should contact Greggs. You can do this by phoning 0808 147 3447. For those with Greggs Rewards collected via the app, you should be aware that any rewards that have expired while stores were closed will be reissued to your account at a later date. Online reaction The online reaction to the news that Greggs are beginning to reopen their doors has been overwhelmingly positive. Taking to Twitter, users embraced the news wholeheartedly. One user wrote: “Finally, some good news. Cheese and onion pasties on me.” Another tweeted: “These are happy tears” in response to the news with a crying emoji. Are other fast food restaurants open? Various businesses in the food industry are beginning to open their doors to the public once more after being closed due to lockdown. Restaurants like Five Guys, McDonald’s, KFC, Nandos and Burger King have opened their doors for takeaway, delivery and drive-thru services. The likes of Starbucks, Pret A Manger and Costa Coffee have started opening cafes across the UK as well.