Pret to reopen further 200 shops with safety measures

The business has already reopened more than 100 shops, which was done in phases. The latest batch will take the number of open Pret stores to more than 300 and includes sites in towns and cities such as Bath, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Exeter and Liverpool.

A limited menu will be available in the stores and includes the Classic Super Club sandwich, Posh Cheddar & Pickle baguette and Tuna Mayo & Cucumber baguette, as well as a range of hot and cold drinks, bakery items, fruit and snacks. ‘Heat Me at Home’ soups will also be on offer.

To help keep customers and employees safe, the business has introduced several new safety measures in line with government guidance. These include:

• Protective Perspex screens fitted to the till counter
• Restricted customer flow into shops, with the number of people allowed inside at any one time based on the square footage of the shop
• Social distancing restrictions in kitchens, which will allow only one person in certain areas of the kitchen at any one time – for example, fridges or staff rooms
• Enhanced cleaning processes, including 30-minute sanitising of all hand contact surfaces.

“One of the best things about Pret is the way our teams rise to new challenges and that’s exactly what we’ve seen over the past few weeks. We’re rapidly transforming our business in light of the pandemic and the dramatic drop in city centre footfall,” said Pret CEO Pano Christou.

“It’s going to continue to be tough for Pret in the months ahead, and I’d like to thank our team members who are returning to work and making reopening possible.”

More food-to-go outlets are getting back to business as Boris Johnson relaxes the lockdown rules. Greggs, for example, is set to reopen 800 shops in June following a trial in the north east.