This week, the Government has confirmed July 4 as the official reopening date for bars, pubs and restaurants in England, and has reduced the two-metre social distancing rule to a more manageable one metre plus for England, allowing operators to gear up plans for welcoming customers again.
Caffe Nero has announced plans to have half its estate open by July 5 and is planning to mark the occasion by offering free drinks to all NHS workers for the day.
DSC Group is planning to open two more sites in London under The Tapas Room concept in Brixton and Battersea, with the first of the openings planned for July 4 to coincide with the sector reopening.
Bohemia restaurant on the island of Jersey has become the first Michelin-starred restaurant to reopen in the UK as the hospitality sector in Jersey is now allowed to welcome consumers for dine-in experiences following the successful reopening of al fresco dining from the end of May.
You-tuber and influencer Mikey Pearce has announced plans to open Clean Kitchen Club in Brighton, a fully plant-based burger delivery concept with a kitchen overseen by MasterChef finalist Stacie Stewart.
Five Guys has opened the doors to a brand-new site at London Bridge City for takeaway and delivery, with plans to welcome dine-in customers from July 4.
YO! is to begin trials of a new COVID safe format at Guildford site, with the hopes of rolling out to another 11 sites before reopening next month. The new concept will see customers placing orders via QR codes and food being freshly prepared and delivered on the iconic conveyor belts, minimising human contact as much as possible.
From June 24, McDonald’s has reopened a further 200 restaurants for collection following successful trials at 11 Roadchef sites last week. A reduced breakfast menu trial has also begun at 42 sites from Wednesday June 24.
Pizza Express is to launch brand new delivery-only concept Mac & Wings on July 2, initially available from 13 sites across Greater London that are already open for delivery. The new concept is aimed at a younger, urban audience and the menu will offer a range of six flavours of chicken wings and seven variations of mac ‘n’ cheese. Pizza Express has also announced the reopening of 46 restaurants for dine-in customers from July 9.
Three Joes sourdough pizza brand has reopened 3 sites, including one of The Stable sites recently acquired from Fuller’s.
Camile Thai has announced plans to open a new site in London to add to their over 30 strong estate in the UK after announcing life for life sales in the capital are up 35% during lockdown.
Oakman Inns has announced it has already taken over 3,000 bookings for July 4, with customers encouraged to use new mobile app for ordering and assist in collecting details for trace and trace purposes.
Chestnut Group has formulated reopening plans following a consumer survey, with sites reopening in stages starting with four planned to open on July 4.
Brasserie Bar Co has begun talks with Oak Ridge Advisory to move towards a turnover-based rent model for landlords in order to “achieve a consensual deal that gives [them] the best chance of success in the medium term” according to Richard Ferrier, MD. Despite many operators planning to reopen in July, the first Brasserie Blanc and White Brasserie sites will not begin to open until early August.
Chelsea Garden is to be the first of The Ivy Collection sites to reopen on July 4, with temperature checks for staff, daily deep cleaning and added air filtration systems all amongst the safeguarding measures to be implemented.
Sushi and Bento Box chain Wasabi has reopened 9 further sites across London and has announced plans to reopen a further 10 sites in the coming fortnight.
Incipio Group has received over 1000 bookings in the days following the announcement that they will be reopening three sites, including Pergola Paddington, The Prince in West Brompton, and Lost in Brixton from July 4.
London based sourdough pizza concept Pizza Pilgrims has reopened three more sites for delivery across the capital, following the successful reopening of Victoria site and plans are in place to open an additional site every week.
Marston’s has announced that 80 – 85% of 1,400-strong estate will be open on July 4, with chief exec Ralph Finlay stating that had the two-metre social distancing rule remained in place it was unlikely more than a quarter of sites would have been able to reopen.
Chief Exec of Revolution Bars Group, Rob Pitcher has announced 10% of estate will reopen from July 4. Despite anticipation that these sites will not be profitable with current restrictions in place, he says that “it is important for us to test our procedures and safety protocols, and gauge demand as well”.
Itsu is to begin reopening sites for delivery and takeaway from June 26 with measures such as sanitising stations, card-only payments and limits on the number of customers allowed inside at once.
Dirty Wild Wings, the delivery only chicken wing concept based in Birmingham, has opened a further two sites in London and Newcastle this week, with plans to open further franchises across the UK.
Previously planned to open before lockdown, the UK’s first socially distanced food hall will begin to welcome the public on July 4. Sessions Market, backed by Imbiba, is opening in Brighton with safety measures built into the infrastructure of the building that can be readily adapted as guidelines change in the future.
Morrisons supermarket has launched a takeaway service from 400 in-store cafes, with delivery also available from several locations via Deliveroo.
Better pizza brand Homeslice has reopened another 2 sites, bringing the total number of sites operating in the capital to 4. It is open for pints and pizza to go at reduced opening hours 3 days per week.
Greene King are to reopen two-thirds of managed pub estate on July 6, with the remaining sites to reopen at an as yet unconfirmed date. Customers are encouraged to pre-book their table on the Greene King app which will be launched this Friday, June 26.
Shepherd Neame has announced plans to reopen 40 managed pubs and at least 150 tenanted sites by the end of July, with a reduced menu as the supply chain takes time to readjust. Safety measures to be implemented include temperature checks for staff, social distancing signage and increased sanitation.
Bill’s has announced it will be implementing temperature checks on arrival when reopening 6 of its 78 sites on July 4. There will also be dedicated members of staff to ensure health and safety is of the highest standard and staff will be required to record daily temperature readings.
