Burger King pushes ahead with lockdown exit plan

According to The Mail on Sunday​​​, the fast food chain is set to reopen its first London restaurant in the borough of Merton this week, alongside sites in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Dundee.

So far Burger King, which has 550 locations across the country, has reopened six of its restaurant kitchens, including two in Bristol, one in Coventry, and one in Swindon.

Like most other operators, it had to shut down its entire UK estate last month as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus crisis.

All reopened Burger King restaurants are available for delivery only, via Deliveroo or Just Eat, and are serving a reduced menu comprising of three core burgers: the Chicken Royale; Bacon Double Cheeseburger; and Whopper.

UK chief executive Alasdair Murdoch told The Mail on Sunday​​​ that all six reopened sites had seen ‘huge demand’, with delivery drivers at a drive-through in Coventry having to queue for more than an hour to collect orders last week.

He added that Burger King makes a loss on each delivery because of the commission taken by  third party delivery firms on every sale, but that shareholders agreed it was worth taking the hit to help keep the brand visible.

Murdoch also stressed that all reopened sites will be adhering to the Government’s social distancing guidelines.

Staff are required to wear masks and gloves while working, and updated cleaning methods and contactless delivery options are being implemented.

Earlier today it was reported that bakery chain Greggs had also begun putting into action a plan to reopen its UK estate​​, with CEO Roger Whiteside aiming to have all 2,050 of the bakery chain’s UK branches open again by the beginning of July.