McDonald’s is set to reopen another 30 restaurants next week, reintroducing drive-thru service for the first time since the brand’s total UK closure in March.
In a statement released ahead of reopening the brand’s first 15 locations at 11am tomorrow, UK & Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy revealed that the fast food brand will then begin drive-thru service at a further “30 pilot restaurants” from May 20.
“Moving in step with government guidelines, we plan to reopen all our Drive Thrus by early June,” Pomroy said. “We will keep the restaurant locator on our website updated as our Drive Thrus reopen over the coming weeks.”
Pomroy also reiterated that the initial 15 locations opening tomorrow will not be offering drive-thru service, but will be available for delivery-only via Uber Eats.
McDonald’s will also introduce a £25 spend cap per car, and asks customers to use contactless payment if at all possible. Additional safety measures will include a reduced number of staff in order to implement social distancing, personal protective equipment worn by staff, perspex screens in key areas of the restaurants and increased training on cleaning practices.
“When your local Drive Thru does reopen, it will be different,” said Pomroy. “Our service will not be as quick as you might be used to, as we adjust to smaller teams and social distancing in our kitchens.”
McDonald’s has not yet confirmed which drive-thru locations will open in the second wave of its reopening. Currently, the London restaurants due to reopen tomorrow are Tooting, Dalston, Harrow and Welling.
