Huge queues as McDonald's customers rush to 39 reopened drive thrus – but they will CLOSE if they get too busy

HUNGRY McDonald's fans rushed to reopened drive-thrus across the UK today – but the fast food giant warned it will shut if queues become too long.

McDonald's opened 39 stores in the UK and Ireland at 11am today and there were huge tailbacks as excited customers waited to order Big Macs and McFlurrys.

The sites, mainly located in South East England, and are offering a limited menu with orders capped at £25 per car.

Peterborough tops the list with six open for drive-thru, Ipswich has four and Luton has three.

It means McDonald's has 38 restaurants open in the UK – 23 as drive-through only, 10 offering deliveries and drive-thru, and five just serving online orders via apps.

The fast food chain has also reopened six of its restaurants in Dublin as drive-thrus.

Staff will be temperature checked before each shift and workers will have to make sure they are social distancing.

Perspex screens are installed at all drive-through windows and staff will be given protective equipment, the firm said.

McDonald's has called for customers to be "patient and supportive" of staff as sites reopen, warning that service "will not be as quick as you might be used to".

Bosses hope to reopen all drive-thru operations over the next month after they shut in late March during the coronavirus lockdown.

Subway reopened all 600 stores in the UK for delivery and takeaway last week, as well as openings from Burger King, KFC and Pret A Manger.

Hour-long queues were reported at peak times outside KFC stores. In Ashford in Kent, KFC fans queuing for the store forced a bus company to close its nearby stop.

Starbucks also reopened around 150 stores across the UK.

On Tuesday, Wagamama revealed plans to reopen 67 restaurants for deliveries by the end of next month.

It launched a trial at five delivery kitchens earlier this month after being forced to shut its doors to customers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It said it will rapidly expand its delivery service after "successful" trials in London and Leeds.

Pizza Express said it plans for 13 sites across London to offer delivery services from next week.

Source: Read Full Article